Season of Sharing off to Huge Start Amid Storm Devastation and Immense Need

This story was originally published by the Herald Tribune and comes from a partnership between the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. Saundra Amrhein covers the Season of Sharing campaign, along with issues surrounding housing, utilities, child care and transportation in the area. She can be reached at samrhein@gannett.com.

Faced with widespread destruction from three back-to-back storms, the Community Foundation of Sarasota County has already received an outpouring of contributions to the annual Season of Sharing campaign that runs through late January.

Expecting an explosion of hardship among residents following hurricanes Debby, Helene, and Milton, three major donors have kicked off the annual Season of Sharing fundraising campaign with a combined $1.75 million.

The contributions include $1 million from The Patterson Foundation and $250,000 from the Baltimore Orioles, which also pledged an additional $250,000 in matching funds.

"In times of crisis, it's essential for us to stand together as a community," said David M. Rubenstein, principal owner of the Orioles. "We hope that this match challenge inspires our fans and community members to give generously and help provide immediate relief for those affected by Hurricane Milton."

Also, the Brian and Sheila Jellison Family Foundation has pledged a $500,000 matching grant to Season of Sharing.

"These storms have brought unimaginable challenges to our community, and we feel a deep responsibility to support both immediate recovery efforts and long-term rebuilding," said Christie Jellison Mucha.

Roxie Jerde, president and CEO of the Community Foundation, commended the donors for "living their values" with their commitment to support their neighbors.

"This partnership exemplifies the spirit of collaboration that is at the heart of Season of Sharing," she said. "For 25 years, Season of Sharing has been a vital resource for people in our community experiencing financial distress, whether that's a personal crisis or created out of a broad disaster, like hurricanes or the COVID pandemic."

Jerde called Season of Sharing a "constant yet flexible safety net" that empowers residents to "emerge from economic crisis with dignity, and in the process, strengthen our entire community."

The Patterson Foundation also will provide an additional match of $100,000 for every $500,000 raised in donations—a practice it has carried out during Season of Sharing's nearly 25 years of existence.

Supporters say every penny will be needed.

You can help: Donate to Season of Sharing

I don't ever remember a time quite like this.
The Season of Sharing campaign comes on the heels of an unprecedented wave of disasters for the area—a region still reeling from one of the worst housing crises in the nation before the trifecta of storms hit.

"I don't ever remember a time quite like this," said Chris Russi, community fiscal agent and liaison with the Glasser/Schoenbaum Human Services Center.

Russi said that many residents were still recovering from Debby and Helene, storms that impacted the region while passing offshore when Milton made landfall on the Sarasota County coast.

"I'm not sure if we've really felt the full impact of what's happening here," Russi said.

And yet, Russi added, as it has for more than two dozen years, Season of Sharing will be there to support residents as they dig out from these latest calamities.

Administered through the Community Foundation and dozens of its partner nonprofits, Season of Sharing has pivoted once more to meet immediate needs.

New rules set in the past year limiting the use of Season of Sharing to once in a lifetime—enacted after last year's unprecedented demand drew down the fund's reserves—have been lifted. Now, households that have used Season of Sharing in the past can apply again if they have been impacted by the storms.

Season of Sharing funds are used year-round to assist individuals and families in an emergency with rent, mortgage, transportation, utility, and childcare expenses in Sarasota, Manatee, DeSoto, and Charlotte counties. There are no administrative fees, so 100% of donations go directly to those in need.

"It felt like hope was on the horizon. That's not the case anymore."
This past year, the number of clients seeking rental assistance climbed following the end of pandemic relief programs, said Margi Dawson, director of development at the nonprofit Turning Points.

"Our clients were struggling before the storm," she said.

The biggest underlying problem, exacerbated by the storm damage, is the dire shortage in affordable housing, case managers say.

"Now, especially after Milton, people lost so much work," Dawson added. "We are expecting in the upcoming months a lot more people in distress."

That includes many employed in restaurants on the barrier islands, said Erin Minor, Harvest House's CEO and executive director.

