NGO Response

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and donors have geared up for response to Hurricane Sandy. If you or your organization would like to be included in this list to further your potential reach and ability to help those in need, please contact us.

See the list of cash grants awarded.

(Last updated January 17, 2013)

Sparkrelief.org helped feed over 5,000 people, partnered with Aubuchon Hardware to collect and distribute goods donated by thousands of people, and helped Lush Cosmetics distribute over $40,000 worth of bath products to those in need along the coast in New York and New Jersey. In addition, it helped countless people find shelter from the storm. One woman, for example, had been searching for hours on the streets of Brooklyn looking for shelter. When she found Sparkrelief’s number, we helped her get to a nearby shelter in a matter of minutes. Check out Sparkrelief.org for more.
AmeriCares has provided $2.2 million in aid, benefiting an estimated 300,000 people struggling in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. During a recent health fair hurricane survivors received free flu shots, dental care, diabetes screenings and blood pressure measurement. AmeriCares donated 1,000 doses of flu vaccine and medical equipment for the event at the Joseph P. Addabbo Family Health Center in Arverne, N.Y., one of the few health care providers serving the hard-hit Rockaways in the aftermath of Sandy. Right after the storm, yhe Hurricane Sandy relief team worked nonstop to ease the suffering of victims in hard-hit areas of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, delivering 107 shipments of medicines and other supplies to hard-hit communities, including first aid, 9,311 course treatments of medication including insulin and 1,600+ doses of vaccine, medical supplies, enough bottled water for 55,000 people, blankets, diapers for 8,000 babies, sleeping bags, flashlights, first-aid kits, and 470,000 individual personal hygiene and relief supplies to support the work of clinics and shelters serving the ill, injured, powerless and displaced —aid that will benefit more than 300,000 people. Plus it has given $698,000+ in funding to organizations to benefit 105,000 people in need. On December 3, it began a long-term deployment to Long Beach Hospital in Long Beach, Long Island. The group served Thanksgiving dinner for 500 survivors on Long Island at a Nassau County shelter operated by the American Red Cross, while aid shipments continued through the holiday weekend. Learn more.
International Rescue Committee (IRC) teams surveyed damage in and around Port-au-Prince, Haiti and within 24 hours of Hurricane Sandy and began distributing emergency supplies to affected families. So far the IRC has provided emergency kits with shelter materials and hygiene items to 4,200 victims of the storm and distributions continue. Learn more.
Children are among the most vulnerable during disasters and in response to Hurricane Sandy, nearly 100 professionals representing government agencies, private organizations and child care facilities gathered for the at the Child Care Emergency Preparedness Symposium in Washington, D.C., to discuss best policies and practice in preparing for the worst. Save the Children hosted the event, in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Child Care Aware of America and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). Learn more.
Episcopal Relief and Development is helping congregations in the affected areas, supporting temporary housing in Long Island and the collection and distribution of supplies in New York. In Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the organization is providing technical assistance as relief efforts expand beyond emergency aid to focus on initial rebuilding. The organization is currently supporting local partners in providing food assistance and building materials to repair wind-damaged homes. In New York and New Jersey, churches are providing food and serving as distribution and response coordination centers. They also are focused on identifying and meeting needs that may have fallen through the cracks, such as providing temporary housing for staff at a local Episcopal hospital. Learn more.
The Collegiate Church Corporation has designated $200,000 to Hurricane Sandy relief. The organization’s five ministries are engaged in hands-on recovery work in Staten Island, the Rockaways, the New Jersey shore and the East Village. They have distributed food and supplies and are now helping with clean up and rebuilding efforts. Learn more (click through to the individual ministries).
Two weeks after the hurricane hit, the American Red Cross continues to operate 32 shelters in the area. In addition to delivering relief supplies, the extensive Red Cross feeding operation in partnership with the Southern Baptist Convention continues, with kitchens and fixed feeding sites spread across New York and New Jersey. To date, more than 4.8 million meals and snacks have been served. With more than 300 emergency response vehicles circulating through the region, volunteers also continue to provide mobile distribution of water, food and supplies to affected neighborhoods. Learn more.
Quality Parks is documenting the impact of the hurricane on the beaches in the region and seeking donations to begin a 2013 Long Island Master Naturalist program, which will train volunteers in four phases of emergency management: mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. Learn more.
Philanthropy New York, along with other regional associations, is maintaining a database that tracks immediate relief efforts and long-term recovery and infrastructure rebuilding efforts. Learn more.
