Miami Dolphins Continue Long-Term Hurricane Irma Recovery Efforts through Grant Recipients
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September 6, 2018
Miami Dolphins Continue Long-Term Hurricane Irma Recovery Efforts through Grant Recipients
MIAMI – In the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, Miami Dolphins Owner Stephen Ross announced a pledge of $1 million to benefit immediate and long-term rebuilding efforts for the region. In addition, the Miami Dolphins announced a series of efforts designed with the goal of helping the region in what will be a longstanding recovery process from the devastating storm.
The long-term recovery efforts continue, as the organization assessed long-term damage and collaborated with local and regional community partners involved with critical relief and rebuilding efforts in Monroe and Collier counties along with the Florida Keys. The Dolphins are proud to support local nonprofit organizations implementing projects within the devastated areas. The team selected 11 grant recipients, including Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Venice, The Education Coalition of Monroe County, Fishermen’s Community Hospital, Florida Keys Children’s Shelter, Florida Keys Healthy Start Coalition, Habitat for Humanity of Key West and Lower Florida Keys, Habitat for Humanity of the Middle Keys, Key Bridge, Reel Relief and Sugarloaf School and Community Park.
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- Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami
- Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami, Inc. is a local non-profit organization that is committed to helping the most vulnerable populations in South Florida by providing quality social services. One hundred percent of the funds from the Miami Dolphins Foundation will provide financial housing assistance as a part of the efforts to help rebuild Monroe County after Hurricane Irma.
- Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Venice
- Catholic Charities, Diocese of Venice, Inc. is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit providing social services in ten southwest Florida Counties. All funds awarded will be applied to direct assistance to those individuals and families still in a hurricane relief recovery process. Funds will be used for rent, mortgage, utilities and/or deposits. The goal is to serve a minimum of 20 families with no funds from the award used toward operations. All funds will be expended on direct services.
- The Education Coalition of Monroe County (ECMC)
- The Educational Coalition for Monroe County (ECMC) is a nonprofit organization that promotes prevention of destructive behaviors among sixth through twelfth grade students and instills the importance of volunteerism. ECMC teaches volunteerism to youth volunteers by providing basic needs, necessary tools, and support to students living in special circumstances to enable them to reach their goals, achieve success, and help their peers. Funding from this grant will be used to purchase athletic shoes and attire, athletic gear (shin guards, gloves, etc.), and to pay for camps for high school students to seek future opportunities. The funding will be used for students attending Marathon Middle and High School that are currently facing special circumstances. Almost a year following Hurricane Irma families continue to struggle and students are still facing special circumstances.
- Fishermen’s Community Hospital (Baptist Health)
- The generous gift from the Miami Dolphins will support Baptist Health Foundation’s fundraising campaign to build an entirely new Fishermen’s Community Hospital in Marathon. The previous hospital was destroyed by Hurricane Irma in September 2017 and has been closed since then. Baptist Health established a field hospital to care for patients in the region immediately following the devastation, and opened a modular facility in July. The entirely new hospital has an estimated cost of $40 million, of which Baptist Health and the community are committed to raising $15 million through philanthropy.
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- Florida Keys Children’s Shelter
- The Florida Keys Children’s Shelter is the only licensed emergency shelter for unaccompanied youth in Monroe County, providing free services to more than 500 youth annually to keep kids safe and families strong, helping build a healthy community. The Miami Dolphins grant will help fund the salary of a counselor in the Florida Keys for 12 months to assist with the increased number of cases due to Hurricane Irma. The counselor will provide free help to youth who have faced changes in their lives during and after the hurricane.
