Parishioners and Father Bill Sheridan of the Church of the Immaculate Conception have formed the “Mahwah Family Flood Relief Fund.”

“We are collecting donations to help with families’ costs of temporary housing, whether it be renting a home or staying in a hotel, while their homes are being repaired,” said resident Michael Beatrice, one of the founding members of the fund.

“The hotels have been so generous, but as time goes on it is just so hard for people to afford all of the costs associated with being displaced from their homes. We want to help.”

Beatrice said the group, which formed Thursday, will reach out to the Mahwah Municipal Alliance for a list of names of people affected by Hurricane Irene. The MMA last week began a relief effort in Mahwah, bringing experts, providing supplies, and compiling a database of affected families and needs.

“We will reach out to the families we find out about,” Beatrice said. Families will then have the opportunity to apply for aid, and organizers will decide how to allocate the money, he said.

Sheridan will also appeal to other area congregations in an effort to collect funds during religious services, he said. Immaculate Conception Churchgoers will be asked to help this weekend, as well.

“The Church is also considering other ways to help out the relief effort, including delivering hot meals to families that do not have them, and getting groups of volunteers to help out,” Beatrice said.

Donation checks can be made payable to the “Mahwah Family Flood Relief Fund,” and mailed or dropped off to Father Bill Sheridan, 900 Darlington Ave., Mahwah.

Anyone with questions can call Beatrice’s office at 201-512-8200, or the Church at 201-327-1276.