In October 2018, Hurricane Michael went down as one of the most powerful storms in history, completely devastating Florida’s panhandle as a Category 4 hurricane. Areas of the coast were flattened and flooded, leaving communities without power and people still without homes.
In the Southeast U.S., we’ve unfortunately become accustomed to preparing for hurricanes, but we can never truly prepare ourselves for the aftermath. Amidst the devastation, we witness humanity in action—communities uniting, strangers helping strangers, and supplies pouring in from every direction.
This is especially true in the tight-knit fishing community. Fellow north Florida guides, Captains Jordan Todd and David Mangum, reached out to Captains Chris Wittman and Daniel Andrews to see if they could help in any way. They were receiving supplies, food, and water, but had no power or refrigeration to keep it from going to waste.
YETI coolers, our legacy partner, is deeply ingrained in the outdoor industry and saw the opportunity to help. They shipped nearly 100 Tundra coolers to Captains for Clean Water to be transported to the North Florida communities in need.
CFCW used our next few events to accept supplies for hurricane relief from any supporters willing to give. Chris and Daniel loaded up a rental truck with the generous donations from YETI and our many supporters and headed north. They used their personal time and funds as to not detract from our collective mission of saving the Everglades.
Thank you to YETI and to every person who donated supplies to help the victims of Hurricane Michael. This gesture speaks volumes about the culture of sportsman and is just a small reminder of the good in the world.
The road ahead is still a long one for our friends in the panhandle. If you’d like to help, here is a list from Big Bend Community Based Careof supplies needed and drop-off location.
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