Hurricane made landfall in southwest Florida as a strong category 4 hurricane on Wednesday afterneen, carving a path through the state and leaving behind devastating flooding and damages.
Search and rescue efforts are underway in impacted communities.
At a press conference on Thursday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said that recovery efforts were likely to take an extended period of time.
“We’re going to step up, we’re going to be there for folks. We’re going to make sure folks get back on their feet and southwest Florida comes back better than ever,” he said.
Here are some ways individuals can help with Hurricane Ian recovery efforts. This list will be updated as additional resources become available.
Volunteer
Those who want to travel to affected communities to volunteer can sign up through an official portal at https://www.volunteerflorida.org/.
There are several types of volunteers needed, including those who can provide mental health services, disaster action response team workers, shelter workers and more.
Donate
DeSantis noted in a press conference on Thursday that it’s more helpful for people to donate financially than send items at this time.
Here are some local and national organizations accepting financial donations to go towards recovery efforts.
The Florida Disaster Fund
The Florida Disaster Fund is the state’s official private fund for both response and recovery efforts.
Donations to the fund are distributed to different service organizations in the state.
To make a dontaion to the fund, visit this link. Checks can be made out to “Volunteer Florida Foundation” and include “Florida Disaster Fund” in the memo line. Checks can be mailed to Volunteer Florida Foundation at 1545 Raymond Diehl Road, Suite 250, Tallahassee, FL 32308.
By Staff Report
Hannah Collins