Sarasota’s Patterson Foundation donating $250,000 for rebuilding after Dorian

Sep. 11--Joining a host of people and organizations responding to the tragic devastation in the Bahamas, Sarasota's The Patterson Foundation has committed $250,000 to the Center for Disaster Philanthropy's 2019 Atlantic Hurricane Season Recovery Fund.

The foundation said the gift will strengthen CDP's support for medium- and long-term recovery efforts in the regions affected by Hurricane Dorian and catalyze additional donations.

Hurricane Dorian made its initial landfall on the island of Great Abaco as a Category 5 hurricane, the strongest storm on record to hit the Bahamas. Dorian caused devastation across the island and on Grand Bahama Island. Dorian is the strongest storm to hit the Atlantic Ocean this hurricane season, prompting mandatory evacuations and causing flooding, power outages and other damage along the East Coast of the United States.

While relief efforts address the immediate needs following a disaster, recovery efforts focus on improving individual, family and community resiliency after the event. Recovery can include restoration of structures, systems and services while helping individuals and families rebound from their losses and sustain their physical, social, economic, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being, Patterson said.

Disaster-recovery costs are expected to rise as officials continue assessing the damage, and donations typically decline following the immediate aftermath of a disaster -- leaving important recovery projects underfunded, the foundation said.

"Emergency needs are critical, but those whose lives have been impacted by Hurricane Dorian are going to need help beyond immediate disaster-relief efforts to fully recover," Patterson's president and CEO Debra Jacobs said Wednesday. "The Center for Disaster Philanthropy has continuously exhibited the expertise needed to address the various challenges these affected regions may face long term."

CDP focuses on increasing donor impact throughout the full life cycle of disasters by providing educational and informational services, consulting expertise to foundations and corporations, and collaboration opportunities for donors. The CDP 2019 Atlantic Hurricane Season Recovery Fund will allow donors who are interested in contributing to disaster-relief and recovery efforts to give proactively, ensuring a more solidified medium- and long-term response.

Since 2012, The Patterson Foundation has contributed more than $3.75 million to CDP to support efforts for major disasters such as Hurricane Harvey and the global refugee crisis. This latest gift is an effort to catalyze additional donations from other donors monitoring damages caused by Hurricane Dorian.

"We are grateful that in the face of major disasters, The Patterson Foundation is consistently a leader in committing to significant gifts that will help in recovery efforts for those whose lives have been devastated," Robert G. Ottenhoff, president and CEO of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, said in a statement. "It is our hope that their generosity will inspire others in the philanthropic community to give generously as well because recovery from Hurricane Dorian will be a long process that will require sustained investment."

The center's webiste is disasterphilanthropy.org, while Patterson's is thepattersonfoundation.org.

___

(c)2019 Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Fla.

Visit Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Fla. at www.heraldtribune.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.