The Kind Mouse Mission is to feed the chronically hungry and food insecure in Pinellas County. Hurricanes Helene and Milton left long term devastating effects to residents and businesses in the Tampa Bay Area. The Kind Mouse could not stand by and watch as our current partner agencies asked for a food increase so they can help hurricane victims (those we currently serve and who are already food insecure). In addition, we had an influx of agencies and our community reaching out asking us to help provide food to those who lost everything in these devastating storms. The Kind Mouse sprung into action to cover the needs requested of us. In addition to the additional food purchased, we are requesting gas reimbursement for trips outside of our normal deliveries, overtime hours for pantry staff, and frozen food loss due to the power outage during Milton. We have added to this request consideration for funds to purchase a generator for the pantry that can be used in times of power outages so to alleviate food loss.

We are seeking support to address the urgent needs of our families who are experiencing significant hardships due to the recent storm. Many have lost their homes and their cars have been severely impacted, leaving them in vulnerable situations. This request aims to provide essential resources and support to help these individuals rebuild their lives during this challenging time. Your assistance would be invaluable in ensuring they receive the help they need to recover and move forward.

We have a critical need within our STEM program. Our current equipment, essential for hands-on learning and experimentation, has unfortunately become damaged and, in many cases, unusable. This situation significantly hampers our students' ability to engage fully with the curriculum and develop the necessary skills for their future careers.

All students have been impacted by the recent storms in our area. Our students would benefit from additional resources to ensure we close the academic achievement gap in learning, as well as, support their social and emotional needs.

We are looking to replace and update some of the technology lost in Hurricane Milton.

The Pineapple Project of Largo (TPP) provides home essentials for families emerging from homelessness, domestic violence, or other events creating severe housing instability. All too often, families fight their way through these tragic circumstances only to find themselves with a new problem – they have no resources with which to make their new house a “home.” Armed with a warehouse full of donated (and less often purchased) furniture, art, decor, kitchen supplies, and other essentials, our volunteer design team creates individualized homes for families based on their specific needs and preferences. The sense of dignity that families gain from having homes they are proud of promotes improved mental health and well-being, which research has shown supports longer-term housing stability. In just over 4 years, we’ve served more than 138 families. This fall Hurricanes Helene and Milton brought devastation to many parts of Pinellas County. Almost 20,000 homes incurred significant damage. Hundreds of homes were completely destroyed and thousands deemed at least temporarily uninhabitable.

We need to help our school and community following a very busy storm season. We will use funding within the school to help members of our school family and community. This will include family incentives and events where families will receive necessary supplies.

This grant would allow the Tampa Downtown Partnership (TDP) to purchase essential maintenance equipment to replace the equipment that was lost due to hurricane Helene. This includes power washers, street cleaning machines, landscaping tools, and waste management systems. These replacements are crucial to ensuring that Tampa’s Downtown continues to be a clean, safe, and inviting environment for the community. With proper maintenance, we can enhance the district’s physical appearance, improve visitor experience, and support the long-term sustainability of Downtown's economic and cultural development. This grant will also enable TDP to provide businesses with essential tools, resources, and services, including business development programs, marketing support, workforce training, and access to networking opportunities. By offering these resources, TDP can help local businesses attract customers, grow their operations, and adapt to the changing urban landscape. Additionally, we will focus on supporting small businesses and entrepreneurs, ensuring that Tampa’s Downtown remains a diverse, vibrant, and economically strong community for all. TDP also provide free events to the public in Tampa’s Downtown. These events attract patrons and encourage them to explore the seven neighborhoods of Tampa’s Downtown, which promotes economic development that benefits all of Tampa.

