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04/20/2015

Lutheran Disaster Response receives $300,000 grant for New Jersey hurricane relief

CHICAGO (ELCA) – Lutheran Disaster Response has been awarded a $300,000 grant from the American Red Cross to assist people impacted by Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey. Lutheran Disaster Response is the disaster response ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

The grant is an addition to a previous Red Cross grant of approximately $1.9 million to assist in Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts in New Jersey, New York and Maryland. This supplemental grant will be sent by Lutheran Disaster Response to its affiliate in New Jersey, Lutheran Social Ministries of New Jersey.

“Lutheran Disaster Response is pleased to continue the partnership with the American Red Cross as we assist the people of New Jersey who are recovering from Hurricane Sandy,” said the Rev. Michael Stadie, program director of Lutheran Disaster Response. “Lutheran Social Ministries of New Jersey has done an excellent job of serving the people of their state, and this grant will allow them to serve even more people.”

The funds will be used in Monmouth, Ocean and Essex counties to help 116 families that have been identified by the unmet needs committees of local long-term recovery groups. Providing for unmet needs is a part of Lutheran Disaster Response’s long-term recovery core component. Following disasters, people who have been affected often have needs that are not able to be met for a variety of reasons. Grants like these allow Lutheran Disaster Response affiliates to provide these people financial assistance and in-kind donations, such as furniture or appliances.

Hurricane Sandy caused some $36.8 billion in damage in New Jersey, and Lutheran Social Ministries of New Jersey has been responding since the storm hit the East Coast in 2012. The supplemental grant will last through 2015 and will further recovery efforts and increase the number of families that Lutheran Social Ministries of New Jersey is able to serve.

“Lutheran Social Ministries of New Jersey is so grateful to have partners like Lutheran Disaster Response and the American Red Cross,” said Beth Gebhart, executive director of fund development and the Lutheran Social Ministries of New Jersey Foundation. “If not for the strength they bring, we would not be able to help so many New Jersey residents. While we have had success in getting people back in their homes, so many more people from New Jersey are in need of a helping hand. The impact from this recent grant will be felt across counties in New Jersey.”

Lutheran Disaster Response has a long history of responding to disasters, both domestically and internationally. With a focus on long-term recovery, it is committed to working with the local communities impacted by disasters, accompanying them and providing assistance as they navigate their way through recovery.

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