Join TPG and Red Ventures in Donating to Help Puerto Rico
Click here to donate to our fellow citizens in Puerto Rico who desperately need our help.
Last week, Hurricane Maria left the island of Puerto Rico completely devastated — the storm knocked out the island's fragile power grid, and electricity has not come back for the vast majority of people. It's hard to put into words the magnitude of the damage to the US territory in the Caribbean.
Since the entire power and telecommunications grid was knocked out, residents on the island had no way of contacting family and friends on the mainland US — and the recovery effort got off to a slow start. Now, however, various organizations, government agencies and the military are mobilizing to get vital supplies and support to the island, as the situation is becoming more dire by the minute. Thousands of people — in a territory with 3.5 million US citizens — are at serious risk of losing their life.
You can help in this effort, too. The Points Guy's soon-to-be parent company, Red Ventures, which on July 3 announced its intention to acquire our current parent company, Bankrate, Inc., has set up a webpage for a matching campaign with the goal of raising $10 million to help Puerto Rico. Red Ventures CEO Ric Elias Ventures shared this statement on Wednesday as part of creating a Rebuild Puerto Rico fund page on YOUCARING:
"It's been one week since Hurricane Maria hit, and we are just now seeing the images of a tragedy unlike anything our beautiful island has ever seen. Puerto Rico is my childhood, it is my home, and it is where many of my friends and family live today. Words cannot describe how it feels to see it destroyed beyond recognition. Now is the time for us to use our hearts, our humanity, and our resources to help. So many people need it desperately. My goal is to raise $10 million dollars for relief and rebuild efforts. I will personally match every dollar raised on this page up to $5 million dollars. 100% of what we raise will go directly to relief/rebuild efforts. Much of our public health and power infrastructure has been destroyed by the storm itself and what little is left continues to degrade due to ongoing floods. The damage is historic - worse than we feared - and the full extent of it has yet to be measured. Our top priority is to get funds quickly and then make sure they have the greatest possible impact on peoples' lives. We're working to identify the most immediate needs and getting relief to vulnerable populations. After that, the focus will shift to catalyze long-term solutions, and ultimately, to help rebuild. If you're able to give, any amount helps and is greatly appreciated. If you cannot give, then please share. Please help us show our friends, family members, and fellow citizens in Puerto Rico that even though we're miles apart, we will stand together. They are not alone."
If you're able to, you can donate by credit card or directly from your bank account. Please click here to donate, share or read more about this relief effort.
TPG has donated $50,000 to the campaign, and several other staffers have donated as well. We hope that our huge community of readers can greatly help our fellow citizens in Puerto Rico begin to rebuild their lives.
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