Months after a series of three catastrophic hurricanes hit Houston, Miami, and Puerto Rico, the regions are still coping with the destruction that closed schools and universities, and displaced students and their families. In response to the ongoing recovery efforts, Carnegie Corporation of New York is joining other U.S. foundations in providing relief funding and will donate $1.5 million to help communities affected by the disasters.
In partnership with the Miami-based John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Corporation has allocated $150,000 to support displaced Caribbean students continuing their studies at St. Thomas University. Other Miami-area universities receiving support:
- Miami Dade College, $150,000
- Florida International University, $200,000
In October, St. Thomas opened its doors to Caribbean students affected by the hurricanes and offered free room and board for the Fall 2017 and Spring 2018 semesters. Currently the University has 90 students taking advantage of the opportunity.
“We are very grateful to the Carnegie Corporation of New York for its support of displaced students,” said Msgr. Franklyn Casale, president of St. Thomas University. “It’s important that these students continue their higher education uninterrupted, and we are committed to helping them as much as possible.”
In Puerto Rico, Carnegie Corporation of New York is donating:
- $150,000 to Unidos por Puerto Rico, an emergency response initiative established by the First Lady of Puerto Rico, Beatriz Rosselló
- $150,000 to the Puerto Rico Community Foundation
- $150,000 to the American University of Puerto Rico
In addition, the Corporation has allocated $250,000 for Equal Justice Works to deploy a corps of attorneys, called Disaster Recovery Fellows, to aid those impacted by the hurricanes in Texas and South Florida. The Corporation has also earmarked $300,000 for DonorsChoose.org to assist Houston-area schools. DonorsChoose.org is a crowdfunding platform that engages the public in funding classroom projects, particularly in low-income areas.
“Carnegie Corporation of New York has a history of responding to disasters at home and abroad, including the September 11 attacks, Hurricane Katrina, and the 2010 earthquake in Haiti,” said Vartan Gregorian, President of the Corporation. “We are now proud to partner with the Knight Foundation and its President, Alberto Ibargüen, and to join many of our sister foundations in responding to the aftermath of the hurricanes that hit Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico last fall. Given the Corporation’s focus on the advancement of education, much of our support aims to assist schools and universities in responding to and recovering from the damage wrought by these disasters.”
The Knight Foundation has committed $2.5 million in disaster relief. The damage and lost productivity from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria have stamped 2017 as the most expensive hurricane season in U.S. history, totaling more than $200 billion in losses according to a report by Bloomberg News.
