Support relief efforts following aftermath of Hurricane Helene

Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in the Florida Big Bend region late Thursday, Sept. 26, bringing with it heavy rainfall, intense winds and flooding as it moved through several states in the south. Communities impacted by Hurricane Helene will be grappling with the effects of the disaster for months and years to come.

Below are several organizations that are accepting donations and providing other services to help affected communities: 

Tampa Bay/Tampa/St. Petersburg area

• American Red Cross
  Make a monetary donation for those impacted by Helene or donate blood for disaster victims.
• OneBlood 
  OneBlood says there is an urgent call for additional blood donations due to Hurricane Helene. While all blood types are needed, there is an increased need for O Negative and O Positive blood as well as Platelet donations.
• Community Foundation of Tampa Bay
  Responding locally and across the state to address the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. 
• Florida Disaster Fund
  The Florida Disaster Fund assists Florida’s communities as they recover during times of emergency or disaster. The funds are distributed to service organizations that will serve individuals within their communities with disaster response and recovery. For Hurricane Helene, all administrative and credit card fees have been waived so that 100% of every donation is used to help Floridians recover.
• United Way of Florida
  The UWOF fund will assist the communities in Florida impacted by Hurricane Helene.
• Feeding Tampa Bay
  Feeding Tampa Bay says donations will be put to work immediately in the areas most impacted to provide people with pathways back to stability in the days, weeks and months after the storm.

Asheville and western North Carolina

• Manna FoodBank in Asheville
  The organization’s warehouse was prepped prior to the storm. Donate to the Manna FoodBank.
• Homeward Bound in Asheville
  The organization provides supportive housing to the homeless community in Asheville and it distributed essentials and clothing as the storm approached. 
• American Red Cross of North Carolina
  At the storm’s peak, the organization opened more than 15 shelter locations in Western North Carolina and upstate South Carolina. Learn more and donate, or give by texting Helene to 90999.
• North Carolina Community Foundation
  The foundation works with other funders and organizations to provide philanthropic support needed to help western North Carolina recover from Helene.
• Community Foundation for Western North Carolina
  Contributions support recovery efforts related to the devastating impacts of Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina.