FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
September 1, 2017
CONTACT:
Samantha Kupferman, West End Strategy Team
skupferman@westendstrategy.com;
Office: 212.498.9300; Cell: 202.215.9260
Taube Philanthropies Makes $1 Million Emergency Challenge Grant
Toward Hurricane Harvey Relief
All Hands Volunteers to use funds toward emergency and rebuilding efforts, including managing volunteer center
SAN FRANCISCO -- Bay Area-based foundation Taube Philanthropies announced today that it has made a $1 million emergency challenge grant to support Hurricane Harvey relief and rebuilding efforts.
Taube Philanthropies, led by Tad and Dianne Taube, made its challenge grant to All Hands Volunteers, a U.S.-based disaster relief organization which relies on a network of volunteers to help people affected by natural disasters all over the world. One of the leading organizations responding to the destruction wrought by Hurricane Harvey, in the immediate phase of emergency response, All Hands has multiple teams on the ground assessing devastated regions to identify where assistance is most needed, and clearing trees and debris so families can return to their homes.
All Hands is in the process of establishing and leading a volunteer reception center, intended to recruit, activate and manage thousands of volunteers in a highly organized relief effort. With Taube Philanthropies’ grant, All Hands Volunteers will be equipped to stay in the Houston area for the long-term, engaging deeply in rebuilding efforts.
Given the significant impact of the storm on Houston’s Jewish community, and Taube Philanthropies’ focus on sustaining Jewish life, $100,000 of the foundation’s grant will support Jewish community needs. Evacuated families are seeking shelter, including at nearby Jewish overnight camps; the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center of Houston is underwater; and several synagogues have closed due to flooding, just weeks in advance of the Jewish High Holy Days.
“Houston and other nearby communities have experienced devastating loss and destruction, and we feel compelled to do our part to support relief and rebuilding efforts,” said Tad Taube, chairman of Taube Philanthropies. “With this grant, we are challenging All Hands Volunteers and the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston to encourage supporters to go the extra mile. We urge the greater community, whether you live in Houston or anywhere else in our country, to join us in helping one of America’s great cities and its besieged population emerge from this unfortunate disaster stronger than ever before.
Erik Dyson, executive director and CEO of All Hands Volunteers, shared, “Taube Philanthropies’ generous grant and the funding it will catalyze make it possible for All Hands Volunteers to do what the magnitude of this disaster demands: to run our largest disaster response to date, and to commit to staying in the affected areas through the many, many months ahead it will require to repair and rebuild. We are honored to have the confidence of Taube Philanthropies in recognizing that we are mindful of the needs of Houston’s heavily impacted Jewish community.”
Added Lee Wunsch, President and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston, “We have been so touched by the outpouring of love and support Houston’s Jewish community has received, and especially for the generosity provided to us by Taube Philanthropies. It goes a long way in helping us begin the road to recovery.”
Taube Philanthropies’ executive director, Shana Penn, said, “Taube Philanthropies is committed to being there for people and communities in need, whether those needs be long-term cultural and educational challenges, or critical emergency relief such as that which faces us in Houston. We are confident that Americans throughout our 50 states will open their hearts and support the greater Houston community generously.”
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Taube Philanthropies was established in 1981 by its founder and chairman, Tad Taube. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, the foundation makes philanthropic investments in Jewish, civic, and cultural life primarily in the Bay Area, Poland, and Israel. Its grant making programs support institution-building, scholarship, heritage preservation, arts and culture, and education. Taube Philanthropies is committed to collaborative grant making for greater charitable impact and actively partners with other philanthropic organizations and individuals. taubephilanthropies.org
