Donations slow to come in, slow to be spent in Bay County after Hurricane Michael

Feb. 03--PANAMA CITY -- As far as some nonprofits are concerned, the donations that have seemingly poured into the Hurricane Michael recovery response have been more of a trickle with a couple of notable exceptions.

While the community is grateful for the donations that have come in since the historic Category 4 hurricane struck, they so far pale to the total amount given over the same period in other recent disasters across both Florida and the nation, nonprofits say.

Bryan Taylor, president and CEO of United Way of Northwest Florida, said the nonprofit's national organization, United Way Worldwide, recently stated that Hurricane Michael had the worst donation response in years compared to other similar disasters.

"I think it's mainly donor fatigue," Taylor said. "We had three big storms just last year."

According to United Way Worldwide, the organization received $735,224.68 in donations for its Hurricane Michael relief campaign. In contrast, the nonprofit received more than $5.4 million in 2017 for its Hurricane Harvey campaign and another $11.7 million combined for Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria.

Also last year before Michael, United Way collected approximately $1.2 million in donations for Hurricane Florence.

Other national agencies are also reporting the donations seem a little low. The American Red Cross said they've spent more than they've collected and Habitat for Humanity said what's been collected simply falls short.

"It's not enough compared to what the need is," said Lance Rettig, executive director for Habitat for Humanity of Bay County. "The national response has been less compared to disasters like Hurricane Harvey or Hurricane Sandy."

As for why the donations are coming in at below average rates, it's hard to say.

"Many factors contribute to the amount of donations that we receive to support the disaster affected communities, including impact of the disaster, general media coverage, celebrity endorsement, corporate sponsors and many other contributing factors," said Southerlyn Reisig, director of public relations for United Way Worldwide.

According to a statement provided by Volunteer Florida's Florida Disaster Fund, the state's private fund to assist communities following disasters, comparing donation rates for different catastrophes can be difficult because there's many variables to consider.

"For example, Hurricane Irma impacted a large, densely populated area in Florida over a year ago and Hurricane Michael affected 12 counties in the Panhandle less than three months ago," the statement reads.

But the need in Northwest Florida since the storm has been great. And it's also in Northwest Florida where one charitable organization has bucked the odds and not only collected more than usual, but is more than double the largest amount it has ever collected.

"This was a catastrophe of biblical proportions and the need is uncountable ... it's really not able to be measured," said Bill Cramer, a partner with The News Herald's Empty Stocking Fund which each year raises money for the local Salvation Army to make sure there are gifts under the tree and food on the table for local families at Christmas. "And there's still a lot of need -- still a lot of people without homes, supplies -- there's a broad range of needs."

This year the locally run Empty Stocking Fund was repurposed from what it has done for some 30 years into the Empty Stocking Hurricane Relief Fund in light of the catastrophic damage wrought by Hurricane Michael. Cramer, who usually donates $5,000 at the end of the campaign, donated $50,000 this year to kick it off and challenge the community to do likewise.

For the last few years the goal has been $185,000, this year no goal was set other than to raise absolutely as much as possible for those in need, said News Herald editor Mike Cazalas, co-chairman of this year's drive.

"We knew Christmas was going to come and go but that this year the need was going to remain long after the holidays passed and the Salvation Army was looking at a bigger job than it's ever seen locally," Cazalas said. "So we've kept the drive open longer than usual and we expect that with some heart-felt and generous donations looming that we will surpass half a million dollars before the drive is closed for the year. That's twice as much as we've ever raised and it is astounding that the community has been this generous when so many people who are giving are suffering losses themselves."

The fund stood at about $488,000 last week, with donations still being accepted by the Salvation Army and can be mailed to either The Empty Stocking Fund, c/o The Salvation Army, P.O. Box 540, Panama City, FL 32402; or The News Herald, P.O. Box 1940, Panama City, FL 32402.

The local Salvation Army has used the money to buy and serve more than one million meals to residents, Cramer said. It has also supplied clothing, personal hygiene items, rental assistance and other supplies.

It's worth noting some groups, like the Salvation Army, use the donated money faster than others, creating a more visible impact sooner.

The American Red Cross is another organization that was on the frontlines. It reported that it raised $28.6 million in the first month after the hurricane and spent an estimated $31.8 million in relief during the same timeframe.

Amber Bierfreund, spokeswoman for the American Red Cross North Florida region, said in Bay County the organization served 896,000 meals and snacks, distributed 37,650 disaster supplies and provided 18,750 health and mental health contacts to those in need.

Bierfreund said Red Cross has since shifted into the main recovery phase of the disaster, providing financial assistance to residents whose homes were destroyed or had major damage.

Another group quickly distributing funds is the Lynn Haven Hurricane Michael Relief Fund, which has collected approximately $120,000 and given $100,000 to 100 families in the city in $1,000 increments. There's no limitations on the funding, which goes to Lynn Haven residents, but the hope is for those who fill out the one page application to use it pay insurance deductibles and do refurbishments or repairs on their homes

"Our goal is to eventually give $1,000 to 8,000 families ... we're hoping to get donations from national companies," said Lynn Haven Mayor Margo Anderson who moved to start the fund three weeks after the storm. "We feel it's a very unique charity because it's putting cash directly in the hands of people."

But others move at a different pace.

To date, Volunteer Florida's Florida Disaster Fund has received more than $6 million to support hurricane relief in the Panhandle. Of that, so far only $600,000 has been distributed evenly among 24 organizations who are helping with the hurricane recovery, such as the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity and the Catholic Charities of Northwest Florida.

United Way, which has an application process, is also distributing the funds at a steadier rate.

Taylor said that of the money collected for Michael, his United Way had distributed $108,000 so far and that another $200,000 to $300,000 would be spent in the next two weeks. The money they have spent has gone to non-profits, notably $25,000 to Anchorage Children's Home, the Mental Health Association of Bay County and the local Boys and Girls Club.

Joel Booth, executive director for Anchorage Children's Home in Panama City, said the hurricane damaged the nonprofit's shelter for runaway children and kids who are victims of domestic violence. While insurance is helping with repairs, the shelter still needs new supplies, which is where the donations come into play, Booth said.

"We'll spend it on items like linen, shower curtains, hand towels, things like that," Booth said.

Booth said the goal is for the shelter to reopen by February so area children no longer have to be referred to other facilities in Pensacola or Tallahassee.

Another organization getting ready to launch into a busy season is the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity.

"Historically we've built one to four homes a year," Rettig said. "Our plan is to do six to eight home builds and do repairs on 15 homes this year."

While Rettig didn't have a figure on how much would be spent, he noted that Habitat homes typically cost between $75,000 and $85,000 to construct. Repairs typically cost between $3,000 and $9,000 per home, he added.

For the one's lucky enough to be receiving help, there's a lot of gratitude. Habitat is putting Renee Jones in a new home, with the help of money donated for hurricane relief.

Jones, her daughter and niece weren't in their Panama City apartment when Hurricane Michael hit.

The family had evacuated to Alabama the day prior. When they could finally return a week later, they found a home that was almost unrecognizable.

"You could see the sky where there was a hole in the roof," Jones said. "The bed got soaked and even my truck got destroyed."

Jones had to return to Alabama and stayed with family friends, unsure if she'd ever get to move back to Panama City. Then Habitat for Humanity reached out to her.

Jones expects to have her family's new Panama City home through the nonprofit by June.

"Without Habitat, I don't know what I would have done," Jones said, fighting back tears as she spoke. "Words cannot express the feelings I have, the pride at being able to own a home that I can one day leave for my family."

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