To help survivors of recent disasters donate to the Governor's Emergency Relief Fund
Alabama Governor's Office of Volunteer Services
INCREASING THE ETHIC OF SERVICE AND VOLUNTEERISM ACROSS ALABAMA
Hurricane Ian Response Efforts:
For more information about donating or volunteering for Hurricane Ian relief, please visit the websites below.
For general information and resources related to the Storm, please visit FloridaDisaster.org/info.
If you are interested in helping, please visit the links below. You can also follow @VolunteerFla and @FLSERT on social media for updates.
In response to impacts from Hurricane Ian, Volunteer Florida has activated the Florida Disaster Fund. The Florida Disaster Fund is the State of Florida's official private fund established to provide financial assistance to our communities as they respond to and recover from times of emergency or disaster. In partnership with public, private, and other non-governmental organizations, the Florida Disaster Fund supports response and recovery activities.
Donations to the Florida Disaster Fund are made to the Volunteer Florida Foundation, 501(c)(3) charitable organization, and are tax-deductible. To contribute, please visit FloridaDisasterFund.org or text DISASTER to 20222.
Donations may be made by credit card on the secure website or by check to the below address. Checks should be made payable to the
Volunteer Florida Foundation and should include “Florida Disaster Fund” in the memo line.
Volunteer Florida Foundation
Attention: Florida Disaster Fund
1545 Raymond Diehl Road Suite 250
Tallahassee, FL 32308
VOLUNTEER FLORIDA
Volunteer Florida is Florida's lead agency for volunteerism and national service. Volunteers are a critical part of a well-coordinated disaster recovery effort. To volunteer, visit Volunteer Florida and register on the volunteer database. Please be patient and do not self-deploy – organizations will contact qualified volunteers as soon as possible.
*ATTENTION AFFILIATED GROUPS: If your group is going to volunteer in Florida in response to Hurricane Ian, please send an email to HurricaneIan@VolunteerFlorida.org and let them know you are coming and what service you will be providing.
Mobile Apps
FEMA - mobile app
Red Cross - mobile apps
Gas Buddy - Gas stations availability
Helpful tips for Donating:
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Cash is best! –This allows relief organizations to purchase exactly what items are needed to assist in the response and recovery efforts. Funds will also provide direct victim assistance.
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Confirm the Need Before Collecting – Donors should be wary of anyone who claims that “everything is needed.” Many groups have been disappointed that their efforts and the goods they collected were not appreciated. A community hit by disaster, however, does not have the time, manpower or money to sort and dispose of unneeded donations. Get precise information and confirm the need before collecting any donated goods.
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Connect with established organizations - For a list of National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NVOAD) members that are engaged in response and recovery efforts, please click here.
Helpful tips for Volunteering:
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Call 2-1-1 to register to volunteer.
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Be mindful: Affiliate with existing non-profit organizations before coming to the disaster area. Immediately following a disaster, a community can become easily overwhelmed by the amount of generous people who want to help. Contacting and affiliating with an established organization will help to ensure that you are appropriately trained to respond in the most effective way.
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Be safe: Do not self-deploy until a need has been identified and the local community impacted has requested support. Wait until it is safe to travel to volunteer sites and opportunities have been identified. Once assigned a position, make sure you have been given an assignment and are wearing proper safety gear for the task.
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Be patient: Recovery lasts a lot longer than the media attention. There will be volunteer needs for many months, often years, after the disaster - especially when the community enters the long-term recovery period.