Page 9 - Palm City Spotlight - October '24

Palm City Spotlight, Page 9

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House Of Hope Creates nonprofits like the House of Hope are able to be proactive
Disaster Kits With Grant in providing clients with hurricane-preparedness kits before
the storm and responding quickly after it.
From The Community “Historically, in the middle of the storm, I would be
preparing to reach out to our clients and friends to say,
Foundation Martin-St. Lucie ‘Okay, it’s real. The storm hit. We’re going to need to help
the frontline organizations really quickly,’” The Community
If you live paycheck to paycheck, it’s almost impossible Foundation Martin-St. Lucie CEO Elizabeth Barbella
to gather the supplies you’ll need before a hurricane or the said. “And when the dust settled, we’d be reaching out to
resources you’ll need to recover. organizations asking for some type of simple application and
The House of Hope staff know this story all too well: then deploying the resource.”
low-income families who go into a hurricane without The Local Disaster Relief Fund gives donors an
the ability to stock up on supplies, households who lose opportunity to set aside funds in advance of a hurricane or
precious perishable food when the electricity goes out, other disaster. Their proactive philanthropy gives nonprofits
hourly workers who can’t get paid because their places of like House of Hope the knowledge that resources will be
employment are shuttered. there when needed.
Thanks to a designated disaster-relief fund established “Now we can plan, knowing we will have the resources
through The Community Foundation of Martin-St. Lucie, in place and ready to go when our clients need them,” House
Community partners and volunteers, including a team from
Macy’s, helped House of Hope pack supplies into 1,150 kits
for vulnerable households and for individuals experiencing
homelessness in Martin, St. Lucie and Okeechobee Counties
so they’ll be better prepared for hurricane season.

of Hope CEO Rob Ranieri said. “It will make us an effective
resource for the lower income community, and it will be
almost instant, like flipping a switch.”
This summer House of Hope began using funds from
the program to assemble 1,150 hurricane preparedness
kits, including 250 that have additional supplies for those
experiencing homelessness. Supplies include nonperishable
food, flashlights, batteries, water, tarps, hand sanitizer, a
manual can opener, garbage bags, a first aid kit, tents, bug
spray, and string bags.
Without this assistance, most of the organization’s clients
wouldn’t be able to stockpile supplies, said House of Hope
CEO Rob Ranieri. “It’s a couple hundred bucks they don’t
have in their budget.”
House of Hope is taking the lead in working with partner
agencies in neighboring counties, distributing support to
Mustard Seed and GraceWay Village in St. Lucie County
and Our Village in Okeechobee County.
“We’re grateful to The Community Foundation and its
donors for the incredible foresight to plan ahead and put
a structure in place that will greatly benefit the people we
serve,” Ranieri said. “The Local Disaster Relief Fund is an
ingenious concept and a lifesaver.”
To learn more about House of Hope or to donate, visit
House of Hope’s website at www.hohmartin.org or call (772)
286-4673. Updates and announcements can also be found on
Facebook, Instagram, and X.

Local Happenings from page 8
ADVANCED The Foxwynd Foundation DAF funded the
Foxwynd Foundation’s generous donation to the House
CANCER CARE of Hope. Half of the funds received will help House of
Hope procure perishable items for its pantries and food
bank partners. “Perishable items aren’t typically donated
and have a short shelf life,” Ranieri said, “but we know
When faced with a cancer diagnosis, the that foods like milk, butter, eggs, chicken, turkey and
Robert and Carol Weissman Cancer Center at meats are important parts of the well-rounded healthy
diet that we try to provide for our clients.”
Cleveland Clinic Martin Health will be with you every The other half of the grant will be used to support
step of the way. Our team of surgeons and cancer the operations of the Growing Hope production farm in
specialists deliver the care that’s best for you, Palm City, where greenhouses, orchards, and a packing
house enable House of Hope to grow fresh produce for
from personalized therapies and comprehensive its Client Choice pantries and food bank partners. At peak
support services to robotic surgery and production, the farm is now producing well over 1,500
breakthrough treatments. packages of fresh produce weekly.
“We’re very grateful to the Foxwynd Foundation for
their confidence in us,” Ranieri said. “While House of
Complete cancer care is close to home. Hope is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, we
continue to grow and find new ways to help our clients
and the community.”
To learn more about House of Hope or to make
Learn more at ClevelandClinicFlorida.org/Cancer a donation, visit House of Hope’s website at www.
hohmartin.org or call (772) 286-4673. Updates and
or call 877.463.2010 to schedule an appointment. announcements can also be found on Facebook,
Instagram, and X.