Latter-day Saint Charities

Important work is being done in collaboration with several relief organizations who have a long-standing presence on the ground in the two countries.

“I call it my Jesus Christ wheelchair,” says recently crowned world champ Max Kulati.

In 2021 the Church broadened the scope of its global humanitarian aid.

“What we really care about is helping people spiritually, emotionally and physically recover and build their societies back.”

When a fire destroyed 188 tents earlier this year, Latter-day Saint Charities helped provide the resources to build more permanent concrete structures to replace the lost homes. Read more:

As a follow up to her conference message, Sister Eubank shared a list of 16 easy ways to be a humanitarian. Read more about her suggestions:

While some of us lounged in beach chairs and armchairs this summer, Latter-day Saints across the globe toiled to make a difference for those around them. Here are a few of the most poignant projects.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Church has aided more than 1,000 relief projects in over 150 countries and territories.

The humanitarian efforts of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints increased in 2020 due in part to its global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Latter-day Saint Charities, the humanitarian arm of the Church, has released its 2020 Annual Report, which outlines more than 3,600 projects in 160 countries during the year, including the Church’s response to the pandemic.

Hungry refugees in Syria are receiving food in an unusual way, thanks to a collaborative effort between the Greek Catholic Church and Latter-day Saint Charities. Armed conflict in the region has displaced millions of people and food shortages have caused great suffering. Now, however, a mobile bakery that can be moved about to supply freshly baked bread is feeding tens of thousands of people every day.

Latter-day Saint Charities, the humanitarian arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, announced today a US$20 million grant to support UNICEF’s global work with the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator and the vaccines arm of the ACT Accelerator called the COVAX Facility.

Over 50 years ago, a group of University of Wyoming football players, later known as the Black 14, asked to meet with their coach to present their idea of wearing black armbands during their game against Brigham Young University in protest of the Church’s priesthood policy. Rather than being heard or supported, the players were immediately kicked off the team by their coach.

The World Food Programme, which has partnered with Latter-day Saint Charities for 24 years, received the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, October 9, 2020.

It’s a video that took social media by storm after a storm. Following destruction in Lake Charles, Louisiana, after Hurricane Laura, Tara Parks took to TikTok to share her experience after receiving service from Helping Hands, a Church program that provides community service and disaster relief to those in need.

Two hundred deliveries to food pantries and charities in the state of New York are being donated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the first appearance of God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, in Palmyra, New York, to Joseph Smith, prophet and first president of the Church.

The COVID-19 pandemic may have been unexpected, but when one looks at the humanitarian response by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to the crisis, their preparation is visible.

Latter-day Saint Charities, the humanitarian arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is the recipient of the 2020 American Red Cross Partnership Award.

Many members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints participated in last year’s Church fundraiser, #LightTheWorld, to provide aid to those in need. Through the “Giving Machines” and donations, Latter-day Saints distributed more than $6.3 million dollars to different charities around the globe.

Latter-day Saint Charities’ global footprint expanded in 2019 to bless millions of lives in 142 countries and territories through 3,221 completed projects with 2,000 partners. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ humanitarian organization released these numbers and more today in its 2019 Annual Report.

Latter-day Saints in Phnom Penh, Cambodia just received prophetic counsel from Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and President Russell M. Nelson during their recent ministry to the Southeast Asia region.

Standing with the Salt Lake City Temple as a backdrop, Sister Sharon Eubank spoke of a humanitarian partnership to a small crowd of reporters eagerly writing and pushing their microphones closer to capture the sound of her voice on Monday afternoon, Sept. 30.

"Hours before President Russell M. Nelson addressed 12,000 members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints here in Tecnopolis Arena on Wednesday evening, he personally greeted individual children receiving new wheelchairs at a local Latter-day Saint meetinghouse," a recent Church News article states. "To both groups, he offered the same message: The Lord will pour down blessings on those with a willing heart."

Latter-day Saint Charities partnered this week with Feeding Children Everywhere (FCE), JustServe, the United Nations, and American Airlines, to organize a service project to feed children all over the country.

Most children living in Bogotá’s sewers do not want to leave. They grow accustomed to the waist-deep feces, the stench, the darkness, the water and the rats. As frightening and dangerous as the sewers are, the children feel safe there.

In order to emphasize the correct name of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the names of LDS Charities and LDS Family Services have been changed, according to update on Newsroom.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

A gathering of volunteers — all spouses and associates of U.S. governors — stood shoulder-to-shoulder on Thursday assembling hygiene kits at the Latter-day Saint Humanitarian Center in Salt Lake City.

