From responding to hurricanes and wildfires to addressing critical healthcare needs – your support making a difference in the lives of so many.

Whether speaking to the media about our response to a disaster, signing thank you letters, or writing a note of appreciation to a donor, the one thought that always stays with me is that of We couldn’t do it without you. As the new year gets underway and BBF responds to the Los Angeles wildfires soon after Hurricanes Helene and Milton, our appreciation and gratitude for your support could not be greater. Your impact in making a difference in so many lives is felt through BBF’s regular relief work around the world, and by those in dire need facing crises here at home.

Similarly to Hurricanes Helene and Milton, BBF’s response to the California wildfires is centered around our disaster response strategy which broadly encompasses three phases:

1. Providing financial support to:

a. Foodbanks to address the immediate needs of those impacted through the purchase of critical supplies such as food and water

b. Healthcare organizations such as Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), FQHC Look-Alikes, and Free Clinics that provide medical care and counseling

c. Local community nonprofits offering shelter, mental healthcare, humanitarian supplies, legal aid, affordable housing, animal rescue, and other essential community-focused services spanning from acute response through long-term recovery

2. Sending relief shipments of requested humanitarian and medical supplies such as blankets, hygiene kits, nutritional supplements, water, diapers, cleaning products, PPE, goggles, wipes, and generators or other needed items

3. Providing recovery and resilience support including infrastructure repairs and upgrades if and as needed (for example, repairing damage to free clinics in the Carolinas after Hurricane Helene or putting solar panels on outlying clinics in Puerto Rico after the 2017 hurricanes)

As the initial part of our response, BBF donated $100,000 to two food banks in the Los Angeles area. Our financial support to partners will continue given the generous donation we have received from both individual donors and the foundation community nearing three quarters of a million dollars as of this writing. BBF concurrently sent two truckloads of supplies including over 250,000 N95 masks donated by the Allegheny Health Network (AHN), 10 pallets of water from Giant Eagle equaling 20,000 bottles, along with thousands of hygiene kits donated and packed by organizations and community members across Pittsburgh and the surrounding areas. We are also sending microwave ovens and refrigerators donated by AHN, safety equipment from MSA, disinfecting wipes and cleaning supplies from Apter Industries, and additional N95 masks from Ohio Health Systems.

BBF’s response to the wildfires continues to evolve with the assessment of damage and needs across all impacted areas. We expect our ongoing relief efforts to somewhat mirror those of Hurricanes Helene and Milton where BBF has supported and worked with twenty-five different organizations and sent eleven shipments to address the needs of the those affected. These include foodbanks, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), free & charitable clinics, local non-profit community associations, and public-school districts. The one new area that we were specifically asked to consider by a foundation donor given the wide-ranging devastation caused by the wildfires was that of animal rescue and welfare. This had been something we were looking at on a personal level so were pleased to incorporate it into BBF’s response.

Thank you so much for your trust and support – We could not do it without you!