How to help, volunteer and donate to those affected by Hurricane Irma

We are collecting information on ways you can help the community. If you're a nonprofit or organization and have a need for supplies or volunteers or money, please send us your information by emailing news@naplesnews.com.

Related:Where to find food, water and supplies

Related:Resources to help with insurance and applying for FEMA assistance

We will continue to add to this list. We also recommend joining our Facebook group on Irma for more information on how to help.

Collier County:

Kowiachobee Animal Preserve is seeking volunteers to assist with clean up of debris, rebuilding of damaged enclosures, as well as general assistance with animal care and cleaning of enclosures. We're in need of help with heavy duty and larger projects as well.

Our 'wish list' items are:

• Screening sand for enclosures
• Home Depot or Lowes gift cards (so we can purchase needed items for repairs)
• Paper towels
• Bleach
• Lysol wipes
• Skin So Soft (by Avon - mosquito deterrent)
• Bottled water/ Gatorade for volunteers
• Cash donations appreciated

Contact John at (239) 253-7828 or Grace at (239) 253-7826 to inquire about volunteering, as well as how to donate.

Volunteer Collier is an internet based program of the United Way of Collier County that matches volunteers with nonprofits. Volunteer Collier will provide marketing and promotional assistance to agencies in search for volunteers.

There is a page that is updated in real time with opportunities to help with local Hurricane Irma restoration projects. There is also a list of needed items supplied directly from local non-profit agencies. Contact Natalie Combs at (239) 261-7112 ext. 206 or natalie.combs@uwcollier.org for more information on how to get involved.

Collier 2-1-1 has collected resources that may help people access services locally. Collier 2-1-1 is available 24 hours day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.  Contact Collier 2-1-1 by dialing 2-1-1, (239) 263-421 or text your zip code to 898211 to get help via text.

“The Community Foundation of Collier County, in partnership with the United Way of Collier County and, established the Collier Comes Together Disaster Relief Fund to provide assistance to Hurricane Irma victims. The fund has raised approximately $900,000 to date. 100% of donations collected are distributed to victims and their families.

More information can be found at: http://www.unitedwayofcolliercounty.org/2-1-1

Habitat for Humanity is helping Holiday Manor, a manufactured home community located near Habitat’s Trail Ridge neighborhood, which sustained structural damage, destroyed roofs and flooding. In an effort to provide relief, a team of Habitat volunteers, staff, and homeowners will gather to clean up debris and offer a hand to neighbors in need. We are getting together this Saturday, September 30th, 2017 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. to help out. Volunteers can register at:  http://IrmaRecovery.HabitatCollier.VolunteerHub.com/

Harry Chapin Food Bank is seeking donations is outside its Naples warehouse at 3940 Prospect Ave., No. 101. Donation hours are from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today and Friday. Hours will be 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.

An Immokalee donation center will be at the Immokalee Foundation, 908 Roberts Avenue W., Immokalee. Donation hours are from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday and Friday.

The Shelter for Abused Women & Children is in need of canned food and frozen fruits and vegetables. The pantry is very low on marinara sauce, peanut butter and jelly, canned soup, tuna, canned chicken, etc.  Drop off all items at The Shelter Options Shoppe (986 Second Avenue North, Naples) Hours are Monday-Saturday, 9:30 am-4:30 pm. For more information, call 239-775-3862

Meals of Hope is seeking skilled volunteers to help repair its warehouse at 2221 Corporation Blvd., Naples. It needs roofing, cleaning supplies and carpeting. Paypal contributions to help withrepair work can be made online by clicking the blue Meals of Hope title.

Baby Basics is looking for diapers to supplement the ones they're receiving to give out this week, as well as moneatary donations to buy supplies with. Send donations to www.BabyBasicsCollier.org; host a diaper drive at your home, church, or business; or visit www.Amazon.com, purchase cases of diapers, and send them to 2221 Corporation Blvd, Naples, Florida 34109. 

Red Cross: You can help people affected by Hurricane Irma by making a financial donation at RedCross.org, calling 1-800-REDCROSS (1-800-733-2767), or by texting IRMA to 90999 for a $10 donation. To volunteer, contact John Cain, Director of Volunteer Services, at (239) 313-4077 or email john.cain@redcross.org

The Salvation Army is providing hot meals, drinks, and snacks, blankets, shelter, and emotional and spiritual care to individuals and families affected by Hurricane Irma. To help support these relief efforts, please donate online at www.HelpSalvationArmy.org or call 1-800-SAL-ARMY. To volunteer, register at disaster.salvationarmyusa.org and someone will contact you shortly with further information.