For the third year in a row, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is providing a grant to the nine national refugee resettlement agencies in the United States. Representatives of Latter-day Saint Charities, the humanitarian organization of the Church, were on the East Coast this week to hold discussions and deliver a $4 million grant, which includes $1.2 million in cash and $2.8 million in commodities.

Despite their own personal struggles during hard economic times, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Zimbabwe generously donated a small mountain of supplies, bedding and food to those suffering from the devastating effects of Cyclone Idai. High winds and floods have spread wide destruction throughout Manicaland, the eastern province of this southeastern African nation. Earlier the gigantic storm (described as the worst storm in history) had done similar damage in neighboring Mozambique and Malawi.

If you would like to help displaced members and residents of Paradise affected by the Camp Fire, donations of travel trailers (not motorhomes) are being collected at Stewart's RV in American Fork, Utah.

“This message is my message to young people. They should have it in their hearts. Let us dig the soil of bitterness, throw in a seed, show love, and see what fruits it can give.”

In the aftermath of the deadliest fire in California history, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are reaching out to those who need help.

Seventy-six-year-old cancer survivor Shepard Adams and his wife, Gracelyn, age 69, were the first to raise their hands to volunteer when the Amite Louisiana Branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was called upon to serve in Hurricane Michael cleanup efforts in Florida. When she didn’t see hands immediately go up amongst the gathering of some of the older couples, Gracelyn said to herself, “Could we do it next year? Well, better do it while we are able and can.” The Amite couple was not alone as they joined over 2,700 Church volunteers from five different states traveling to Florida weekly since the storm hit. Volunteers are hauling debris, chopping up large trees, and tarping damaged roofs.

“The mission of the American Red Cross cannot be fulfilled without consistent and generous partners. We are grateful for the continued collaboration with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to make a difference in the communities we serve,” said Heidi Ruster Chief Executive Officer/Utah and Nevada Region of the American Red Cross.

This article beautifully captures the good the Church and others are making possible throughout the world.

“We hope that this LDS Foundation grant to Affirmation will aid in suicide prevention amongst LGBTQ+ Mormons throughout the world and also be an encouragement to LDS members, bishops, Young Men and Young Women presidencies, and others working with Mormon youth to take advantage of these training opportunities with us,” Affirmation President Carson Tueller said in a news release.

Over the last 20 years, Randy and Maryanne Ellison have visited 123 temples. Each temple trip has a unique story, but during this journey the Ellisons have found that the more temples and Saints they have visited around the world, the deeper their appreciation grows for God’s works and blessings.

“Finding our purpose is never a one-time event; it’s literally the work of our lives. It’s what we were created to do over and over and over again,” CEO of Deseret Network International Amy Antonelli told the Deseret News during an interview in her office in Salt Lake City.

Utah's teen suicide rate has been rising in recent years. In 2016, suicide became number one cause of death for children 10 to 17 in Utah.

Nearly 8 million people in the DRC struggle to find food amidst warring factions, which is why LDS Charities has made a donation to help those in need. “This donation by the LDS Church will save many people’s lives and will provide them with hope for a better future,” said Claude Jibidar, the World Food Program’s country director in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Movie actor and TV host Mike Rowe (known for narrating shows on the Discovery Channel such as Dirty Jobs and on the National Geographic Channel such as How the Universe Works and Shark Week) is now hosting a Facebook Watch series called Returning the Favor. In the series, Mike Rowe travels the country featuring stories of those who are giving back to the community and surprising them with opportunities to take their work even further.

“I remember what starvation looks like as I sit down to abundance three times a day,” said Elder Alexander B. Morrison, an emeritus member of the Quorum of the Seventy who was known for assisting the poor, hungry, and mentally ill as a renowned scientist, according to Deseret News. “Carrying this burden keeps me, on the most fundamental of all levels, human.”

The Church opened a Helping Hands Center just outside of PyeongChang on January 27. The center will be open until March 25 and will "provide visitors a place to rest from their travels, and introduce them to several church resources such as Family Search," according to BYU's The Daily Universe.

Prince Charles recognized LDS Charities and the AMAR International Charitable Foundation for their contributions to healthcare in the Middle East during an event on Wednesday in London.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently donated $5 million in an effort to help aid refugees in the U.S.

"The Church is really not so much about an organization. The Church is much more about you, about every individual member—that makes all the difference. Your work, your service, your love, your kindness to God and fellow men is a reflection of what the Church is all about," President Dieter F. Uchtdorf says in a new Church videothanking members and people around the world for their humanitarian efforts following so many natural disasters.