Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Wildfire Relief Donations Distributed to Organizations

The cleanup and recovery process has changed in Bastrop in the months since the wildfires but still continues.
Photo by KUT News
The cleanup and recovery process has changed in Bastrop in the months since the wildfires but still continues.

Today the Austin Community Foundation is awarding more than $830,000 in grant money from the Central Texas Wildfire Fund.

The money was donated by people from across the country and raised through the “Fire Relief” concert held last October.

Nine organizations are receiving between $2,000 and $200,000 to help with debris cleanup, rebuilding homes and other needs in Central Texas towns affected by the Labor Day wildfires.

More than 1,600 homes were destroyed tens of thousands of acres burned.

The Austin Community Foundation says recovery has really just begun and new needs are still being discovered.

“So things that we didn’t anticipate we needed help with, people need help with now. So it is really important to keep it top of mind with the community," said Austin Community Foundation Communications Director Monica Williams.

More than $1.4 million have now been distributed from the Central Texas Wildfire Fund. Donations are still being accepted.

The Latest Recipients:

  • United Policyholders: $29,376
  • Bastrop Emergency Food Pantry: $70,000
  • Communities in Schools: $95,000
  • Write to Me Foundation: $2,000
  • American YouthWorks: $120,000
  • Bastrop County: $200,000
  • Bastrop Long-Term Recovery Team: $205,096.24
  • Spicewood Long-Term Recovery Committee: $65,000
  • Frameworks Community Development Corp.: $50,000
Laura first joined the KUT team in April 2012. She now works for the statewide program Texas Standard as a reporter and producer. Laura came to KUT from the world of television news. She has worn many different hats as an anchor, reporter and producer at TV stations in Austin, Amarillo and Toledo, OH. Laura is a proud graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia, a triathlete and enjoys travel, film and a good beer. She enjoys spending time with her husband and pets.