Collier Harvest is collecting nonperishable food items at their warehouse starting Sept. 25. Drop-off hours are Monday-Friday 9 a.m. - 11 a.m. Donations are also being accepted to purchase specific food items to serve local agencies who are experiencing a dramatic increase in the demand for food due to hurricane Irma. Warehouse location: 4451 Mercantile Avenue, Naples.

Youth Haven's most immediate needs are for cash donations and gift cards so they may purchase new clothing for all the children: new cotton t-shirts, tank tops, shorts, underwear, socks, and flip flops for boys and girls ages 6-18. (They are not able to accept used clothing items at this time). They need paper products (such as: paper towels and napkins, plastic cups, plastic plates, plastic forks and spoons) and individually bottled Gatorade. Youth Haven is also seeking off-campus activities to occupy our kiddos and provide some fun experiences for them each day. Text Laura: 239-250-2539, call: 239-774-2904 or contact them via Facebook.

St. Matthew’s House staff are safe, and all facilities are still standing with some water and structural damage. They have set up a site for donations. See website for more information. 

If anyone wants to send/deliver items, here is a list of what is needed:

• Food (Canned meats (tuna, chicken, beef) Single-serve snacks (nuts, trail mix, granola bars) Canned vegetables Canned fruit Dry pasta Pasta sauces
• Bottled water (with our current population we need 774 gallons) Juice box drinks 
• Paper plates Napkins Plastic utensils 
• Sterno fuel cans 
• Blankets, Throw pillows 
• Baby wipes, Diapers, Towels Hand Sanitizer (alcohol free)
• C Batteries
• AA Batteries
• Heavy-duty flashlights
• Painters tape
• Can opener (non-electric)

They accept donations at their donation center on Monday - Saturday from 8 AM - 4 PM
2601 Airport Road South, Naples, Florida 34112 (south side of the building, under the breezeway)

They also need help sorting and distributing supplies to Irma victims! They will be at their boutique thrift store location at 2601 Airport Road South, Naples Florida, 34112 in two shifts: 8 a.m.-1 p.m. and 12:30-3:30 p.m. doing just that. Please come if you are available.

Guadalupe Center in Immokalee needs volunteers for supplies and food distribution starting Wednesday, Sept. 20 from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. at the Guadalupe Center in Immokalee. Send an email to Vaneza at vgonzales@guadalupecenter.org.

Principal Jim Ragusa at Everglades City School has said that many families are in need of help in Everglades City, Copeland, and Chokoloskee. The needs are changing daily. He would greatly appreciate volunteers that are willing to check-in at Everglades City School, where they would be directed to the most urgent projects from general cleaning, to assisting elderly residents in cleanup efforts, to passing out meals.

A hot meal will be provided to residents tomorrow through Sunday between 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Volunteers would be appreciated to pass out meals.

• When to show up? Every day this week - 9 a.m. until evening. All shifts and assistance appreciated. 
• Location: Check in at 415 E School Dr, Ochopee, FL 34141 (Everglades City School)
• Bring the following:
  • General Tools - it would be helpful to bring a toolbox for small repairs, cleaning supplies, chainsaws or other lawn equipment to clear yards. Cleaning supplies are available at Everglades City School, but they are being actively distributed to the residents.
  • Personal Safety Gear - bring a pair of gloves, a personal first aid kit, boots, disinfecting wipes, etc. to take reasonable precautions on varied projects.
  • Food & Water - there is water and Gatorade on site at the school, but plan to take your own cooler so we can leave supplies for those who need it most.
• Donations requested:
  • Air mattresses, plastic tubs, tarps and cleaning supplies. Once they clean something up, they need a clean place to put it. No clothes and toys yet.
  • Other items requested: Clean towels, wet dry vacuums, food, mops, pressure washer, sun screen, bug spray, Vinegar and Hydrogen Peroxide, charcoal, Gatorade, coolers, air mattresses.

Grace Place for Children and Families seeks volunteers to help clear branches and debris from the Grace Place campus. If you’re able and available, please come anytime between 8 a.m. and noon, any day except Sunday. If you can bring rakes and tree saws, we can put them to good use! If you are interested in specific volunteering, contact Chrissie Guzman, Volunteer Experience Manager at 239.234.2467 or email. If you are interested in making a delivery of relief items, contact Dave Tobiasz, CFO/COO at 239.234.2407or email. A website has also been set up for donations. 

