Image by Twitter

In response to Hurricane Harvey devastating Houston, the greater southeast Texas and parts of Louisiana, the New York Police Department’s District 3 teamed up with Jewish community organization Amudim, the grocery store Seasons Kosher and other local Jewish organizations to send aid and supplies to where they’re needed most.

As District 3 collected funds internally to send to relief efforts, several NYPD officers went to Costco and spent over $500 on batteries, flashlights, feminine hygiene products and other items to send down to Texas.

Members of District 3 & our Anti-Terrorism Unit are some of many who’ve organized donations for #HurricaneHarveyRelief Let’s keep it going! pic.twitter.com/uxvn1Zds2E

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

— Chief Joseph Fox (@NYPDTransit) August 31, 2017

After struggling with how to get the supplies to Houston, the officer contacted the Chabad there. It pointed him toward Amudim, whose mission is to “[support] community members facing all facets of crisis: from crisis prevention, to intervention, to assistance of those trying to correct the course of their lives,” making assisting Harvey victims a clear fit for the organization.

Amudim volunteered to send a convoy of trucks to Houston, and put out the call for supplies on Facebook:

Teaming up with Seasons Kosher, the Orthodox Union, Achiezer Community Resource Center and Evergreen Kosher Market, Amudim set up three collection periods on August 31, September 1 and September 3 at Seasons Kosher locations in New York, New Jersey and Maryland where people could drop off supplies. In all, 20 tractor trailers made their way to Houston, packed by over 200 volunteers.

Image by Amudim

As Hurricanes Irma and Jose continue to wreak destruction on the Caribbean and parts of the continental United States, it’s important to remember that hurricane season is far from over, and the relief work has just begun.

Deborah Krieger is a curatorial assistant and freelance arts and culture writer. She had written for The Awl, Bust Magazine, PopMatters, Paste Magazine, Whitehot Magazine, and blogs at I On The Arts.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount