Theatrical non-profit Broadway Cares has awarded $300,000 in emergency grants to nine food banks and community service organizations serving those affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton in Florida and North Carolina.
“We’re proud to be able to share the Broadway community’s support and generosity in times of crisis and hardship for so many,” says Broadway Cares Executive Director Tom Viola in a statement. “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.”
Eight $25,000 grants went to eight local organizations in Broadway Cares' National Grants Program, including AID Upstate in Greenville, South Carolina; Feeding Tampa Bay in Tampa Bay, Florida; Feeding Southwest Virginia in Salem, Virginia; Harvest Hope Food Bank in Columbia, South Carolina; Loving Food Resources in Asheville, North Carolina; Second Harvest of East Tennessee in Maryville, Tennessee; Second Harvest of South Georgia in Valdosta, Georgia; and Second Harvest of the Big Bend in Tallahassee, Florida.
A $100,000 grant went to the Hispanic Federation, aiding their efforts to connect on-the-ground support with underserved families and communities affected by the catastrophic storms.
“Our food bank was destroyed,” says 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."
Feeding Tampa Bay Director of Development Jennifer Kilburg says they're facing more than 888,000 local individuals suffering from 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.”
“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,” adds Hispanic Federation President and CEO Frankie Miranda. “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.”
Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is one of the nation’s leading industry-based, nonprofit AIDS fundraising and grant-making organizations. By drawing upon the talents, resources, and generosity of the American theatre community, since 1988 Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS has raised more than $300 million for essential services for people with HIV/AIDS, COVID-19, and other critical illnesses across the United States.
Visit BroadwayCares.org.
