Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS announced on Nov. 7 that it would supply $1.5 million in emergency grants to support food service organizations around the U.S. The Broadway nonprofit has also pledged $100,000 to two charities responding to those affected by Hurricane Melissa.
The $1.5 million in grants will be distributed to 148 food pantries, meal delivery services and congregate meal programs that are already a part of Broadway Cares’ National Grants Program. These groups received a combined $2.9 million earlier this year, but these one-time emergency grants offer additional support.
“The organizations we support across the country were already stretched thin from budget cuts and lost funding,” said Danny Whitman, executive director of Broadway Cares, in a statement. “Thanks to the generosity of our theater community — those onstage, backstage and in the audience — these emergency grants will immediately provide warm, nutritious meals to countless individuals and families in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.”
Additionally, Broadway Cares has targeted two organizations to support their relief efforts related to Hurricane Melissa, a category five storm which hit Jamaica, Haiti and Cuba with torrential rain, destructive winds and catastrophic flooding last week. World Central Kitchen, founded by chef José Andrés, and World Food Programs USA, a United States-based partner of the United Nations’ World Food Programme, will receive funds.
As Broadway Cares noted in a statement, “Entire communities were submerged, with homes, schools, hospitals and agricultural fields severely damaged or destroyed. Widespread power outages and impassable roads have hampered relief efforts, leaving thousands displaced across the Caribbean.”
Robert E. Wankel, president of the Broadway Cares Board of Trustees and chairman and CEO of the Shubert Organization, said in part in a statement: “The theater community has always met crises with care, ensuring hope reaches those who need it most.”
Broadway Cares is the leading philanthropic organization of the Broadway community. Since 1988, they have awarded more than $300 million for essential services for people with HIV/AIDS and other critical illnesses across the United States and provided financial assistance to charitable organizations through its National Grants Program.
