World Relief history

In 1950, the agency was renamed World Relief and began to focus on other areas of development, providing sewing machines and training so war widows could earn a living, setting up TB clinics, and supporting orphanages and land reclamation projects.

1960 Doctor C. N. Hosteller, World Relief’s chairman, joins President Kennedy’s “Food for Peace” committee to help get more food to the world’s poorest regions.

1970 Peru – World Relief provides vital aid to earthquake victims Bangladesh – following a devastating cyclone, World Relief helps dig 200 new wells, distribute food, rebuild homes and care for 200,000 orphans.

1975 Cambodia – World Relief provides food and medical care to refugees fleeing the Khmer Rouge genocide.

World Relief Seattle has existed since 1979 to empower the local Church to serve refugees and immigrants in the Greater Seattle Area.

1983 Actor Charlton Heston hosts World Relief’s first television special, “When Will the Dying Stop?” The special focuses on Bangladesh and India.

1988 Haiti – World Relief launches the “Alive at Five” program, providing immunizations and other measures aimed at protecting vulnerable children under 5.

By 1990, more than 10,000 new churches have been started.

1991: Employment Grant funded internally by World Relief

Housing and employment opportunities slowly shifted south, so in 1994 World Relief Seattle moved its office to Kent, WA.

1996-Present: Match Grant Program funded by ORR serves 150-200 participants annually

1997 World Relief launches its microfinance program – called LifeLoans – providing credit services to 34,642 vulnerable people in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

After Hurricane Mitch in 1998, the PB Fund undertook innovative disaster relief work in Honduras that focused on integrated community development.

January 1999: Micro Enterprise Development by ORR (World Relief Economic Advancement Program – WREAP). 116 Refugees Served

In 2000, the PB Fund was renamed Episcopal Relief & Development to emphasize its disaster relief work and its increased programmatic focus on integrated community development.

The increase in immigrant detention led to informal care of immigrant detainees and later a formalized NW Immigration Detention Center Ministry in 2003.

NetsforLife®, a program partnership to fight malaria in sub-Saharan Africa, began as a pilot in 2006 and soon was established in a growing number of countries.

October 2007-Present: Refugee Social Services and Refugee Cash and Medical Assistance by the Tennessee Office for Refugee (TOR) through ORR. 200-300 refugees served annually.

Since 2010, the US Disaster Program has expanded through the Disaster Preparedness Initiative to support and equip Episcopal Church leaders to prepare for and respond to disasters in their communities.

October 2011-Present: Preventive Health Grant by ORR through TOR.

October 2012-present: Preventative Health and Match Grant was added to the Memphis office.

2014 During a time of unprecedented displacement, World Relief stands with the more than 10 million men, women and children forced from their homes in Iraq and Syria.

2015 World Relief celebrates 20 years of Care Groups.

At the end of 2016, Episcopal Relief & Development’s Board of Directors approved a new strategic plan that affirms and expands the organization’s programs in three key areas: Early Childhood Development, Combatting Gender-Based Violence and Resilience & Climate Change.

In 2017, World Relief resettled 921 refugees from 25 countries into the Seattle area.