The Pan-Florida Challenge needs volunteers and donations to help feed hungry children and families! Volunteers are needed to help distribute food! We are distributing Power Packs of food to kids and families: 

• Thurs. 9/21 at 2:30 pm - Golden Gate Senior Center and Libraryparking lot, 4898 Coronado Pkwy, Naples

They also need donations to their PFC $50K Challenge to help feed children and families in dire need. La Colmar Bakery & Bistro has pledged $25,000 in matching funds for all donations to this campaign. For more information, contact: info@panfloridachallenge.org or call 239 298-1620. Donate at support.panfloridachallenge.org.

Humane Society of Naples shares several ways the community can help:

• Adopt: Our shelter will again soon be full, so please consider adopting! As soon as one pet is adopted, a space opens for another homeless pet; you will keep the cycle of rescue going.
• Volunteer: we cannot exist without our valuable volunteers, who help with dogs, cats, administrative work, reception, events and countless other tasks. Learn more about volunteering.
• Donate: With our income stream frozen/significantly reduced, we rely more than ever on your donations. We receive no funding on the federal, state or local level nor are we affiliated with any other organizations, such as HSUS (we collaborate with them on disaster relief missions but receive no funding from them). We have always relied on private support and our four-star rating from Charity Navigator proves that we are responsible stewards of your funds. Click here to donate.

David Lawrence Center is asking for cash donations and gift cards for clothing, gas and food stores. They have initiated the Collier Mentally Strong Match Fund with a starting donation of $10,000. Their  goal is to match or exceed this amount with donations from the community. Cash donations can be made on their website. Donation drop-offs can be made to our main campus located off of Golden Gate Parkway at: 6075 Bathey Lane, Naples, 34116. 

The Community Foundation of Collier County has teamed up with local law enforcement agencies to establish a “Collier Comes Together Disaster Relief Fund" to provide assistance to Hurricane Irma victims. To donate online to the disaster relief fund, visit www.cfcollier.org or checks can be sent to the foundation at 1110 Pine Ridge Road, Suite 200, Naples, Florida, 34108.

Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens is still determining what the costs will be for recovery after Irma. Donations can be made at  www.napleszoo.org/give 

Shy Wolf Sanctuary is looking for individuals and organizations to come volunteer and help clean up the sanctuary. Once the debris is removed from the property, a fencing company will be needed to repair damaged enclosures.To volunteer, email: volunteer@shywolfsanctuary.org. Visit shywolfsanctuary.org/donate to donate.

The Immokalee Foundation has been a conduit for the entire Immokalee community. E-mail Executive Director Steven Kissinger or bring to the Immokalee Foundation, and he will coordinate the best location.

- Drop off times M-F from 8am -5pm at either:

• Naples Office (3960 Radio Rd # 207, Naples, FL 34104)
• Immokalee M-F from 8-10am, or 2-5pm. They have open distribution to all residents from 10am – 4pm.

Helpful Items: 

• School supplies (as much was lost)
• Canned goods/meals
• Baby wipes/diapers/diaper cream
• Cleaning supplies (bleach, wipes, buckets/, spray, buckets, mops, etc.)

Note, they will accept a variety of items you feel would be helpful, just ask!

Sign up to be a Crowd Source Rescue volunteer. See website for more information.

Showing Up for Racial Justice SWFL Chapter in coordination with other groups are collecting donations to distribute to the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and communities in the Everglades. Donations needed include water, food, clothes, new underwear and socks, toilet paper, baby food, Pedialyte, building materials, gas cans, tarps, and first aid supplies. Corporate donations are needed and will be accepted through Operation Float, a division of the non-profit, (501c3) Everyday Hero Project of St. Petersburg. Information: Ellen Hemrick 617- 872-1030. See Facebook page.

Midwest Food Bank is asking for truck sponsors or truck owners who can help them get more trucks down here. Information: midwestfoodbank.org

Brigid's Crossing, a no-kill North Naples shelter for adult and special-needs cats, needs: canned or dry cat food; canned mackerel to lure in escaped feral cats; dish soap and laundry detergent; kitty litter; and incontinence pads for two-legged cats. It is also seeking all levels of volunteers for needs from cleaning debris to comforting cats. Please call 239-825-3322. Supplies and donations can come to North Naples Petco. 13585 US 41 N. (phone 239-514-0944) or can be mailed or shipped to 8805 US 41 N., Suite 187, Naples 34108, or donate at brigid.com.

NCH Community Blood Center needs blood donors after suspending collection operations because of Hurricane Irma. The center works with the National Blood Exchange to receive shipments of specific blood products, and it is seeking platelet donors. Donors cannot have had aspirin within the previous 48 hours, and female donors can never have been pregnant. Call  239-624-4120, option 3, to make an appointment. Information: www.givebloodcbc.org.

The Conservancy von Arx Wildlife Hospital is open but has no power, so it's asking people who find storm-injured animals to bring along clean towels and water. See website.