Having back-to-back hurricanes in our Pinellas location put a strain on our emergency shelter. Although survivors and their children stayed safe from the weather and the abuse in their homes, our organization pressed its resources to the limit. This unanticipated need used what supplies we had on ​hand, and because of the added stress survivors experienced due to the storms, our staff ​were exposed to greater vicarious trauma than they ​are unfortunately accustomed to. We are asking for help to heal our organization after meeting the needs of the persons we serve.Food and operating supplies for emergency shelter Our emergency food supply was exhausted since there were more persons on site at the shelter during the storms and after. Besides consumables, this would include paper plates, garbage bags, plastic utensils, etc. Staff recognition It is not uncommon for 24/7 operations to have staff work on-site continuously during an emergency/ disaster, and that is certainly what happened with CASA! We would very much like to recognize our staff members on Staff Appreciation Day in April not just for the extra time they gave to CASA but for the additional stress they mitigated with survivors who were with us. We were thinking aboutResilience trainingMassages on-site

New Life Village provides a residential community where families seeking permanency for children impacted by foster care or trauma can seek healing in a safe and stable intergenerational Village. New Life Village, a unique residential community for families helping to prevent children from entering or removing children from the foster care system. The Village opened its doors in 2012 and is located in Tampa, Florida – an area which is heavily impacted by both the affordable housing and foster care crises. NLV is an intergenerational community designed to support families raising foster to permanency and kinship children who have survived abuse, neglect and traumas, offering them program-rich, below-market housing and onsite wrap-around services.The campus suffered damages from Hurricane Milton which were not covered by our insurance (deductible too high).

Hurricane Milton critically damaged three crucial infrastructure systems on our residential campus for families experiencing homelessness. 1. Our campus has a system of commercial tankless water heaters that provide hot water to the entirety of campus including residences, programmatic and admin office spaces. The combination of the water systems being turned off and debris that entered the line during Hurricane Milton caused major failure to our hot water system. This required immediate action so the systems are now fixed but did bring unexpected financial stress.2. This campus is equipped with a central fire panel and alarm system. The part of this equipment that detects a fire and alerts the fire department in case of emergency was critically damaged in the hurricane due to water entry. This required immediate action so the systems are now fixed but did bring unexpected financial stress.3. On multiple areas of our property soffit was ripped down by both hurricane Helene and Milton and tree and debris entered campus and had to be removed quickly for residential safety. This required immediate action so the systems are now fixed but did bring unexpected financial stress.

We need to replace a a broken generator for a mobile medical unit. This mobile unit offers pregnancy testing, ultrasounds, and options counseling at no cost to those we serve.

Ready for Life is respectfully requesting $75,000 to address mission-critical programming for basic needs after recent hurricanes Helene and Milton. No other agency has been established to address the lack of support for teens aging out of foster care and entering "adulthood". Ready for Life has been part of the solutions since 2009. We receive most of our funds from individuals, businesses, fundraising, community and family foundations. Our clients need your assistance more than ever as problems just got a whole lot worse for hundreds of young adults. For those young adults with children, increased stress and decreased resources just made life more difficult and potentially catastrophic. We have critical needs to attend to and your investment in the community shines bright. Often our clients are in crisis with no family to turn to. Urgent needs are usually associated with homelessness, lack of transportation, low-paying jobs, and parenting. At Ready for Life, our center is open Monday to Friday between 9 AM - 5 PM with occasional night and weekend events. Critical needs may include a place to shower or have mail delivered to; a hot meal, a place to do laundry, and connections to people who understand the path they have been on. Also critical are life-skills mentoring, access to stable housing, education, employment, professional clothing, and too often - food security. Last year we served 350 Tampa Bay teens/young adults & 118 of their children with 4630 services.

Hurricane Helene flooded Pinellas County's barrier islands. Residents of Clearwater Beach, including Clearwater Marine Aquarium's (CMA) special needs animals found themselves underwater from a storm surge. Months later, CMA is still recovering. While we have many requests for funding out to the government, including SBA and FEMA, we had to make the difficult decision to temporarily downsize our staff while the remaining team accepts salary cuts to stay open. Attendance numbers have significantly decreased and CMA is seeking financial support to provide essential animal care and support our vital mission of rescue, rehab, release, and research.