The Humane Society of the U.S. has answered more than 1,000 calls for pet assistance in New Jersey and New York City since the hurricane hit. It has cared for 470 pets in emergency shelters and 450 pets while owners recovered. Some 250 pets were rescued and 200 were returned to owners. It continues to operate two emergency shelters in New Jersey. Learn more
Samaritan’s Purse sent 100s of volunteers to the homes of firefighters in Island Park, New York. Because the firefighters have been working around the clock taking care of others whose homes were damaged or destroyed, they have not had time to tend to their own homes and families. Previously it mobilized 2,100 volunteers to help nearly 200 homeowners by tarping wind-damaged roofs, removing unsalvageable belongings and cleaning out debris and muck from flooded homes, ripping up ruined flooring and stripping damaged sheetrock from walls, and spraying the exposed studs with a solution that kills mold. Its focus is on helping low-income families whose homes are in low-lying areas. Chaplains also are in the area to assist. Additional Disaster Relief Units and trucks are on standby. Learn more.
Southern Baptist Disaster Relief continues feeding in New Jersey, New York, and West Virginia. This weekend, the organization managed some 8,000 volunteers for weekend relief projects. Plans are underway to bring rapid repair teams soon. Discussions continue about the possibility of bringing in college students on holiday breaks for cleanup work. Planning and logistics of such an effort are in the formative stages. Housing continues to be the biggest hurdle to volunteer engagement at this time. Learn more.
All Hands coordinates volunteers who have stepped forward from the region to help and we are on the ground to start coordinating them for service in Staten Island and Rockaway. Because of damaged infrastructure and the number of displaced families, there is no capacity to house volunteers, so the organization currently is focusing on volunteers in the local area who have transportation to and from the project sites at this time. It also is currently providing agency coordination support in New Jersey and Rhode Island. Learn more.
The Salvation Army is serving first responders and survivors at 16 shelters throughout New Jersey, and providing meals in 12 counties. In New York City, it is coordinating the city’s Food Access Plan, overseeing distribution of food and water to 17 sites in Staten Island, Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan. In Nassau County, N.Y., meals ready to eat provided by the state and 1,000 blankets provided by The Salvation Army are currently being distributed to residents of Island Park, one of the hardest hit areas. And in nearby Suffolk County, NY, The Salvation Army is working to distribute in-kind donations for Sandy survivors.Learn more.
The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) authorized $500,000 for immediate humanitarian needs, such as cash disbursements, food, shelter, clean-up kits, and basic necessities. The Jewish Federation of New York has committed up to $10 million to its relief fund and has allocated funds to the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty and to Jewish community councils. Learn more.
Feeding America has sent 150 truckloads of food and grocery products, or 4.9 million meals, to food banks supporting Hurricane Sandy disaster relief efforts. Additionally, more than $1 million has been provided by partner organizations. Learn more.
Presbyterian Church in America – Mission to North America is working closely with local church leadership to assess needs. The organization also is working through VOAD affiliations to determine specific needs. It also has mobilized volunteers to assist in Atlantic City. Learn more.
Blanton-Peale, a mental health counseling center and psychotherapy training institution, is offering a free, professionally facilitated support group for those affected by Hurricane Sandy in the tri-state New York metropolitan area to help them process reactions to the traumatic events of the past week. In addition, the organization is offering a free group for clergy and caregivers to provide support in a confidential space for these professionals to address issues that arise from providing care for individuals and communities affected by severe trauma and loss. Learn more.
The Coalition for the Homeless continues to assess the damage to shelters in the New York area. Before the hurricane, 47,000 people were staying in homeless shelters, a 20 percent increase from 2011. Many of the homeless shelters were evacuated and some that offered specialty services, such as those with HIV/AIDS, and youths, were left without heat, while at least one encountered significant flooding. Learn more.
New York Cares, an organization that mobilizes volunteers in the city year-round, kicked off its annual coat drive earlier than usual to meet needs caused by Sandy. The organization gathered coats at the Veteran’s Day Parade. Its goal is 200,000 coats this season, including 50,000 this week. Previously existing pressing needs, such as tutoring, tax prep assistance, working with special-needs population, also will need to be filled. Learn more.
CERF+ (Craft Emergency Relief Fund + Artists’ Emergency Resources) offers emergency relief to craft artists and emergency resources that benefit all artists. In response to Superstorm Sandy the organization recently launched the CERF+ Artists’ Relief Exchange in which artists can post needs and those with things or services to offer to artists can make them available. In addition, it offers grants up to $3,000 and no interest loans for craft artists who have had career-threatening emergencies. Learn more.