"They have a long haul before they are back up and running," Minor said of those businesses.

More than 70,000 people in Sarasota and Manatee counties had been employed by the region's large hospitality industry—a sector that took an enormous hit by the storms, community leaders say.

Its employees are often part of working families who are considered ALICE—Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.

"Our ALICE families are the most vulnerable to disasters," Minor said. "They don't have the resources to prepare adequately or be out of work for a week or more. Our clients have been laid off."

Weeks before the first of this year's storms hit the Sarasota area, a new United Way Suncoast report showed that the share of households classified as ALICE in both Sarasota and Manatee counties was rising. Thousands of additional area residents and families had fallen into economic hardship the past year following the end of federal pandemic relief. That was largely due to housing costs but soaring childcare expenses, too.

Many are scrambling to meet high homeowners insurance deductibles, while many renters in damaged homes have nowhere to go.

Despite the hardships, before the storms, many were starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel—with the real estate market slightly cooling and additional affordable units coming online.

"It felt like hope was on the horizon," Minor said. "That's not the case anymore."

Seniors hard hit
Some renters from storm-damaged units are splitting up as families to stay with relatives or friends, said Heather Nicklaus, director of client services with Step Up Suncoast in Manatee County.

While the nonprofit has been able to put some renters up at hotels or help with electrical repairs through disaster relief dollars, a lot of homeowners are stuck in their damaged homes.

That's particularly true of older adults, who were making up a larger share of ALICE households before the storm.

"A lot of older people are now doing Uber and DoorDash," she said.

Given Florida's costly and problematic homeowners insurance market, many seniors on fixed incomes did not carry flood or wind insurance. Some can't haul out flood-destroyed cabinets, drywall, or furniture by themselves while waiting on FEMA or contractors.

"We had one gentleman say that his floor is squishy and he is walking around on that," Nicklaus said. "In another case, an older woman unable to gut her water-soaked structure on her own was spending hours sitting outside as mold took over her house."

"I am watching people care about each other."
Leaders at the Community Foundation say they are here for families for the long haul, through the separate Suncoast Disaster Recovery Fund as well as through support of a joint study and action plan on housing whose partial results will be revealed in late November at the next Affordable Housing Summit.

But in an emergency, families need immediate help. And that's where Season of Sharing comes in.

"We are a community that is coping right now," said Kirsten Russell, vice president of community impact for the Community Foundation. "We are still trying to build safety and survival before we can chart a course forward to being adaptable. That happens through cooperation—demonstrated through the dozens of nonprofit agencies that partner with Season of Sharing and legions of donors, from large foundations to everyday residents seeking to help their neighbors.

Season of Sharing doesn't exist the way it does if we are not a collaborative community. When households rebound, communities rebound. That looks different during a pandemic or a housing crisis. But the purpose never wavers. It never changes."

Debra Jacobs, president and CEO of The Patterson Foundation, said her agency decided to make the large donation to kick off the Season of Sharing campaign because so many families were already in turmoil and various stages of coping before Debby, Helene, and Milton.

"We thought by us coming forward with a million dollars, they would know that yes, somebody cares, there is hope, I can get through this, there is a safety net there," Jacobs said.

Still, the demand for help will be great after three consecutive storms.

"We realize that $1 million is a substantial donation, but we know that the needs will far surpass that," she said.

"The beautiful part of Season of Sharing is that while people who donate may never meet the family they helped, they know the recipients are their neighbors.

They are part of your community. They could be the person who takes your blood next week when you go in for your lab test. That's where kindness is so important. We don't know what everyone we run into is facing," Jacobs said. "The good will rise," she added, "and I do believe that I am watching people care about each other."

How to help
You can donate to Season of Sharing by going to cfsarasota.org or calling 941-556-2399. You can also mail a check to Season of Sharing, Community Foundation of Sarasota County, 2635 Fruitville Road, Sarasota, FL 34237. Look for mail-in donation cards in the pages of this paper.