The 2024 hurricane season did unprecedented damage across the Tampa Bay area. Hurricanes Helene and Milton caused widespread flooding and wind damage that destroyed the homes and vehicles of countless households. Storm officials estimate that tens of thousands of homes were affected in the Tampa Bay area. Many families who rent their homes are still struggling to find suitable housing. The standard deposits that families provided in good faith to their landlords are not being returned as landlords drag their feet, deny requests, or refuse to release tenants from their leases even when homes are uninhabitable. This situation leaves families without the funds necessary to secure a new home and begin to put their lives back together. Wheels of Success (WOS) has a 20-year history of assisting eligible working individuals with personal transportation through a program of car repairs, “new-to them vehicles, and car-related services. Since the hurricanes, WOS has had continual requests from clients whose hurricane damaged homes are uninhabitable but are unable to secure new housing because of their landlords’ actions. WOS requests $25,000 to assist working clients from Hillsborough, Pinellas, or Pasco who have documented loss of their rented home and denial of returned deposits due to the recent hurricanes. WOS will directly pay the new landlord and/or utility so that clients are safely housed. Any deposits eventually returned will be paid to WOS to assist additional clients.

Replace flooring; books and other class materials; clothes damaged in the "community clothes closet" and furniture.

7 of 8 buildings on our 2 campuses were damaged by flooding during Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Most of the repair work has been completed, including demolition, replacement of drywall, replacement of flooring, electrical repairs, replacement of cabinetry in kitchens and bathrooms, replacement of furniture and appliances, replacement of classroom supplies and equipment, replacement of 200' of fence that was destroyed, tree removal, painting, etc.. So far we've paid these costs using credit cards, from reserve funds which are nearly depleted and we have done some fundraising.

Our Sweetwater Cafe and Market flooded 12 inches from Hurricane Helene and resulted in power loss for 10 days after October 10th. We had to cut out the drywall and insulation out up to four feet on every wall in the cafe and throw out all of the perishable products in the market. The cafe and market has been closed since the hurricane and we are slowly putting the pieces back together to get it open. We are installing cement board on the wall with new insulation, replacing equipment, furniture and once that is complete we can begin to purchase product again from suppliers which include: Mother Kombucha, Little Pond Farm, Frog Song Farm, Java Planet Organic Coffee, Queen & Colony Honey, GulfCoast Sourdough Bread, St Pete Ferments, etc

All three of our campuses were heavily affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Our preschool campus was flooded with over 3 feet of storm surge from Helene causing us to relocate for the fall semester while we remediated and rebuilt. Over 90% of our preschool contents were destroyed including curriculum and furniture. Milton affected our elementary and middle school campuses. Our elementary building sustained major roof damage causing rainwater in several classrooms. Milton also destroyed our turf playground area and toppled our concrete retention wall between our school and neighborhood. Although we have insurance, our deductibles are high and there are separate policies on each building.

FEBS incurred significant unbudgeted expenses on September 26-27 and October 9-10 when hurricanes Helene and Milton slammed into the Tampa Bay and Nature Coast areas. The brunt of the hurricane damage was to our hardwood trees, about 12 of which had to be removed or severely pruned to avoid collateral damage to our manmade structures. Between October 2 and 18, 2024, we paid $7,400 to have half a dozen trees removed, with repair and reinforcement of a portion of fence line. A grant in that amount will return our 2025 budget to pre-hurricane balanced status, thereby assuring our ability to acquire the resources needed to preserve the health and wellbeing of our feathered wards.

