Hurricane Irma Children's Relief Fund

Thank you for your support of kids during last year’s hurricane season. Your generosity was the driver of our response after Hurricane Irma barreled into the Florida Keys on September 10, 2017. This second of three major U.S. hurricanes in a month left children and families dealing with the loss of homes and power. Schools and child-care centers closed for weeks or months.

We sent nearly 50 staff and volunteers to Florida to launch relief and increase our reach through trusted local agencies. We are still there today, helping restore child-care services, helping children and caregivers cope and preparing families for future disasters. We’re focusing our efforts in the most vulnerable communities and reaching migrant farmer families, many of whom lost everything. Read the impact of your support in our Hurricane Irma One-Year Anniversary report.

Hurricane Irma tested our ability to mobilize a second major relief effort for children in less than a month. Your contribution was crucial, and we are pleased to highlight some of the many ways it has made a difference. Please see your donations at work in this heartwarming video.

Today, Save the Children is responding to the effects of Hurricane Florence. Our emergency responders were on the ground before the hurricane hit and continue to work tirelessly to address the needs of families in shelters. Thousands were forced to evacuate their homes, fearing the worst. With up to 30 inches of rainfall measured in some communities – and some rivers yet to crest – the damage isn’t over yet. Please visit our Hurricane Florence Global Giving Page to help us continue delivering essential support to these American families in crisis.

Thank you again for supporting kids in need.

Hurricane Irma was the most powerful hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic. After tearing its way across a string of Caribbean islands and up through Florida, Hurricane Irma left behind a trail of devastation – with more than 4 million children at risk. Families were left without power and without access to clean water. Many were coping with the loss of homes, and damage to schools and child care programs left children out of school. The areas most heavily impacted were tourist destinations, leaving many parents without work.

Save the Children has committed to stay in Florida through August 2019, supporting the ongoing recovery of children, families and communities. We’re targeting communities in high-poverty areas in the state’s south and southwest and in the Florida Keys. Communities in these places are among those where Irma dealt the strongest blows, and where resources for recovery are most limited.

Our teams and partners in Florida have reached nearly 11,000 families with essentials like hygiene supplies, children’s clothing and meals. We also made a sub-grant to Meals of Hope so that they could continue to provide meal kits and food to low-income families. We also made nine sub-grants to help with rebuilding over 400 preschools and child-care centers that serve 18,500 children. This is a priority because child care and early learning programs are essential to children’s growth, and some families are unable to work without them. Less visible but equally damaging was the impact on children’s emotional well-being. Our team of professionals with expertise in child protection, education and emergency response work out of Miami to serve communities across the south and southwest region. Local partners help us leverage local resources, like venues to hold trainings, or volunteers to help support local programs.We’re committed to staying and working every day to support children and their families throughout the recovery process. Support the Next Phase of Our Recovery Work

• Give: Your caring gift to the Hurricane Irma Children’s Relief Fund will support child-focused relief and recovery programs to survivors.
• Share: Spread the word in your favorite social network about how Save the Children is helping children and families on the ground.

Thanks to compassionate people like you, Save the Children is there, on the ground every day, working to provide essentials – like food and safety – to children trying to survive. Thank you!