Alexandria, VA – Islamic Relief USA is contributing more than $75,000 to provide financial assistance to residents whose homes were destroyed or classified as uninhabitable by the American Red Cross.
Much of the assistance will assist residents living in Yuba County, which has one of the highest poverty rates among the impacted counties. Some 151 homes in that county alone were destroyed. Each family will receive $500 in direct assistance, in the form of cash cards. Collectively, $75,500 will be distributed to area families.
Assistance in identifying homes that were damaged or destroyed was provided by the American Red Cross and Yuba County Emergency Management.
“This is our way to help during a very difficult time,” said Anwar Khan, president of Islamic Relief USA. “While many material possessions have been lost, not the least of which are houses where so families had lived in for many years, this direct assistance can help them find another place to live. In addition, it can also help them rebuild their lives emotionally.”
Wildfires that broke out in the Northern California area in early October killed 43 people and destroyed more than 200,000 acres and 8,900 structures.
Sonoma and Napa counties saw some of the biggest conflagrations. Fires also broke out in Mendocino and Lake counties. One wildfire, the Tubbs fire in Santa Rosa, took some 23 days to contain.
Islamic Relief USA dispatched its Disaster Response Team during the response phase, providing assistance by operating a mass shelter in the Sonoma County Fairgrounds. IRUSA collaborated with the American Red Ross, the Salvation Army and the National Guard, among other groups.
MEDIA CONTACT
Minhaj Hassan
media@irusa.org or (703) 370-7246
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Islamic Relief USA, based in Alexandria, Va., is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) humanitarian organization. Its mission is to alleviate suffering, hunger, illiteracy and disease regardless of color, race, gender or creed, and to provide aid in a compassionate and dignified manner. Islamic Relief USA aims to provide rapid relief in the event of human and natural disasters and to establish sustainable local development projects, allowing communities to better help themselves. Its programs benefit millions of people each year around the world, including in the United States.
Islamic Relief USA meets all of the Standards for Charity Accountability of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, a national charity monitoring group affiliated with the Better Business Bureau system. Islamic Relief USA is on the U.S. government’s Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) charity list, and it is also a signatory to the code of conduct of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.