How to Help Areas impacted by Hurricane Michael
Serving up free food at Jarheads BBQ in Port St. Joe.
Mexico Beach and Port St. Joe Area
Jarheadz BBQ and Line In the Sand Foundation
- Providing Hot Meals to people who live in the Mexico Beach/Port St. Joe Area.
- Highway 98 and County Road 386
- lineinthesandfoundation.org
Ground Zero Mexico Beach White Tent
- Collecting and distributing needed items and providing assistance to citizens recovering from devastation of Hurricane Michael.
- Highway 98 and County Road 386
- Facebook @gzmbwt (or search “Ground Zero Mexico Beach White Tent”)
“The White Tent” in Mexico Beach
City of Mexico Beach/Mexico Beach Artificial Reef Association (MBARA)
- The City and MBARA are working together to accept donations for Hurricane relief.
- mexicobeachgov.com or MBARA.org
Panama City
Modeled after the “Adopt-a-Highway” program in which individuals or groups adopt a section of the city to remove litter or debris left from Hurricane Michael. The city supplies trash bags for the cleanup and will pick up the bags from the location after event is over.
Local charitable trust and registered 501(c)3 that can accept donations on behalf of the City of Panama City for Hurricane Michael relief.
Clean up still going on in Mexico Beach, Florida. Photo taken on 2/11/19. Four months after Hurricane Michael made landfall.
Throughout Area
Initiative to “encourage people to Donate, Volunteer, Visit and Invest to support the regions long-term recover efforts” following Hurricane Michael. Money donated goes to the Florida Disaster Fund which is “the State of Florida’s official private fund established to assist Florida communities as they respond to and recover during times of emergency or disaster. (Money donated under REBUILD 850 needs to be earmarked for REBUILD 850 or it cannot be separated within the Florida Disaster Fund.)The Fund is administered by The Volunteer Florida Foundation. In addition to raising money, REBUILD 850 registers volunteers and helps them connect with volunteer organizations.
Florida Disaster Fund Grantees
Since December, 22 organizations engaged in hurricane Michael response and recovery efforts have received grants from the Florida Disaster Fund:
Florida Disaster Fund Grantees: Round One
- Alabama-West Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church
- American Red Cross
- Catholic Charities of Northwest Florida
- Florida Coalition for Children Foundation
- Florida Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Network
- Goodwill Industries of the Big Bend
- Habitat for Humanity of Florida (Chipola Area)
- Habitat for Humanity of Florida (Bay County)
- Hearts & Hands Disaster Recovery
- International Orthodox Christian Charities
- Rivertown Community Church
- Rotary
- SBP, Inc.
- The Eagles Wings Foundation, Inc.
- ToolBank USA
- Treasure Coast Food Bank
Florida Disaster Fund Grantees: Round Two
- Church World Service
- Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast
- Florida Baptist Convention
- Night Runners Mobile Crisis Services, Inc.
- Regional Food Bank of Northeast Florida, Inc. (d/b/a Feeding Northeast Florida)
- The Salvation Army
Cleanup is underway at the el Governor Motel in Mexico Beach
FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers (DRC)
These are short-term centers that are opened after a disaster is declared. They are accessible facilities and mobile offices that provide people a physical location to visit in order to learn more about FEMA and other disaster assistance programs. After Hurricane Michael, 29 DRC were open in the panhandle. 4 are currently still open in the region. You can also contact the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362 or 800-462-7585 (TTY) between 7am and 11pm, seven days a week.
Currently open (2/27/19):
Bay County Library
898 West 11th Street
Panama City, FL
Port St. Joe Fire Department
404 Williams Avenue
Port St. Joe, FL
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