Hurricane Irma Recovery Efforts Initiated for Eastern Caribbean
As news outlets have widely publicized, Macario Advantage’s home base in southeast Texas suffered catastrophic wind damage and flooding from Tropical Storm Harvey. Much of the region was still under water when, tragically, some of the eastern Caribbean islands were flattened by 150 mph wind from Hurricane Irma. These devastated islands are within the geographic area served by Macario Advantage.
Macario Advantage’s main mission is to promote community development, but under the circumstances faced in 2017, we believe that our time and resources are best utilized in supporting disaster recovery efforts. If you have goods that can be utilized to help these islanders, many of whom are far too poor to achieve recovery of homes and small businesses on their own, please let us know ([email protected]). We are putting plans together to ship one or more ocean freight containers to the affected region and personally oversee the distribution of the goods so that they get into the hands of those that are most needy.
Macario Advantage is leveraging its previous contacts in the affected islands to best understand what is most needed in each location. This information will be shared with everyone who contributes.
FUNDRAISING
Because of the impact of Tropical Storm Harvey, the Board of Directors of Macario Advantage has decided to suspend fundraising in southeast Texas so that charitable donors in our home area can focus their resources in local recovery efforts. This decision, of course, has a very detrimental impact on the planned projects for 2018.
Instead, Macario Advantage strongly requests monetary donations that will allow it to purchase, ship and deliver much-needed basic living items to the most heavily impacted islanders. We ask every reader to go to www.macarioadvantage.org/donate and contribute as much as you can to aid these desperate people. The Donation page on our web site provides for amounts starting at $25, but if you can donate $100 or more, it will be greatly appreciated by the recipients of our aid. Know that your money is going to help the islanders affected by Hurricane Irma. No funds donated to Macario Advantage go to salaries, living or travel expenses. We will put all donations to Macario Advantage directly to work in this disaster recovery effort. Details of where, and on what, donations are spent will be shared with all donors.
Macario Advantage is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization under US IRS rules, meaning that all US citizens can claim a tax credit for all donations to Macario Advantage.