Dear AFT colleague:
Most of us cannot imagine the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Thousands of AFT members, mostly teachers and school support personnel, are among the hundreds of thousands of working families who have lost their homes and most of their belongings.
The immediate needs for rescue, safe drinking water, shelter and food are staggering. But the longer-term needs—caring for the injured, rebuilding neighborhoods and schools, helping people put their lives back together—are hard to imagine.
Those of us fortunate to be outside the hurricane's path must help—and we must help now. The AFL-CIO's Union Community Fund has established a special Hurricane Relief Fund that will target help where it's needed most by working families. We are working with the labor federations in affected states and with relief organizations to make sure there is money available to help our fellow members and other working families whose lives have been turned upside down. Please click on the link below to make your tax-deductible contribution now:
Please give, and please give generously. We must match this human disaster with our compassion, and match our caring with contributions that will make a difference for traumatized working families now and during the long rebuilding process.
Caring about each other is what marks us as union members and working family activists. Let’s put our values to work right now.
Please act now. And forward the link below to urge
others you know to contribute as well:
Thank you for doing your part for working families during this national tragedy.
In solidarity,
Edward J. McElroy
President, AFT
P.S. Please forward this e-mail to your co-workers, friends and family.
The Union Community Fund—labor’s charity for working families and communities in distress—is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) public charity. Donations to the Union Community Fund are tax-deductible to the extent provided by law.
Visit AFT’s Web site at http://www.aft.org for updates on assistance efforts, including volunteer opportunities.