The Foundation for the Mid South has established the Hurricane Recovery and Restoration Fund to benefit those impacted by the disaster and the forthcoming recovery efforts. The Fund, which will grant in several different phases and categories, aims to aid nonprofit organizations working to rebuild the lives and communities of those affected by the disaster. Need does not begin and end at the Gulf Coast; communities throughout the Mid South are affected by the influx of hundreds of thousands of evacuees who fled to seek safety from the storm. In fact, communities as far as northern Arkansas are desperate for aid, as the state has the highest number of evacuees after Texas.

The Foundation for the Mid South is committed to the long-term issues of building equitable communities that include and care for all of its citizens. The disaster is making hundreds of millions of dollars of private and philanthropic funds and billions of dollars of government support available to the region. The end result must not be the establishment of communities of exclusion, of institutionalized poverty, and of ignored racism. A risk of this outpouring of emotion and financial support is that, if spent unwisely, an opportunity to change the way our region includes and cares for all of its people will be lost.

>>> FMS Strategies for the Recovery Effort:
How FMS intends to work

In the wake of this unprecedented disaster, several opportunities are available to the people of the region - especially in the often overlooked rural communities and the faith-based community - and those who care deeply about its future. This is an opportunity to create a new Mid South that works for everyone - not one that limits opportunity based on race, gender, or geography. This is an opportunity for a relatively small regional nonprofit sector to make a huge difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands of people - especially those who are most vulnerable and who have the least ability to provide for themselves - and to change the way we work together. And this is a time for all Mid Southerners to realize that pervasive and persistent poverty diminishes the quality of life of ALL of us - not just during a time of crisis, but every single day.

Tax deductible contributions can be made online at the link above, or they can be sent to:

Hurricane Recovery and Restoration Fund
Foundation for the Mid South
134 East Amite Street
Jackson, MS 39201

Make checks payable to the FMS / Hurricane
Recovery and Restoration Fund

To donate by phone, call 1-888-355-8168
or 1-601-355-8167