For those in crisis, we are often their last hope. Our clients come to us for support during some of their darkest moments, seeking guidance and healing. In some cases, lives depend on the care we provide, and ensuring a safe, welcoming space is critical to their survival. Suncoast Center seeks to address damaged infrastructure impacting our programs, clients, and staff. Hurricane Milton damaged many of our sites. All units were thoroughly assessed for damage, functionality, age, maintenance needs, life expectancy, and sustainability post storms. Recent Hurricanes have caused us to identify replacement needs for ten damaged and aging air conditioning units across four sites (4010 Central Ave, St. Petersburg; 4024 Central Ave, St. Petersburg; 1001 16th St South, St. Petersburg; and 2960 Roosevelt Blvd, Clearwater) and replace roofs at 4024 Central Ave and 4010 Central Ave in St. Petersburg. Without these repairs, the ability to offer critical services to those in crisis will be severely impacted. We are dedicated to ensuring our facilities are equipped to support the most vulnerable individuals in our community, so they can receive the life-saving care they deserve.

Our team provides education in a safe space for foster youth in Hillsborough and Pinellas county. Our goal is filling the gaps in education for so many foster youth that are falling behind due to moving to different placements and being in different community care facilities. This service we provide will ultimately help raise the graduation rate in Florida and help prepare foster youth for adulthood. With our specialized educators in our classroom and our GED program, it gives more personalized services to foster youth and 1:1 attention they need to thrive. In October and November, our educator, administrator and extra support services were unable to get to our location in Lutz to teach and show up for our foster youth due to their situations and our locations situation around the hurricane. Our team was in a tough spot without being paid during the hurricane and not being able to be on our routine with the children that thrive off constant support. We also lost our private donor that funds our support team due to their circumstances after the hurricane.

We are requesting funds to replace essential office equipment damaged during Hurricanes Milton and Helene. The damage includes computers, printers, and office furniture, all vital for our organization's smooth operation. This equipment is necessary to continue providing community services, managing administrative tasks, and supporting recovery efforts. Replacing these items will allow us to resume normal operations and fulfill our mission of serving those in need. The hurricanes significantly hindered our operations. CANDO plays a crucial role in providing support and resources, and the loss of our office equipment has affected our ability to serve effectively. Computers and printers are essential for maintaining records, communicating with clients and partners, and coordinating programs and services. Office furniture is necessary to create a functional workspace for our staff and volunteers, who are dedicated to helping the community recover and rebuild. Without this equipment, our ability to manage administrative tasks, support recovery efforts, and provide essential services is severely compromised.

Vincent House Pasco, serving Pasco County and located in Hudson Florida sustained damage from water intrusion during Hurricane Milton. We had a major leak in the roof along with water coming in through the north-facing doors. We had to call in ServPro to dry out the flooded areas. Damage was done to the walls, baseboards and flooring. Staff's families have worked together to repair the baseboards and walls. The roof leak has been repaired. We still need to replace the carpets.We are seeking $5,341.53 to reimburse our operating funds for the ServPro services.

Due to power outages ca and roof leaks caused by hurricanes Helene and Milton, thirteen student laptops were damaged. Prolonged exposure to the heat damaged the components and nine no longer work; the other four run very slow. These laptops were used by our students, aged 10-15, enrolled in our micro school in Pinellas Park. BLI is also seeking funding to purchase a mobile charging station to keep student laptops safe.

As our communities suffer from back-to-back hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024, Meals on Wheels is no different and has found ourselves in a dire situation. Many in our community were left stranded and/or still without power due to extreme flooding; some have no home to return to. We were without power for 5 days, which meant all of our freezers stocked with essentials to sustain our organization suffered. The storm (or lightning) destroyed our camera system motherboard, our phone systems work via the internet which alienated our communication with our staff, volunteers, and most importantly, our clients. In all of these instances, our insurance policy covered none of the above. Our policy had so many "clauses" that any possible recourse we had was quickly eliminated. We lost tens of thousands of supplies, equipment, and actionable resources. Our refrigerated truck has got to be replaced. It truly is limping along.Replace the fencing around the building to secure vehicles and outside items. During these fragile times, food becomes an even larger component and can serve as a reliable resource for the community during crises, providing not only food but also a sense of stability and support. Lastly, maintaining a fully stocked pantry of non-perishable items will assist during the perishable food procurement stages.

