Islamic Relief USA deployed staff and mobilized volunteers to help communities that were displaced due to encroaching wildfires earlier this week. In Clayton, Washington, Islamic Relief USA operated a shelter for five days, providing meals and other support, until residents were able to secure accommodations with family and friends or relocate out of state to make a fresh start. William Lea, Disaster Response Team manager, said, “Unlike a tornado or hurricane, where the damage has already occurred when we respond, a wildfire is a continuing event that can change [lives] in a matter of hours.”
BACKGROUND
Islamic Relief USA signed a national Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the American Red Cross, the first formal partnership of its kind between the Red Cross and a Muslim response organization in the United States. Since its inception in 2011, IRUSA’s D.R.T. has been deployed to 17 major disaster situations in the United States and has trained and certified more than 2,500 disaster responders throughout the United States
MEDIA CONTACT: media@irusa.org or 703-370-7202
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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.