Tireless Bradenton Single Mom Gets Boost from Season of Sharing After Storm Damage

Editor's Note: 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.

Panic gripped Kim Hinkle as her mind registered the images caught by her flashlight near midnight on an evening in late September: floodwater was rushing into the parking lot in front of her home on the Manatee River.
Echoing all around Kim in the pitch darkness were the screams of neighbors who had waited too long to leave – and now were trapped in their cars, calling for help.

As she and her mom and children stood at the elevated building entrance watching storm surge from Hurricane Helene swallow their cars, Kim hurried everyone inside, struggling to keep a strong face.
“It was surreal to see all the water coming,” she said. “It’s just a very hopeless, helpless feeling.”

Read the full story on the Herald-Tribune.