Project Return urgently seeks funding to repair and replace the back deck at our Mental Illness Recovery Center in Tampa Bay. This deck has long been a crucial outdoor space where our members—adults with severe and persistent mental illness—socialize, participate in daily programs, and find emotional support. Due to significant structural damage from a fallen tree during the recent hurricane season, the deck and surrounding area is now unsafe for use, restricting access to critical programming and limiting mobility for members, particularly those with disabilities.

The Florida Council on Economic Education (FCEE) urgently needs funding for a new office space after Hurricane Milton destroyed our previous location. As a leading organization dedicated to equipping students and educators with essential financial literacy skills, our work is more critical than ever. Without a permanent office, our ability to develop curriculum, host educator training, and coordinate statewide programs is significantly hindered.A new space will provide stability, ensuring we can continue delivering high-quality economic and financial education to Florida’s students. This investment will allow us to maintain a continuity of services for our thousands of teacher partners around the state and adapt to their evolving educational needs. With your support, FCEE can secure a new office and sustain our mission of empowering future generations with financial knowledge.

The Focus Café serves as a vital job training site for students and young adults with developmental disabilities in Tampa Bay through the Focus Academy Charter School Transition Program. Focus Academy supports students ages 11–22 with significant cognitive disabilities, equipping them with essential life and workforce skills. One of their key job training sites is the Focus Café, located in the Temple Terrace Recreation Center in Hillsborough County. For over a month, the program has been struggling with a failing refrigerator, which has now completely broken down. To continue providing valuable training opportunities and food service operations, they are in urgent need of a replacement

We are seeking assistance to address critical needs for High Point Community Pride Inc.'s community building:Repair the roof, bathroom, and electrical issues in our food pantry shed: These repairs are essential to ensure our space remains safe, functional, and welcoming for everyone.Fix faults in our current facilities, including the girls' and boys' restrooms and boys' urinals: As a licensed child care provider, we must maintain restrooms that comply with the Pinellas County Child Care Licensing Board. Make electrical repairs to our food pantry: This will support our weekly food distribution, including non-perishable and perishable items like poultry, to address the community's food insecurities. The repairs involve replacing wiring going to a sub-panel from the main panel and breaker box. These improvements are crucial for maintaining a safe and welcoming environment. Your support will have a significant positive impact on our community. The estimates provided are less than the requested grant amount due to several factors. Our methodology included conservative cost projections and assumptions that may not perfectly align with the requested amount. We factored in possible unanticipated costs, market fluctuations affecting material prices, and an expansion in the project scope necessary to meet our goals. These constraints may have led to understated figures. Since submission, we have received the attached quote/estimation.

Portico Housing Solutions (PHS) empowers men transitioning from homelessness to self-sufficiency through safe, affordable housing, mentoring, life-skills training, personalized case-management, wrap-around services, and spiritual support. On May 31, 2024 the house that launched PHS in 2016 tragically burned down due to a fire on a neighboring lot. It was a total loss and reduced PHS’s capacity by 50% (from 6 to 3 units). PHS has plans to build a brand new, 3 bedroom, 2 bath home on the site, which will restore capacity and its ability to serve single, formerly homeless men who are currently employed. The requested grant will fund the demolition of the existing, fire-damaged structure, lot preparation, and the installation of the home.

United Neighborhood Community Center was located at 1315 9th Ave North, St Petersburg, FL 33705. It was housed in a building that a local church allowed us to use. There was no charge of rent, only utilities. Recently a coffee maker was left on overnight and somehow caused an electrical fire which destroyed the contents of the building.There was office furniture,12 desktop computers,10 tablets, 1 professional printer and 2 personal printers, television,2 telephones,3 cell phones, lobby furniture, office supplies. outside tents, folding chairs, grills, refrigerator, sound system, freezer, microwave and a coffee maker, donated clothes, donated food and all of the aforementioned items were destroyed in the fire. Since we have to find a location, the costs would also include monthly rent and utilities.

