Columbia Company Donates $100K To Hurricane Relief

COLUMBIA, MD - The W.R. Grace & Company announced that its foundation will be donating $100,000 to relief efforts in Texas related to Hurricane Harvey. The company, which is headquartered on Grace Drive in Columbia, has facilities in Houston

Weeks after the storm hit, Hurricane Harvey recovery efforts continue in Texas, where nearly 37,000 people were in shelters after 50 inches of rain fell in some areas of the state, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reported. Rescuers saved more than 16,800 people and 1,500 pets, FEMA reported.

The disaster could cause economic losses from $70 to $190 billion, according to Forbes, which attributed most of that to property that was not insured.

Many employees of W.R. Grace live in the areas affected by Hurricane Harvey, and the company announced this week that its charitable foundation was giving a $100,000 donation to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. (Get news alerts from Columbia Patch and like us on Facebook.)

"Our support for Hurricane Harvey relief through the Red Cross reflects our concern for the safety and security of our employees and their families, the communities where they live, and our many friends and neighbors in the region," Chairman of the W. R. Grace Foundation Mark Shelnitz said.

W.R. Grace is a specialty chemical and materials company that supplies products around the world that help produce things such as gasoline and pharmaceuticals. It has facilities in Houston and Pasadena, Texas; and Lake Charles and Norco, Louisiana, as well as around the world. According a statement from the company, none of its facilities was damaged in the hurricane.

See Also: Hurricane Harvey Pets Up For Adoption In Columbia

Hurricane Harvey via AP Photo/David J. Phillip.