BALTIMORE, MD – International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) has been awarded $25,000 in the first round of Florida Disaster Fund grants to help communities in the Florida Panhandle recover after Hurricane Michael, where IOCC response has been ongoing since the storm hit.
The Florida Disaster Fund is the state’s official instrument for assisting communities in the wake of disasters, and funds awarded to IOCC will support continued debris removal, home repair, muck-and-gut operations crucial to households’ recovery, and the replacement of basic household items, among other recovery activities.
“These new funds will help ensure that more families get back on their feet even more quickly,” said IOCC’s US Country Representative Daniel Christopulos, who oversees IOCC’s U.S. Program, including current activities in Florida. “It’s going to be a long road, but IOCC and our partners in Florida are working to make the recovery as efficient and as complete as possible.”
In the early days after the storm, IOCC deployed Frontliners who offered emotional and spiritual care to affected families in the Panama City area. The organization conducted a rapid needs assessment for additional response activities and arranged for a semi-truck of clean-up buckets, hygiene kits, and blankets to be delivered to Ocala, Florida, for distribution throughout the state. IOCC identified underserved areas outside Panama City where they began clean-up operations, starting with debris removal. An AmeriCorps Team was assigned to IOCC to assist in the initiative.
Those wishing to support IOCC’s response to Hurricane Michael and other disasters in the United States can do so with a financial gift online: iocc.org/hurricanemichael or by phone: 877-803-4622.
International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) is the humanitarian and development agency of the Assembly of Canonical Bishops of the United States of America. Since its inception in 1992, IOCC has provided more than $661 million in humanitarian relief and sustainable development programs in over 60 countries worldwide. Today, IOCC applies its expertise in humanitarian response to human-caused and natural crises in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the United States, offering assistance based solely on need. Follow IOCC @IOCCRelief on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
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