Disaster Relief has been a part of the B'nai B'rith International (BBI) agenda since soon after its founding. It first raised funds to assist victims of a Baltimore flood in the mid-1800s. Its first international assistance project provided funds to Moses Montefiore in 1865 to assist victims of a cholera epidemic in what was then Palestine. As disasters — natural and manmade — struck in the United States and around the globe, B'nai B'rith raised funds and distributed them to those affected by the San Francisco Earthquake, the Chicago Fire, and the Galveston, Texas, Flood.
Today, BBI continues to launch aid efforts around the globe. The December, 2004, the tsunami in Asia caused indescribable loss and destruction. The B'nai B'rith Disaster Relief Fund contributed nearly $1 million to help meet immediate needs and address long-term rebuilding of lives and livelihoods.
Eight months later, the Gulf Coast of the United States was devastated by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Through its B'nai B'rith Gulf Coast Hurricane Relief Fund, B'nai B'rith raised more than $1.1 million to assist the victims of these deadly storms. Funding continues for emergency supplies, food, and medicine as well as for local support projects to help families hit by these disasters, including a Habitat for Humanity house (see photo above).
Israeli victims, evacuees, and soldiers fighting the Hezbollah bombings of 2006 received items, from air conditioners to computers, to indoor gym equipment and books, to make the frightening times more bearable. From Chad to Sri Lanka to Peru to New Orleans, the B'nai B'rith Disaster Relief Fund is there when catastrophe strikes and there to rebuild to the end.
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