Holocaust Museum & Education Center of SWFL will sometime in the week of Sept. 18 begin to unpack the items that were secured in cases and plastic. Putting all the exhibits back together will take some time. They are requesting a few volunteers to help with this effort. Please e-mail Susan@HolocaustMuseumSWFL.org if you would like to assist.

Operation BBQ Relief is stationed at Germain Arena providing much needed hot food for those without. However, they need local volunteers to help. Jeremy Bruce (214) 435-1878 is the onsight contact. They need 75 volunteers from 6-2 am and 3-8 pm shifts.  Visit http://operationbbqrelief.org/ to sign up to volunteer. 

Local celebrity athlete and Realtor Chris Resop and his wife, Kara Resop, are helping out with an Immokalee Hurricane Relief Effort. The event will be held Saturday, Sept. 30, starting at 9 a.m. at the Sam's Club back parking lot off Immokalee Road in North Naples. They are collecting donations to be brought to the Immokalee Boys & Girls Club. Needed items include: water, baby supplies, non-perishable food, clothing, pet food, first-aid and cleaning supplies, batteries, towels and toilet paper. A caravan will leave for Immokalee with the donations collected. Adults are encouraged to bring along their children. If you can't attend and want to donate, call 280-8955 or 200-3075.

Lee County

Coconut Point will serve as a drop-off location for the United Way of Lee, Hendry, Glades and Okeechobee. It will accept donations from Friday, Sept. 22, through Saturday, Sept. 30. Items being accepted for donation include water, non-perishable food, diapers, laundry detergent, baby wipes, tarps and cleaning supplies. All goods accepted will be distributed locally among partner agencies to benefit those in need.

• Times: 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday, beginning Sept. 22  Mondays through Saturdays, 1 – 5 p.m., Sundays. 
• Location: Coconut Point management office,  23106 Fashion Drive, Estero. Suite 107
• Information: (239) 992-9966 or on social media 

Everglades Wonder Gardens, a historic roadside zoo and botanical garden in Bonita Springs, has started an online fundraiser to rebuild after Hurricane Irma. The park's recovery fund can be found at gofundme.com/HelpRebuildtheWonderGardens.

Octagon Wildlife Sanctuary in Punta Gorda is in need of donations. See their Facebook post for more information. 

The United Way Volunteer Center is working with Lee County to identify agencies and areas where volunteers can help if a need arises. As United Way learns of opportunities, it will post them on its website or Facebook. Call 239.433.2000 option 9.

Living Waters Church still needs volunteers at its Estero Campus. 22100 S U.S. 41, Estero, FL 34134. Onsite Times:  10 a.m. - 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. - 8 p.m. Distribution Times: 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. See more information.

Rotary Club of Bonita Springs is working hard to help the flood victims in the Dean Street area of Bonita Springs. Monetary Donations are now being accepted via Credit Card. 100% of Donations will be used towards this cause. Go to BonitaSpringsRotary.org, Click on "Other Payments," and under "Description" type in "IRMA RELIEF FUND" and finish completing the form.

Bruno Air Conditioning is a drop-off location for supplies for Hurricane Irma victims in Everglades City and the surrounding areas, following a program — Operation #LetsHelpFlorida — developed by Florida Fishing Products and MANG. The following items can be delivered to Bruno Air’s Bonita Springs location (28731 South Cargo Court, Bonita Springs) Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Gas, Work Gloves, Rubber Boots, Tarps, Respirator Masks, Five-Gallon Buckets, Trash Bags, Rags/Towels, Water, Bread, Detergents, Brooms/Mops, Dustpans, Bleach & Disinfectant, Gloves (latex/rubber), First-aid Kits, EpiPens, Eye Drops, Band-Aids®, Hydrogen Peroxide, Neosporin®, Cough Syrup, Shears, Tents, Cots, Sheets, Flashlights, Batteries, Solar Lights, Old Bicycles, Bug Spray, Cheap Coolers.

Florida Fishing Products and MANG are also offering limited-edition “Hurricane Irma Relief” shirts at www.manggear.com, with 100% of the proceeds going back to storm victims. Mangroves will be planted for each shirt purchased as part of a ‘Buy One Plant One’ initiative.

In Lee and Collier counties Ladon Language Team (LadonLanguage.com) is offering free language support for responders to the hurricane. Translation is available in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese and Arabic. Responders can sign up and call the Ladon Language Hotline (844)-561-4888 to connect to a language assistant who can help translate over the phone. Users can also text the hotline to request translation of any short text. To request document translation, email the document to Ladon.Team@gmail.com. Ladon is also looking for additional volunteers who can serve as translators.