Burgundy Community,

As you are most likely aware, the hurricane damage on the islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama was devastating. Because of our relationship with the Island School on the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas as well as with its neighboring settlement of Deep Creek, members of our community have asked how they can support relief efforts in the Bahamas.

First, we can report that Eleuthera was not in the direct path of Dorian and was spared most of the storm damage. However, on the Bahamian islands, everyone is related to or knows someone who was affected by the storm, particularly the poor and immigrant communities. In this way, our friends’ community was indeed deeply affected.

For those who are looking to find reliable agencies through which to direct their relief contributions, here is a statement posted on The Island School Facebook page a few days after the storm:

Thank you to everyone who has reached out in the past few days. Hurricane Dorian is passing north of Eleuthera and we have only experienced heavy winds and rain on the cape. While we are fortunate to not experience hurricane-force winds with this storm, please keep our friends and colleagues in Abaco, Grand Bahama, Bimini and neighboring keys in your thoughts.

The Island School is supporting HeadKnowles, a grassroots Bahamian organization that is coordinating hurricane relief efforts for a number of Bahamian NGOs. They have a proven track record with allocating relief aid to affected areas fast. If you would like to support relief efforts, you can check out HeadKnowles’ GoFundMe page here.