- Florida Keys Healthy Start Coalition
- The Florida Keys Healthy Start Coalition is the only entity in Monroe County working to improve the health and well-being of women and their families before, during and after pregnancy. It continues to provides ongoing, long-term recovery and rebuilding support to clients by ensuring families and young children have access to replacement baby supplies and items (such as safe cribs, diapers, car seats, formula, clothing), affordable prenatal medical care, therapeutic counseling services to address postpartum depression and challenges compounded by the stress and trauma of Irma, hurricane relief case management, individualized referrals to additional community resources, and in some cases home and appliance repair assistance. The mission is to deliver high quality care and resources for all pregnant women, infants and their families in the resilient community of the Florida Keys. Funding from the Miami Dolphins Foundation will be used to provide care coordination and support services to pregnant women and families with small children; to include providing necessary baby items and supplies along with community building, mental health, and educational programming to families as they continue to build their new normal after the storm.
- Habitat for Humanity of Key West and the Lower Florida Keys
- Habitat for Humanity of Key West and the Lower Florida Keys provides affordable housing to 60 families in the Lower Keys; 70 families by the end of 2018. The organization provides home repairs for seniors allowing them to age in place and is heavily involved in helping those in the Lower Keys with a vast array of home repairs following Hurricane Irma. The Lower Keys were devastated by the hurricane and it will take some time to rebuild. The grant will be utilized to fill an unmet need in the process and purchasing required architectural drawings for hurricane recovery critical home repairs.
- Habitat for Humanity of the Middle Keys
- Habitat for Humanity of the Middle Keys has dedicated 27 years in Marathon Florida to creating affordable home ownership opportunities for the residents. In September 2017, Hurricane Irma caused Habitat to embark on a new journey, providing critical repairs to homes damaged by the Category 4 storm. The repairs completed include replacing damaged shingle roofs with fortified new metal roofs, full interior rebuilds, replacing stairs, walls, flooring and so much more. The support of the Miami Dolphins Hurricane Relief Grant will be instrumental in this work as the grant money will be used to assist with the cost of materials and supplies to complete these repairs.
- Key Bridge
- Key Bridge, Inc. is a nonprofit mental health and substance abuse service provider serving the Florida Keys. Due to the devastation from effects and recovery period after Hurricane Irma hit the Florida Keys, Key Bridge recognized a need to provide additional mental health support to our community. Monroe County is federally designated as having a lack of mental health providers and Key Bridge feels the proposed Bridge to Resiliency Program will strengthen our community by training citizens to be more aware of the needs of others and help link them to the help and support they need through evidence-based tools like Mental Health First Aid; effectively leveraging the support provided by Miami Dolphins Foundation.
- Reef Relief
- Reef Relief’s Discover Coral Reef’s School Program works to foster environmental awareness and stewardship. The program expands upon coral reef conservation activities by other National Governing Organizations and governmental efforts to increase awareness of coral reel resources and to reduce and prevent the impacts from land-based sources of pollution on coral reel ecosystems including efforts in the Florida Keys due to Hurricane Irma. The Discover Coral Reefs School Program introduces elementary and middle school students to the value and importance of coastal ecosystems and the way that students can become an active part in the conservation of these resources. The program is a collaboration between Reef Relief and the Monroe County School District.
- Sugarloaf School and Community Park
- Sugarloaf School and Community Park is used by students, teachers and faculty at Sugarloaf School and is open for community residents outside of school hours. In the wake of Hurricane Irma, Sugarloaf School has become a beacon of hope and support for students, teachers, parents and other community members. With support from the Miami Dolphins Foundation, Sugarloaf School and Community Park will rebuild and upgrade the park to create an outlet for families to exercise and play together.
The Dolphins in the immediate aftermath of the September 2017 storm deployed their Miami Dolphins Special Teams powered by AARP Foundation volunteer program to assist with much needed rebuilding projects in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. This volunteer program was created to enlist, mobilize and support community efforts in times of emergency.
In addition, the Dolphins partnered with AARP Foundation on a dollar for dollar matching campaign, with 100 percent of the money raised going directly into the community. Created to support the victims of the hurricane, especially those who are low-income and age 50-plus, these donations collected through the disaster relief fund will impact those in need.
