Kids can be helpers, too, as we work through recovery efforts from Hurricane Irma.
The Central Florida community was hit hard by Hurricane Irma, and the recovery effort is just getting under way. People in neighborhoods like Orlo Vista and Altamonte Springs had to be evacuated from floodwaters, and piles of debris line residential roads from the east coast to the west. While Floridians spent days and weeks preparing ahead of the storm, we’re naturally prepared for what comes next: the cleanup. Watching neighbor helping neighbor is nothing short of inspiring, and it’s something we should all be proud to share with the younger generation.
As a general rule, the best way to help out is by donating cold, hard cash. Finding legit charities can be frustrating, so this .org page has compiled a list. For those who want to get more involved, the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster is registering volunteers to deploy to various causes. The list below will help narrow down and explain some of these organizations.
While nearly the entire state felt the effects of Hurricane Irma, here are 10 volunteer and donation efforts worthy of your family’s time here in Central Florida. Parents, babysitters, and nannies alike will find great life lessons in getting their kids involved in giving back.
Volunteer Florida
Address: Multiple locations
Phone: 850-414-7400
Volunteer Form: Click here
Thank you @FLGovScott and @TimTebow for your support of @VolunteerFla and relief efforts across the state! #serveFL #volunteers pic.twitter.com/O3XU8JDwFS
— Volunteer Florida (@VolunteerFla) September 12, 2017
Volunteer Florida’s website includes a long list of volunteer opportunities throughout the state of Florida in the wake of Irma. This is a good first stop if you’re unsure how to get your family involved, but it certainly doesn’t include all the local efforts going on right now. There’s a search feature on the site that will help you better navigate organizations in your area.
The Florida Disaster Fund is also linked on this page, which allows you to donate to disaster-related response and recovery. The fund also allows you to make a onetime donation of $10 by texting DISASTER to 20222.
Clean the World
Address: 2544 E. Landstreet Road, Ste. 600, Orlando, FL 32824
Phone: 407-574-8353
Volunteer Form: Click here
Clean the World is working to make life better and healthier for our local communities, as well as the islands in the Caribbean affected by Irma. They do great work year-round, but this most recent effort has them working extra hard to make sure hygiene is top of mind while many communities here are still without power and many in the Caribbean without clean water.
Clean the World is accepting open volunteers (after completing this waiver) at the address listed above on Sept. 15 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. If you’re reading this after that date, check out this page or their Facebook page for more volunteering opportunities. Volunteers will help prepare relief kits and will sort soap and other bottled amenities for the kits. Kids must be at least 8 years old to volunteer, and kids ages 8 through 15 need a parent or guardian with them.
Hands On Orlando
Address: 1850 Lee Road, Ste. 218, Winter Park, FL 32789
Phone: 407-740-8652
Volunteer Form: Click here
@HandsOnOrlando thanks all volunteers eager to help the #GreaterOrlando area recover after #HurricaneIrma. pic.twitter.com/wq15Vj8tf2
— Hands On Orlando (@HandsOnOrlando) September 12, 2017
Everything Hands On Orlando does is… well, hands-on! They work to do things like fixing up properties, cooking meals, gardening, and general beautification. Check out their calendar for upcoming events. Their Facebook page also regularly posts updates, especially now after Irma, when the need for volunteers is extra high. Projects usually last about three hours a day, and they happily welcome families and school groups. Kids as young as 4 can get involved with this organization.
Hands On Orlando also works with the Second Harvest Food Bank to provide those hardest hit with nutrition and necessities. Right now, they need help sorting donations. Check out dates for that and sign up here.
Habitat for Humanity
Address: 4116 Silver Star Road, Orlando, FL 32808
Phone: 407-648-4567
Volunteer Form: Click here
Missed the #HandinHand telethon? You can still donate after the show at https://t.co/3YN7rBZXHj. Or text GIVE to 80077. #HabitatHammersBack pic.twitter.com/d0NYLX1a2f
— Habitat for Humanity (@Habitat_org) September 13, 2017
According to Habitat’s Hurricane Recovery Page (linked above), they currently have trained responders providing assistance throughout Florida. When additional volunteers are needed, they will pull from their Volunteer Registry — so make sure you sign up for updates! Meanwhile, Orlando’s local Habitat for Humanity organization has this page full of volunteer opportunities.
Habitat is known for building new homes for those in need, but they are also very involved with neighborhood revitalization and stabilization. They work to beautify areas in need and make them more livable for those who reside there. Volunteers for construction projects must be 16 years old, but they do offer youth projects. Younger volunteers can help prepare snacks to give to the volunteers during their breaks. These opportunities for younger volunteers are Wednesday through Saturday only and are all off-site, meaning they won’t be around heavy equipment. Check out Habitat’s local Orlando page for more details.
Best Friends
Email: bfvolcoord@bestfriends.org
Volunteer Form: Click here
If your kids are all about their pets, they will be eager to help out those who can’t help themselves in these situations. Best Friends is working to reunite families with lost pets from hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Their Facebook page is a glowing example of all the good these people do for our four-legged friends.
While they’re going to be looking for specialized volunteers, and their form linked above asks for very specific skills, kids can always get involved at home. Buy items off their wish list here, or just look to see what items they need, because these are many of the same items needed by any local animal rescue. Once you’ve bought your items from the store, spend some time with your kids putting together care baskets to drop off at any local animal shelter in need. Or if you really want to be “Parent of the Year,” sign up to be a foster family and tell the little ones you’ll be expecting a guest!
Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando
Locations:
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2727 Conroy Road, Orlando, FL 32839 | P: 407- 351-7722
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2800 County Home Road, Sanford, FL 32773 | P: 407-351-7722
Donation Form: Click here
We’re happy to say that we’ve found temporary foster homes for 100+ animals in our shelters while the storm passes! https://t.co/rD13r4faBN pic.twitter.com/8aN5sQmd0w
— Pet Alliance (@petallianceGO) September 8, 2017
Although the Orlando location of Pet Alliance was still without full power at time of publication, they’re still operating as a shelter for 400+ animals and are expecting more from Florida’s west coast. While they’re not yet asking for direct volunteers, they are definitely in need of monetary donations. Check the form linked above for this, or just go to your local Petco. The Petco Foundation has partnered with the Pet Alliance to match all donations up to $50,000. And you know that prompt you get in the checkout line? “Would you like to donate $1 to animals in need?” (Or something like that.) Well, now you know exactly where that $1 — to your local pet neighbors recovering from Irma.
The Pet Alliance does ask for volunteers year-round, and all those opportunities are listed here. Volunteers must be 16 years or older, or they can participate in a Youth Volunteer program for teens 13-15 years old.
Other pet rescues throughout the state are doing their part, too, and it warms my heart. For example, Big Dog Ranch Rescue — the largest no-kill dog rescue in the southeast — is making daily airlifts to animals in need down in the Keys. Help them out with donations here.
Feeding Florida
Address: 1489 Market St., Tallahassee, FL 32312
Phone: 855-FLA-FOOD (855-352-3663)
Donation Form: Click here
2016 was a huge year for @FeedingAmerica. Check out all the achievements we've made #FeedingAmerica with your help! https://t.co/BizLhyClLw pic.twitter.com/a8CIFZmCdd
— Feeding Florida (@FeedingFlorida) December 9, 2016
Feeding Florida works with a statewide network of food banks to help out those affected by Irma, as well as helping those in need year-round. They’re mostly asking for monetary donations right now, but they also offer a list of community food banks if your family would like to be more locally involved.
As mentioned above when discussing Hands On Orlando, Feeding Florida also works with Second Harvest Food Bank to provide help to those in Central Florida. Second Harvest is always looking for volunteers, and opportunities are listed and explained here. They require volunteers to be at least 10 years old with a parent or guardian at least 18 years old accompanying them. Those 16 and older do not require a chaperone in the Second Harvest facility. Their “Family Day” and “Family Night” events allow families with kids ages 5-9 to volunteer.
Save the Children
Phone: 800-728-3843
Donation Form: Click here
Save the Children’s Irma Relief Fund will go toward helping kids not only in our local Florida communities, but also to help children in the Caribbean, where Irma’s devastation is so much greater. They have emergency relief experts working around the clock to provide baby and toddler necessities and Child Friendly Space kits for kids in shelters. These kits provide a safe, stress-free space for kids to play and read.
The experts have the volunteer efforts covered for now, so Save the Children asks families to donate instead. A donation of $15 will go toward play and learning supplies for kids in shelters. A $50 donation will help Save the Children create a Baby Kit, which provides displaced parents with important supplies, and $100 will provide them with a portable crib. Finally, a generous donation of $500 will help Save the Children create a child-friendly space within a shelter for 100 children.
Kids can get involved by creating their own fundraiser or even by making a birthday registry to ask for Save the Children donations instead of toys you’ll just throw away in a few months. And as always with this organization, families can sign up to Sponsor a Child, which is a year-round way to give back to those less fortunate.
Adopt A Classroom
Phone: 612-444-3467
Donation Form: Click here
Adopt A Classroom is currently running relief efforts for those affected by Harvey and Irma. This sentence on their site says it all: “Teachers had already spent hundreds, if not thousands, out-of-pocket stocking their classrooms for this school year — all destroyed by Hurricane Irma.” A monetary donation will go directly toward helping teachers and students get back in the classroom post-hurricane. Families can get involved by creating their own fundraiser on their site, or get involved locally.
One second-grade teacher (who just happens to live in Florida) started an Adopt A Classroom drive for those affected in the Houston area after Hurricane Harvey. This effort to match classrooms to people who will provide care packages of school supplies has taken off, and it’s something any of us can recreate.
Even if you don’t know of an “Adopt A Classroom” effort in your area, the concept is universal. We know these teachers are in need, and as parents, we know what they need most. Gather the kids together, hit up your local Target, and buy all the necessities you can think of. Once the closest school opens back up after storm recovery, simply go to the administration office and drop it off.
Get Involved in Crowdfunding With GoFundMe and GlobalGiving
In response to #Harvey and #Irma, a growing number of companies opt for locally driven hurricane relief efforts » https://t.co/YOuXR5uoZL pic.twitter.com/drbzW181DC
— GlobalGiving (@GlobalGiving) September 8, 2017
Crowdfunding has really grown these past few years, and now it’s at a level where most people trust the source enough that they’re not as suspicious of its legitimacy and aren’t hesitant to donate. This is good news for those of us just looking to do our part and who may want to create their own way of giving back.
GoFundMe has put together this running list of fundraisers. Donate to one, donate to all, or create your own. It’s all going to a good cause. One fundraiser created to benefit the Caribbean islands of St. Thomas and St. John has already surpassed its $180,000 goal to reach more than $212,000 in donations.
GlobalGiving connects nonprofits, donors, and companies across the globe with its crowdfunding community. This fundraiser will provide those affected in the U.S. and the Caribbean with food, water, and medical necessities to help them get through the storm recovery process. At last check, they were just about $650,000 short of their $2,000,000 goal.
