Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS has announced that it is providing $400,000 in immediate emergency funds to support organizations working within communities devastated by Hurricanes Irma and Maria.
Organizations in Florida and Puerto Rico have been named as recipients of the latest round of grants, which follow $175,000 in emergency relief funds that BC/EFA awarded in Texas after Hurricane Harvey.
Broadway Cares is providing a $200,000 grant to the Hispanic Federation; $50,000 to Feeding South Florida; $50,000 to Feeding Tampa Bay; and $100,000 to entertainment industry and performing arts professionals across Florida and Puerto Rico through The Actors Fund.
“With this paralyzing devastation caused by natural disasters over the past several weeks, the Broadway community has been among the first to offer support and a helping hand up,” Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS Executive Director Tom Viola said in a statement. “We’re proud to act on behalf of the theatre community to fund immediate, on-the-ground assistance to communities desperate for relief from these catastrophic tragedies.”
“I am incredibly grateful to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS for their swift and generous response to the desperate situation faced by my people of Puerto Rico,” said Luis Miranda Jr., founding president of the Hispanic Federation. “Through my son, Lin-Manuel, I have gotten to know this fantastic Broadway community, where everyone is brought into the family in the spirit of teamwork and support. This grant to the Hispanic Federation’s relief effort will make an incredible impact, here at the start of what will be a long journey to recovery.”
“These grants would not be possible without the tireless efforts and endless support from the Broadway community and Broadway Cares supporters,” Viola added. “Every ticket purchased to one of our events and every vintage Playbill bought at the Flea Market is making a real, tangible difference in the lives of those who need it most. As Broadway, Off-Broadway and national touring productions head into our fall fundraising efforts next month, we’ll continue to look for ways to augment these recovery efforts in Puerto Rico, Florida and Texas.”
Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is one of the nation’s leading industry-based, nonprofit AIDS fundraising and grant-making organizations. By drawing upon the talents, resources, and generosity of the American theatre community, since 1988 Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS has raised more than $285 million for essential services for people with AIDS and other critical illnesses across the United States.
For more information, please visit Broadway Cares online at broadwaycares.org.
