DALLAS – The Laura Bush Foundation for America's Libraries announced the first round of 2017 Disaster Relief Initiative grants on Thursday.
The grants, totaling more than $850,000, will be distributed to 17 school libraries that were damaged or destroyed during Hurricane Harvey.
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School libraries will receive up to $135,000 to help rebuild book and print collections.
“Just like we did after Hurricane Katrina, the Laura Bush Foundation is committed to rebuilding school library collections that have been devastated during disasters we witnessed last fall,” Bush said. “As a former librarian, I know school libraries are important to improving student achievement, and with the first round of grants from the 2017 Disaster Relief Initiative, these schools can start on the path to full recovery.”
The 2017 Disaster Relief Initiative is the second time the Laura Bush Foundation has assisted in disaster relief efforts.
The Gulf Coast School Library Recovery Initiative, created and raised as a separate and special fund, helped rebuild school library collections affected by the devastation of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.
The Laura Bush Foundation awarded nearly $6.5 million in grants to 124 schools in the Gulf Coast area between 2006 and 2012.
“We will continue to fundraise tirelessly for the 2017 Disaster Relief Initiative, and I encourage librarians in regions that have seen disaster to apply for funding,” Bush said. “To everyone affected, you have the support of your neighbors from across the nation, and we know that with your hard work and can-do spirit, your schools and communities will thrive again.”
For more information on how to support or apply to the 2017 Disaster Relief Initiative, click here.
The 2017 Disaster Relief Initiative first-round grant recipients are:
- A.C. Blunt Middle School, Aransas Pass, Texas
- True Cross Catholic School, Dickinson, Texas
- Galena Park Elementary School, Galena Park, Texas
- Beth Yeshurun Day School, Houston, Texas
- Lutheran South Academy, Houston, Texas
- S.C. Red Elementary School, Houston, Texas
- Hull-Daisetta Elementary School, Hull, Texas
- Mauriceville Elementary School, Orange, Texas
- Little Cypress Elementary School, Orange, Texas
- Orangefield Elementary School, Orange, Texas
- Brundrett Middle School, Port Aransas, Texas
- Port Aransas High School, Port Aransas, Texas
- Olsen Elementary School, Port Aransas, Texas
- Little Bay Primary School, Rockport, Texas
- Henderson Middle School, Sour Lake, Texas
- Vidor Middle School, Vidor, Texas
- Oak Forest Elementary School, Vidor, Texas