FreshMinistries recieves grant from Marguerite Casey Foundation to help Hurricane Katrina families in Jacksonville

FreshMinistries has been named the recipient of a $50,000 grant for support of its work to help survivors of Hurricane Katrina.

The grant was made because the FreshMinistries program, Women to the Rescue, is a model being replicated in other communities and has become a movement.

Women to the Rescue engages community leaders and everyday citizens in becoming active in relief and recovery work, concentrating their efforts on areas where they can be helpful and where they have competencies.

The model uses a virtual warehouse to identify available items and help in the distribution of those items to people recovering from disasters.

Founded immediately following Hurricane Katrina, the model is now being used in five other Florida counties, with the help of the Florida Hurricane Relief Fund, managed by Volunteer Florida Foundation. Other start-ups are on the horizon.

“We are working with civilians who are not able to travel to hurricane struck areas, but who can bring a great deal of value to the effort to assist impacted families,” said Suzanne Yack, co-founder and program director.

The Marguerite Casey Foundation “enhances the effectiveness and collective capacity of community-based organizations advocating for social change, and it is committed to connecting these organizations and their diverse constituencies within and across regions and disciplines for movement building.”

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