Letter to the Editor
October 20, 2024
When most people hear the name United Way, they frequently think of a non-profit that collects funds to help others.
And they are partially correct.
There are many more unseen activities happening in your United Way Indian River County (IRC). One of the best endeavors is UWIRC’s response when disaster strikes – like Hurricane Milton and its associated tornadoes which damaged our county and extended area.
Now is when United Way IRC flexes its muscle and goes into high-profile action.
Prior to the arrival of Hurricane Milton, the United Way staff were trained and prepared to stay in the Emergency Management Department along with other emergency staff: the Sherriff, the County Administration; the County Emergency Team; and others. The length of stay would be based on the severity of any emergency.
First shift belonged to our United Way CEO Meredith Egan. The last few years, prior Treasure Coast hurricanes had been mild with only slight damage. Expecting (and hoping!) for a quiet night, Meredith brought her pillow and her book, not knowing she would not see either of those items for the next 96 hours.
The afternoon before Hurricane Milton arrived in Vero, 6-to-7 tornadoes touched down in Indian River County after ripping through parts of our southern neighbor, St. Lucie County. Calls of distress began streaming into the Emergency Center. Part of the entrance to the Emergency Center was torn away as well.
That’s when United Way’s communication, collaboration, and lifelong relationships kicked into high gear. Meredith began texting board members to confirm her succession plan in case something happened to her. She reached out to the 36 funded partners to ask how they are handling the storm and was crushed to learn one partner had their building demolished by a tornado. This was a child care center, home to over 80 children. Thankfully, all children and staff were not in the building.
Distress calls came from all sections of our county: flooding, homes damaged, vehicles totaled, people hurt. The tornadoes took out the power from most of the county complicating all challenges.
In the next days, Meredith and her staff hustled to request financial assistance, to purchase and distribute over 150 tarps for roofs, found and paid for hotels for those who lost everything, coordinated with thrift stores so affected families could replace damaged furniture, bought food vouchers for families to purchase food from the United Against Poverty (UP) Center, worked with FEMA, and other agencies to provide desperately needed services to affected families, assembled all agencies in one location (the UP Center) to create a Multi-Agency Resource Center (MARC) which drew the attention from the Federal agencies on how comprehensive and quickly the center came together.
Our Marketing Director, Sarah Tucci, was busy creating helpful flyers to be shared on social media. Tricia Crocco, our Director of Finance, worked to get the donations to the correct agencies while noting who made the donations. Alongside Meredith, Deana Shatley, our Director of Community Impact was buying and distributing tarps to those in need. Nate Bruckner, the Strategic Project Specialist, was ensuring the UWIRC building was ready for the storm to be able to help others afterwards. Sydney Mihailoff made sure the workplaces were aware of services in her capacity as Relationship Development Manager. Community Impact Coordinator Amanda Morgan was offering her assistance wherever needed as well. Annette Yost, Cindy Carr, and Miguel Saldana staffed the UWIRC office answering phones and directing callers to the best options.
There were days when the United Way IRC staff forgot to drink water or eat a meal. Their focus was on how to help our county residents.
Yes, United Way accepted funds to be able to assist. However, without the dedication, foresight, and pure energy of our staff, the funds wouldn’t have helped the hundreds of families get through the storm.
Our county and associated area is not in the clear yet. Many UWIRC Board members have stepped up to the plate as well. Whether monetary donations, food and clothing donations, volunteering, social media monitoring, or prayer, the engaged UWIRC Board did not stand by the sidelines. There is so much more to be done.
If you want to know more about the various offerings from your local United Way beyond collecting donations to support non-profits, I invite you to attend any one of our many events and learn more about how United Way really believes “United We Rise.”
Katie Nall, Ph.D.
2024-2025 UWIRC Board Chair
772-226-0167
POBox 5325
Vero Beach, FL 32961-5325
