As the world comes together to help end the outbreak of Ebola virus in West Africa, the Combined Fund Drive is doing its part. From now until the end of the 2014 Annual Giving Campaign, state and higher education employees are invited to give through their paychecks to any of the charities that have been identified as being in the regions most affected by this debilitating virus.
Simply check out any of the charities below and select the gift amount that you would like to give today and you will become a part of making a difference in West Africa.
Global Impact is one of the leading international relief organizations in the world, assisting dozens of charities in critical disaster areas. Global Impact has worked with the CFD to create the Ebola Crisis Fund, which works with multiple charities working directly to contain the Ebola outbreak and eliminate the burden.
If you give to this fund, your money will go toward one or all of the following charities in the region*:
*Global Impact works with each charity on the ground to determine the greatest need and disburses funding to those organizations.
In September the Red Cross opened its first Ebola treatment center in Kenema Sierra Leone, where more than 2,300 Ebola cases have been confirmed, to relieve pressure on the local government hospital. On October 1st, the first patients were released from the 60 bed treatment center.
Catholic Relief Services is working around the clock to stem the deadly outbreak of the virus by educating people about how it is spread so they can avoid becoming infected.
Without a vaccine or cure,“prevention is the only way to end the outbreak, and this requires significant public education on a local level,” says Meredith Dyson, a CRS health program manager in Sierra Leone.
Samaritan’s Purse is aggressively responding in Liberia, where we have had a country office for more than a decade, by establishing and managing Community Care Centers in areas hit hard by the disease.
Other Samaritan’s Purse public health initiatives in the country include caregiver training and kit distribution, as well as a massive public education campaign focused on infection prevention and control.
The Combined Fund Drive understands that many calls will be made for monetary donations during relief campaigns, so please give, but give wisely. For more resources about the charities involved in any disaster relief campaign, please visit any of the organizations below:
Combined Fund Drive Disaster Relief Special Campaign Policy:
The Washington State Combined Fund Drive knows that when disasters strike, help is needed and the CFD will always provide an avenue for our donors to give during any time of need. The process we use to determine what charities may participate in a disaster relief campaign are as follows:
CFD staff send an email to every single active member charity in the CFD program asking who is providing services and goods to the disaster relief efforts and give 24 hours for charities to respond to our request;
Once the 24-hour time period has elapsed, the CFD verifies that the charities who have responded to our request are members of the CFD with a current/active status at the IRS and Office of the Secretary of State Charities Division and launches the disaster relief campaign;
Any charity that responds after the initial 24-hour period is still eligible to participate in a disaster relief campaign if they meet the required qualifications;
Proof of charity involvement in disaster relief zones must be provided to the CFD; Proof can come in the form of press releases, statements, verification through news vendors or other means;
The Combined Fund Drive is not a policing agency and has no means to verify that charities involved in any disaster relief campaign are providing the services and goods they have stated they are providing. Charity participation in a disaster relief campaign is not an endorsement on behalf of the CFD. The Combined Fund Drive reserves the right to eliminate any charity from disaster relief campaigns if it is discovered that they are not providing services specific to the disaster relief effort.