Cove Behavioral Health (Cove) is requesting funding to replace the roof on our primary headquarters building. The building’s roof was damaged during Hurricane Milton in October 2024. This is our primary building serving the general public’s need for behavioral health services including youth, adults, the elderly, and the indigent and low-income. Cove behavioral health services include Prevention, Intervention, Residential treatment, Outpatient treatment, Medication-Assisted Treatment, Case Management, Aftercare/Recovery Support and special programming that addresses Pregnant Women and their children, Trauma-Informed Care, Adolescents, and those suffering from or at risk of HIV/AIDS. Supportive services, such as transportation, education, and employment coaching, are also provided to help ensure patients’ stability and ongoing success. While the damage is significant, the repair cost estimate is well below the deductible for our insurance policy coverage forcing Cove to cover the costs through internal sources. Our organization does have a maintenance reserve; however, the reserve has already been used for other storm-related repairs and scheduled maintenance. If other funding cannot be found, Cove’s ability to provide uninsured and underinsured individuals with behavioral health services will be reduced and limit access to care.

The Living Lab Inc. must relocate to comply with zoning regulations to ensure the continuity of our program. Our current facility does not meet the necessary requirements to support our expanding initiatives, limiting our ability to serve the growing number of children, families, and educators who rely on our wellness and social-emotional learning programs. As demand increases daily, securing a new location is essential to maintaining accessibility, improving program delivery, and sustaining our mission for the long term. Although our current lease allows for us to make the necessary zoning changes to continue providing services for the families we support, the property owner does not want to proceed with any zoning adjustments. This leaves the Living Lab with the unexpected burden of the multitude of expenses involved with moving from our established location.

We are requesting emergency grant funds to help replace the unexpected and urgent repair expenses for our Mission Smiles mobile dental truck. This year, we have faced more repair costs than ever before in our mission’s history, totaling $5,362.41. This money was paid from our emergency funds. This cost could have been so much more, but because our Vehicle specialist worked on the truck and therefore eliminated the need to tow the truck and extra labor charges that helped us financially. He volunteered his time and skills to help our mission stay on the road. Essential repairs included an AC cover (discovered at an event when water was pouring in like a waterfall), a new water tank (broke open at an event), a new starter, and a new clutch. These repairs are critical to keeping our mobile clinic operational and continuing to serve our underserved communities with vital dental care.

Faith Temple Church of God is seeking funding to address unexpected structural damage to our building caused by Hurricane Milton. The damage has compromised the integrity of our worship space and community areas, including the roof and ceiling which are essential for maintaining a safe and welcoming environment for our congregation and the local community. Without timely repairs, we risk further deterioration that could prevent us from offering critical services, such as weekly worship, youth programs, and community outreach efforts. We urgently need funding to restore our facility and ensure it remains a safe space for those who rely on it.

St. Pete First United Methodist Church (St. Pete First) seeks funding to replace a mobile shower unit that served unhoused persons in downtown St. Petersburg and install fencing to secure the new unit on its downtown campus. Before Hurricane Milton and Hurricane Helene, St. Pete First partnered with an external third party for three years to offer showers, haircuts, and food to approximately 30 unhoused individuals each month. Unfortunately, the mobile shower unit was rendered inoperable by the hurricanes, and the third party has been unable to reengage in this partnership ever since. While the food service component of this program continues, St. Pete First must purchase its own mobile shower unit to restore that aspect of these services going forward.Located in the heart of downtown St. Petersburg, our mission is to Love St. Pete. To live our mission, we serve approximately 1,000 people living without access to housing on our main church campus as well as in job centers, shelters, and feeding locations across St. Petersburg. Our shower program is central to this work, supporting the health and dignity of these members of our community. Located immediately across the street from Williams Park, St. Pete First is easily accessible for those in need of this service and known as a safe space for our neighbors. They continue to join us in spite of this disruption, and restoring access to these showers is critical to continuing our mission and meeting the needs of those around us.