Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS announced October 23, 2024, that it has awarded, fueled by the theater community’s generosity, $300,000 in emergency grants to nine food banks and community service organizations actively helping residents from Florida to North Carolina recover and rebuild from the catastrophic damage caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

Eight local organizations, which already are part of Broadway Cares’ National Grants Program, are each receiving $25,000 grants. Broadway Cares also is sharing a $100,000 grant with the Hispanic Federation, which is helping efforts to connect on-the-ground support with underserved families and communities affected by the hurricanes.

“We’re proud to be able to share the Broadway community’s support and generosity in times of crisis and hardship for so many,” Tom Viola, executive director of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, said. “These grants are helping build the road to recovery by providing accessible meals, clean water and health, hygiene and cleaning supplies. The vital, on-the-ground local efforts of these eight grantees across six states are helping so many reclaim their lives after these heartbreaking disasters.”

The eight organizations receiving $25,000 emergency grants are AID Upstate in Greenville, SC; Feeding Tampa Bay in Tampa Bay, FL; Feeding Southwest Virginia in Salem, VA; Harvest Hope Food Bank in Columbia, SC; Loving Food Resources in Asheville, NC; Second Harvest of East Tennessee in Maryville, TN; Second Harvest of South Georgia in Valdosta, GA; and Second Harvest of the Big Bend in Tallahassee, FL. 

“Our food bank was destroyed,” said Brent Wyatt, executive director of Loving Food Resources, which helps people living with HIV/AIDS and others facing in-home hospice care. “In 2019, we purchased a natural, gas-fed generator with a Broadway Cares grant, and because of that generator I am pleased to say we lost no refrigerator or freezer items from the hurricane. This $25,000 grant will allow us to continue our food distribution as we have been cut off from our food bank after the devastating floods.”

At Feeding Tampa Bay, Director of Development Jennifer Kilburg said that more than 888,000 individuals in the area were experiencing food insecurity. “Those who were already struggling before the storm now face heightened risks,” Kilburg said. “This emergency grant will enable us to distribute 125,000 meals to individuals affected by the hurricanes.”

The $100,000 grant to the Hispanic Federation will support even more families and community-based organizations across North Carolina and Florida providing lifesaving emergency relief. Focusing on the needs of underserved populations, the grant will expand upon the Hispanic Federation’s support already shared with 18 nonprofit partners. 

“We could not be more grateful to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS for the way they continue to be first in line to respond to our call for help, especially during the most difficult of moments for our community,” said Frankie Miranda, president and CEO of Hispanic Federation. “Thanks to Broadway Cares’ generosity and leadership, we are able to focus on providing care to the most vulnerable – those who are not seen or heard on the news, and often go unserved: mixed status families, guest farmworkers, meat and poultry workers, and Spanish and indigenous language speakers.”

Hurricane Helene, a powerful Category 4 storm, made landfall in Florida on September 26, 2024. With winds reaching 140 mph, it caused widespread devastation, including severe flooding and storm surge along the Gulf Coast, and inland damage as far as Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas. The storm’s combination of heavy rainfall and strong winds killed nearly 250 people across the Southeast.

Hurricane Milton reached peak sustained winds of 180 mph, becoming one of the most intense Atlantic hurricanes in recent history. The storm, which made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane on October 9, 2024, caused widespread devastation across Florida. Milton produced dangerous storm surges, heavy rain and at least 41 tornadoes, with severe damage particularly in the Sarasota and Tampa Bay areas.