Project:Camp’s Hurricane Ian Response
Hurricane Ian has left an indelible mark on Florida with billions of dollars of damage wrought and dozens – maybe hundreds – of lives lost to the generational storm that ripped through the state last week. Project:Camp is on the ground working to get camp up and running as schools are closed and childcare networks are down across much of the Southwestern portion of Florida.
We had been monitoring the storm since it began forming in the Atlantic and knew as it strengthened into a hurricane before hitting Cuba and then gaining steam as it barreled into Florida that this was a situation that Project:Camp would be called upon to respond to. In the days since the storm struck, we’ve been in close contact with state emergency management officials, local childcare providers on the ground, and other disaster response organizations to figure out ways to support families and kids impacted by Hurricane Ian.
It became clear early on that the need for childcare would far outstrip capacity, as schools across entire swaths of Southwest Florida said they would remain closed indefinitely to assess damages and give faculty and staff time and space to recover. I landed in Florida yesterday to continue connecting with partners in the state and assess where the need for free, trauma-informed childcare is greatest. We’re currently finalizing locations to open camp, and plan to have our doors open later this week or early next week at the latest.
The scale of devastation here is simply impossible to describe, and we know that even stretching our capacity to its limits will only scratch the surface of need. We’re looking at how we can increase our impact in a few different ways, including flying out more staff (thank you to our partners at Airlink for helping with flights!) and looking to support existing childcare hubs.
Our recent experience in Weed, CA in the wake of the Mill Fire that ripped through the town at the beginning of September is helping us inform some of our strategy in the state. In Weed (our second time there in a month) we partnered with the local elementary school leadership to adapt our program and run it with the help of faculty and staff. The initiative was a huge success, with Project:Camp helping provide more than 3,500 hours of trauma-informed childcare for the community. It also showed how working with local partners can scale capacity in remarkable ways and create tremendous outcomes.
A big part of the success in Weed was having the support of the California Fire Foundation, who has been a tireless partner, advocate and financial supporter and helped make it possible for us to stand up camp there in record time.
As we get ready to begin another major effort to provide care for children, relief for families and help increase the resilience of communities in Florida, we hope that you can support our continued efforts. Donations, particularly those made on a monthly basis, help us increase our capacity and to respond quickly and effectively when situations like this arise. As storms like Hurricane Ian increase in frequency with the current climate crisis, the need is only growing and we feel compelled to find ways to grow with it. We will always make sure our camps are free for impacted families, and your support makes that mission possible.
With gratitude,
Mikey
Bulletin Board
Huge welcome to the newest member of the Project:Camp Team! Jacqueline Nushi joins us on October 1 as our Northern California Organizer. She brings incredible depth, expertise and passion to our team. She was most recently the Emergency Manager for the Kuruk Tribe, and has deep experience in the disaster response world. We're thrilled to have her on board!
Shout out to our friends at the Resilience Initiative for providing pro bono work to build out and enhance our camp Emergency Operation Plan. We worked with the fabulous Keila Puello who built out a very thoughtful and thorough plan that makes our camps safer and more resilient. Huge thanks to Keila and to our Board Chair Lorraine Schneider for making it happen!
