The Community Foundation of Sarasota County Awards Laurel Civic $50,000 Towards Hurricane Ian Recovery Efforts

The Community Foundation of Sarasota County partners with Laurel Civic to support their ongoing case management for people in need in the wake of Hurricane Ian.

“We have seen a marked increase in the number of people seeking assistance and we’re doing our best to meet the growing needs of our community,” said Diana Garman, Director of Laurel Civic’s Adult Empowerment Program (AEP). Laurel Civic serves individuals and families needing financial help with rent, utilities, food, and other necessities, and is receiving nearly three times the number of requests compared to those before Hurricane Ian.

To meet the growing number of clients needing assistance, Laurel Civic sought funding from the Suncoast Disaster Recovery Fund (SDRF), which was activated in the days just before Ian made landfall at the end of September 2022 to be prepared to later address long term recovery for problems that persist after structure repairs and clean-up conclude. It was created in partnership with The Patterson Foundation, which seeded the fund with a $500,000 and offered matching gifts up to $750,000, which was quickly fulfilled and inspired other matching gifts. The fund’s overall purpose is to allow the community to heal holistically and rebuild in ways that increase the resiliency of our area.

“My deepest gratitude to the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, which continues to be a great supporter of all the programs we provide at Laurel Civic for both the Adult and Youth Empowerment Programs,” said Laurel Civic Executive Director Peter M. Casamento, M.A. “I am extremely grateful for this support because it manifests a great outcome for those we are privileged to serve.”

See this story as it originally appeared in Sarasota Scene Magazine on July 7, 2023, here.