Catholic Charities USA launches Hurricane Milton relief fund

Gina Christian, OSV News
10/11/2024

Members of the Polk County Sheriff's Office pray outside a
shelter in Lakeland, Fla., as Hurricane Milton approached
Oct. 9, 2024. As the powerful hurricane charged through the
Gulf of Mexico toward Florida that day, officials said time was
running out for people to evacuate — and the odds of survival
were bleak for holdouts determined to stay.
*OSV News photo/Jose Luis Gonzalez, Reuters*

(OSV News) — As Hurricane Milton takes aim at Florida just days after Hurricane Helene, Catholic Charities USA has launched a dedicated disaster relief donation campaign.

CCUSA, the official domestic relief agency of the Catholic Church in the U.S. and a member of Caritas Internationalis, the church's global network of humanitarian outreaches, announced the fund Oct. 9, as the Category 4 Milton churned across the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida with maximum sustained winds of 130 miles per hour. Milton fluctuated in intensity and was rated a Category 5 twice, but it dipped to Category 3 by landfall. Milton made landfall on Florida's Gulf Coast earlier than expected the evening of Oct. 9, according to the National Hurricane Center. Record-breaking amounts of rainfall, along with tornadoes, complicated the situation which included massive and widespread power outages.

Donations to the CCUSA relief fund can be made on the agency's website at www.ccusa.online/milton; by texting MILTON to 20406; or by mailing checks to CCUSA at 2050 Ballenger Ave, Suite 400, Alexandria, Virginia, 22314. Information about additional ways to give can be obtained by contacting CCUSA at (800) 919-9338 or donations@catholiccharitiesusa.org. A link to the site also can be found on the homepage of the diocesan website at www.ErieRCD.org.

Much of Florida remains in recovery mode as a result of the devastation of two major hurricanes, Helene and Milton, in a 13-day period. At least 227 deaths from Hurricane Helene have been reported; another 14 are confirmed from Hurricane Milton, with that figure expected to rise.

In its Oct. 9 announcement, CCUSA said that "one hundred percent of all funds raised will be allocated to local Catholic Charities agencies, which will provide critical relief — including shelter, food and other humanitarian aid — to displaced and suffering members of their communities."

Said CCUSA president and CEO Kerry Alys Robinson: "Our brothers and sisters urgently need our prayers and our support as Hurricane Milton brings life-threatening conditions to Florida communities, some of which are still reeling from Hurricane Helene,"

Gina Christian is a multimedia reporter for OSV News. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) @GinaJesseReina