The Town of Palm Beach United Way has established the Nepal Recovery Fund to provide critical emergency relief to communities devastated by catastrophic flooding and an avalanche in Nepal.
On August 26, a massive glacial collapse in the Himalayas triggered an avalanche of rock and ice, sending destructive floods and mudslides through communities along the Nepal-China border. More than 1,000 people have died and approximately 4,000 remain missing, while homes, roads, bridges, power facilities and entire communities have been destroyed. Rescue and relief efforts continue, particularly in remote areas that remain difficult to reach.
Dollar-for-Dollar Match
Your gift can make twice the impact. The Cathleen McFarlane Foundation has generously committed a $100,000 dollar-for-dollar matching gift to launch the Nepal Recovery Fund.
Every dollar you give will be matched, up to $100,000, helping provide immediate relief through trusted emergency response organizations including Americares, Convoy of Hope, Global Empowerment Mission and World Central Kitchen.
Give today and help our community reach twice as many people in Nepal with critical relief when they need it most.
Fund Distributions
The Nepal Recovery Fund is supporting trusted emergency relief organizations with teams on the ground responding to the devastating flooding and avalanche in Nepal. These experienced partners are providing critical assistance to communities in need, including food, clean water, medical care, emergency supplies, shelter and other essential resources. The Town of Palm Beach United Way will continue to work with established relief partners to help address the most urgent needs as the response evolves.
Americares has deployed assessment personnel to Nepal. The team will engage with local partners, health organizations, government authorities and other response actors in Kathmandu to assess the most urgent health and humanitarian gaps and ensure resources are directed where they can have the greatest impact. The scope of Americares support will continue to evolve as assessments are completed, partner requests are received and government priorities become clearer.
Americares will work to:
- Identify and address priority health and humanitarian needs through rapid assessments, consultation with local partners and coordination with government authorities and other response actors.
- Support the continuity and restoration of essential health services for injured, displaced and underserved populations, particularly where access to care has been disrupted.
- Increase access to essential medicines, medical supplies and other health commodities based on verified requests and needs identified by health facilities and local partners.
- Strengthen trusted local partners through flexible emergency funding, technical assistance and operational support, enabling locally led organizations to respond quickly and effectively.
- Reduce risks related to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and communicable disease in affected communities, health facilities and displacement settings.
- Address mental health and psychosocial support needs among survivors, families, health workers and first responders.
- Lay the foundation for locally led recovery by supporting the restoration and strengthening of damaged or disrupted health services and building greater resilience to future emergencies.
Americares has extensive experience supporting recovery efforts in Nepal. Following the devastating 2015 earthquake, Americares provided more than $27 million in aid to help meet survivors' immediate and long-term health needs, including emergency relief, health facility reconstruction, mental health services and health system strengthening.
More recently, Americares responded to the 2023 western Nepal earthquake, supporting local partners providing food, relief supplies, mental health support, tents, blankets and other assistance for affected communities. This history, combined with Americares experience responding to floods and other disasters across South Asia, positions the organization to rapidly assess needs, support local partners and help communities recover from this crisis.
Convoy of Hope has teams on the ground in the Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts of Nepal distributing essentials for immediate relief — blankets, sheltering supplies, shelf-stable food, fortified milk for children, clean drinking water, solar chargers, and personal hygiene kits. The agency is working with existing church partners and local government. Items are being purchased locally or regionally to ensure rapid distribution, with the supply chain team working to backfill supplies and send via freight.
Global Empowerment Mission (GEM) USA and GEM Asia teams have established a base camp in Nepal to navigate damaged infrastructure and deliver critical aid to isolated communities. Multiple humanitarian cargo flights are departing from the GEM headquarters in Miami and the GEM Europe branch in Warsaw, Poland, delivering over $1 million in emergency shelter materials and medical aid. Ground trucks are then moving the supplies from the base camp into the hardest hit regions. GEM is coordinating directly with the Government of Nepal, the U.S. Department of State, and local leaders to manage logistics on the ground.
In partnership with Nepal Peace Scouts, GEM has stepped in to care for 40 newly orphaned children. Nepal Peace Scouts is a respected 67-year-old Nepalese organization with over 1,000 volunteers and deep roots in communities across the country. Together, the organizations are ensuring children receive a new safe home, nutritious food, clothing, and daily care for the next six months.
Teams will remain on the ground for as long as needed, adapting to the severity and evolving needs of this disaster.
World Central Kitchen’s team is on the ground in Nepal responding to the disaster.
The response so far:
- Served 1,700 meals in the past two days, focused on Nuwakot province
- Partnered with local restaurants in Kathmandu to help supply meals
- Formed a new partnership with Nepal Scouts, a 100,000+ member community service organization — within hours of meeting, WCK had kitchen equipment and bulk food en route to Nuwakot to stand up community kitchens
- Partnering with the Community Self Reliance Center to support a kitchen in hard-hit Rasuwa
- Actively working in the Gerkhu region, where a community kitchen is set to launch soon
With roads damaged and connectivity cut off across many of the hardest-hit areas, reaching affected communities remains a serious challenge. WCK’s local partners — who know these communities and have people on the ground — are the foundation of this response. As search and rescue continues, WCK will keep expanding kitchen capacity and meal distribution alongside them.
Ways to Donate
Check
Make check payable to Town of Palm Beach United Way
with Nepal Fund in the memo and mail to:
44 Cocoanut Row, Suite M201
Palm Beach, FL 33480
Phone
Call 561-655-1919
Online
Click the link below.
