Hurricanes and How You Can Help

The news from the southlands has been riveting over the past couple of weeks as Hurricane Harvey parked over south Texas and Louisiana and Hurricane Irma roared through the Caribbean before doing a slow crawl up the Florida peninsula.

As a young man I worked construction jobs in Baytown, Texas and at the Exxon refinery. And, I ran the chamber of commerce is Sarasota, Florida. Having prepared for three hurricanes, my wife and I relived those experiences and discussed how blessed we felt not to be going through all that.

The hard work is now in front of those impacted as they try to dig out and dry out. Homes and possessions lost, no electricity, and in some cases no income because workplaces are closed or even gone.

The distress is so widespread it can feel overwhelming in terms of figuring out how to even help.

Fortunately, the Bohemian Foundation and Community Foundation of Larimer County have teamed up with a hurricane fund. Bohemian has pledged up to $3 million of matching money meaning that for every dollar donated to the hurricane recovery fund at the Community Foundation, Bohemian will donate a dollar.

Per information from the two organizations, to donate online, visit the Community Foundation’s website at NoCoFoundation.org/hurricane. To have a personal conversation regarding a gift or to donate stock, please contact the Community Foundation team at [email protected] or 970-224-3462. Checks may be made payable to the Community Foundation of Northern Colorado, memo Hurricane Recovery, and sent to 4745 Wheaton Dr., Fort Collins, CO 80525. Donors also can text COLOGIVES to 41444, a text-to-give option provided by United Way of Larimer County for this fund.

Thanks for helping.