Dear Friends,
When we started Penny Appeal USA, we committed ourselves to furthering the cause of domestic services and sustainable development. And we’re still committed to that mission and vision. But every once in a while, an organization is tested by the bounds of its ethical responsibilities to those it seeks to serve. And in the past few weeks, we’ve been toiling hard to figure out how best to approach two major climate disasters that have wrecked havoc on our neighbors, supporters, friends and family.
Each of us at Penny Appeal USA has a connection to Texas and Florida. Supporters in Texas took a chance on our organization when they decided to support our campaigns over the past year without having met our staff. Florida is home to our Fund Development Manager and our first remote office in Tampa. Each of these communities have given so much to our organization and we feel a tremendous sense of responsibility to protect and serve them.
When we state “Welcome to the Penny Appeal family†to our donors and volunteers, we mean it. We’re not an organization that’s too large to fight for the needs of our Penny Appeal family. And that flexibility and nimbleness is what has driven us to the decision to commit ourselves to providing domestic relief services to the victims of both Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. We’re here for our family.
We understand that many of you supported our organization due to our commitment to domestic programs and sustainable development. Nothing has changed. We aim to couple our Hurricanes Harvey and Irma relief programs with post-relief development efforts. We’ve already started work on de-mucking in Houston with some of our local partners after delivering supplies and much-needed relief aid. As time goes one, we hope that you’ll continue to support our development efforts to help rebuild the communities that have been affected by Harvey and Irma.
To truly understand what we mean by “familyâ€, consider that it was many of our supporters and donors in Tampa who asked us to run a campaign for Hurricane Harvey victims. They raised funds, collected supplies, and drove two 22-foot trailers to Houston to deliver aid to those in need. That was our family coming together.
Thank you for the trust you’ve placed in our organization and the entire Penny Appeal family. We look forward to your continued support, and will continue to provide avenues for open communication. If you should have any questions about any of our current programs or our relief efforts, please give us a call at (202) 851-2112 to speak to one of our staff members.
In gratitude,
Oussama Mezoui
President & CEO
Penny Appeal USA