ASPCA has moved into the area to help pet owners cope with flooding and power outages. It has been working with shelters and evacuation centers to care for owned animals, as well coordinating animal response efforts. A hotline allows pet owners to contact the organization about any animals left behind when the family evacuated. A distribution center has been set up to distribute crates, food, litter, and other supplies for thousands of animals throughout the region. In hard-hit Rockaway, Queens, pet supplies are distributed at several points, and veterinary care is provided. ASPCA also is making grants to organizations serving animals and seeking support for Hurricane Sandy response or recovery. Learn more about these direct services and grants.
Church World Service has shipped $480,000 worth of blankets, hygiene kits, baby care, emergency cleanup kits, and school kits to New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, with more on the way. It also has launched a $100,000 appeal to provide relief in Haiti and Cuba. Learn more.
Save the Children has launched a $1 million campaign to deploy immediate relief and provide for long-term recovery programs. It also has set up play areas in shelters to help children find a sense of normalcy. With the organization’s focus on meeting the needs of children, the priorities will be restoring access to child care and other children’s services as well as helping children deal with loss. Learn more.
NECHAMA is cleaning up Hoboken, N.J.’s community center, which is normally used for youth sports and seniors programs. It also serves as an Election Day polling place. The organization also is at work cleaning up a food pantry that was damaged by floods and a synagogue which must be cleaned before power can be restored. Learn more.
Red Cross/Red Crescent in Haiti has launched a $2.3 million appeal to replenish food supplies damaged by the storm. The fund will provide assistance to 7,000 Haitian families for nine months. It is independent of ongoing earthquake and recovery programs. Learn more.
World Vision is assessing needs after the recent Nor’Easter, deploying teams to hard-hit areas.Blankets, hygiene kits, family food kits, and other supplies will be sent out in response to the needs in those areas. It also is contacting partners throughout the region to determine if additional needs have arisen. Learn more.
Operation Blessing International has deployed its mobile kitchens and construction trailers to the Northeast, where it can provide hot meals, water, debris clean up and other emergency relief to affected residents. It currently is working in Ocean County, N.J. and will set up a volunteer operations center on Saturday to organize large numbers of volunteers. It also is distributing food and water in Manhattan. Learn more.
Aidmatrix has been working to get the impacted communities’ needs captured and listed on The National Donations Management Network. Learn more.
Islamic Relief USA is working in conjunction with FEMA and the Red Cross to provide assistance. It also has teamed up with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to provide clean up in three hard-hit communities. Learn more.
Medical Reserve Corps has activated 25 units and they are supporting local and state shelters, special needs registries, and call centers. The organization has 525 volunteers working the area and many more units on standby. Learn more.
International Medical Corps is focusing its efforts on the Caribbean and Haiti while it assesses whether there are unmet needs in the United States. The organization has mobilized additional emergency response teams to join its staff of 50 in Haiti. It also is serving the needs of the estimated 200,000 who were left homeless by the storm, and an additional 370,000 people still living in shelter and tent camps after the 2010 earthquake. It has opened two additional mobile medical units in Haiti, addressing primary health care needs and increased cholera cases. It estimates there are 10,000 internally displaced persons staying in shelters. The organization also is raising a flag about concerns over food insecurity, with damage to agriculture, livestock, and fisheries throughout the country. Learn more.
World Renew, the disaster relief arm of the Christian Reformed Church, is at work in Schoharie, N.Y., where it has been since the community sustained significant damage in Hurricane Irene. It has made a long-term commitment to helping the community recover from storms. Additional rapid response teams are in the region, ready to work on clearing downed trees and covering damaged roofs as soon as it is safe to do so. Learn more.
Hands on Network, an enterprise of Points of Light, has begun registering volunteers to respond to the disaster; already volunteers are supporting the American Red Cross and United Way’s 211 services. Learn more.
Catholic Charities USA is working with its local agencies to assess needs that Hurricane Sandy may create in their communities and has begun to provide immediate services. It estimates that 50 of its local agencies will provide direct relief. Learn more.
National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters (NVOAD) is working with state VOAD members and helping to coordinate on a regional, multi-state level. The organization also has posted two resource papers on its website, on providing food to infants and children in a disaster, and promoting the Disaster Distress Hotline. Learn more.

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