Better Together to provide relief efforts to Gulf Coast families impacted by Hurricane Milton

As Florida’s Gulf Coast begins to clean up after Hurricane Milton, Better Together, a local nonprofit dedicated to children and families, is mobilizing teams of volunteers to aid families across Florida’s Gulf Coast.

On Friday, Oct. 11 and Saturday, Oct. 12, Better Together will work with church partners and volunteers to provide resources and deliver essential supplies to families impacted by the storm, including in Southwest Florida as well as in Pinellas, Hillsborough, Sarasota and Manatee counties, with semi-trucks of water provided by Gold Coast Eagle Distributing.

Volunteers and regional churches are needed to assist with these efforts.

Additionally, volunteers are needed in these regions to provide short-term child care to first responders, essential workers and families in need of getting their children into a safe environment. Volunteer families are carefully vetted and background-checked to provide care for families in need.

“When families are in crisis, we are ready to stand in the gap and catch them before they fall. We are coordinating daily with church, business and state partners to provide children and families with the essentials and to connect them with urgently needed resources,” said Megan Rose, CEO of Better Together. “Every hour volunteered, every dollar donated, can be the difference between a family breaking apart or recovering from the storm intact and stronger.”

Before Hurricane Milton made landfall, Better Together’s volunteers were boots on the ground, serving families across the Gulf Coast and preparing supply trucks that were ready to deploy immediately after the storm. Now, volunteers are helping families pick up the pieces, knocking on doors, delivering meals and supplies, and triaging the most urgent needs of children and families. Similar efforts took place following Hurricane Ian in 2022 and most recently after Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend.

To get help, give help or learn more about how to support hurricane relief efforts, visit BetterTogetherUS.org/Hurricane-Relief.