United Way, Collaboratory, relaunch SWFL Emergency Relief Fund

In the wake of Hurricane Milton, a pair of local non-profits have teamed up to provide relief for those impacted by the storm that blew through Southwest Florida nearly two weeks ago.

As the clean-up and recovery from Hurricane Milton moves forward in earnest over the next several days and weeks, United Way of Lee, Hendry, and Glades is working to ensure all those in need of assistance are supported. Financial donations and volunteers are needed to support the region's recovery.

United Way's 211 helpline is still operating 24 hours a day, providing free information and referral services to anyone in Southwest Florida in the wake of the storm. Community Resource Specialists provide real-time information and support.

United Way, along with Collaboratory, has relaunched the "SWFL Emergency Relief Fund." This easy-to-use portal for monetary donations is active at UnitedWayLee.org/Donate.

"As a community foundation, we collect the funds and then provide them to our non-profit partners who perform the direct service, the majority going to the United Way," said Dawn Belamarich, Collaboratory president and CEO. "This is what we're here for. As a community foundation, as a regional convener, our job is to raise funds and partner with organizations that are doing direct service work. It's an honor to do so, and that's what we're here for."

Donors can select "Disaster Relief" to contribute to the fund. Those who donate directly support survivors of Hurricane Milton, with 100% of the funds supporting individuals affected by Hurricane Milton.

"We launched the fund hoping that donations would come in, especially from outside of the area or people who were not affected, but that doesn't always happen," said United Way of Lee, Henry and Glades President and CEO Jeannine Joy. "Especially with Helene coming in and Milton causing so much havoc as well, the donations to the fund are not where we would like them to be. But for us at the Unite Way, we're going to do what we need to do, no matter what."

Joy said through the United Way's gifts in-kind program — donated goods from companies and organizations throughout the country — they have received more than $250,000 worth of goods since Hurricane Helene, and have distributed more than $1.3 million in goods to the community.

"Those include things like muck buckets, and water, flooring, blow-up mattresses," Joy said. "All different sorts of things that will help people that have been immediately affected. And that's just in donated goods."

United Way's staff have been reaching out to partner agencies to assess where the most aid is needed. Some of the most affected neighborhoods include Cabana City and Lake Fairways in North Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach, Fort Myers Shores, Villas, Pine Island, Sanibel Island, and Captiva Island.

Joy said the local United Way is working with three of its "core" partners when it comes to relief on barrier islands. Those include Beacon of Hope, F.I.S.H. of Sanibel-Captiva, and Fort Myers Beach Strong.

"We immediately released funding to them to help with relief efforts right away," Joy said. "Things like giving them gift cards so people could replace food that was lost, or items that were lost from the storm.

"We wanted to make sure we were meeting those initial needs right away. We're approaching the $100,000 mark on gift cards that we've gotten out already."

Working with more than 90 Partner Agencies to ensure the community has its immediate needs met, United Way is looking for volunteers to help distribute meals, assist with home clean up, debris removal, and more.

"There are tons of opportunities available (for people to volunteer)," Joys said. "There are people who are helping home-bound elderly who may still have debris in their yards and helping clean up. Helping people rebuild their homes and just get them ready. There are distribution events people can also volunteer for, and so if people find themselves in a fortunate situation and maybe don't have the dollars to contribute, we can always use the hands to help."

Joy said her biggest concern, taking scenarios from previous disasters that happened, is the trickle-down effect storms have on families and individuals struggling to get by.

"You had families that had their kids home for almost a week, so they couldn't go to work," she said. "Families where their business was closed, and because it was closed they didn't pay, so you missed out on days of work. Or businesses that were destroyed. And families that were just making it a little above paycheck to paycheck are going to feel this as we move forward because they had to miss wages or buy things to prepare for the storm. We're going to see that over the coming weeks, and families are going to start struggling to pay either a utility bill or their rent, because they're going to find themselves falling behind. So we're prepared to address those issues when they come up through our partner agencies and United Way 211."

Funds will be allocated to meet immediate needs, including food, clothing, and other related items. Resources will also help individuals facing financial hardship due to lost wages from business closures, ensuring they can cover essential expenses during recovery.

"Monetary donations allow our agencies and United Way to change as the needs change in the community," Joy said. "It's better for us to have the dollars to do that. Think about you're in your darkest place you've ever been. Your home has just been destroyed because of either surge or a tornado, and the last thing that is going to be helpful is something that doesn't fit you properly. Giving people that hope and dignity — to be able to hand them a gift card to go out and purchase what they need, gives them that boost of hope they need at this time. It really does make a difference in helping them see that there is light and the end of the tunnel. That they're going to be able to move forward and recover from this. And we can meet the needs at any given time if we have the dollars to do it."

Belamarich added, "It's a tax-deductible donation. And quite frankly, keeping dollars in the community is how we all support each other. If you have the means and the opportunity to support the fund, it will go directly to partner organizations that are supporting our residents.

"It's easy to get bogged down in your individual needs, and we all do, but I think our community does a fantastic job of coming together and I'm proud to be a part of that collaboration."

Joy said in the next few weeks, there will be mattresses coming from a United Way partner to help replace those lost in the storm.

"We're trying to resource more things that we know people are going to need and get them into our area and out to people as we need them," Joy said.

Collaboratory's main function is to bring philanthropic dollars in, and put them back out to non-profit partners in the Southwest Florida community.

"And we're really doing that through this kind of collaborative effort," Belamarich said. "All of our partners come together by cause, and we really try to fund the projects and organizations that are going to move the data points in the right direction on the social issues we face."

Joy reminded Southwest Floridians, no matter where on the scale damage from Milton or Helene impacted them, to fill out their FEMA reports.

"If you had expenses if you evacuated, if you lost food, even if you didn't have damage to your home, you need to apply for that FEMA individual disaster relief," she said.

Volunteers can view available opportunities and register at Volunteer.UnitedWayLee.org .