Help the Plumb Family Recover from Hurricane Ian

Please consider helping my lifelong friend Josh Plumb and his family. See message from them below:

Dear friends, as many of you know, we’ve been living on Sanibel Island the past couple years. It’s such a special place. While many people think of Sanibel as a vacation and retirement community, we found such a great community of families with kids. Our kids go to school on the island. We have a strong community of friends there.

Unfortunately, our island and home were devastated by Hurricane Ian. Most importantly, we evacuated to safety before it hit. The level of damage is unfathomable. The road to recovery will be long and painful. It’ll take a while to assess the true damage - which homes can be restored, which need to be totally replaced. The 3-mile bridge to Sanibel (from Ft Myers) is damaged in 5 places, so getting on and off the island will be challenging for a long time (only by boat). There is currently no access to Sanibel for residents. We all anticipate complete water damage and loss to first-level living spaces (which we have). Our fear is mold will overtake homes given the water damage, along with no power, hot temperatures, and no access to air out the homes.

Of most importance to us personally, we will need to find a new home for a while (potentially a long while), as well as find a new school for our kids. It’s heartbreaking to write that last part as they love their school and school friends. We are not ones to ask for help. But we could use some specific assistance at this time. We left Sanibel with three sets of clothes (as we were supposed to return two days later). We will need clothes for the kids and some ourselves. We will need to build back up what essentials are needed to support our family in a new place - food, supplies, equipment, etc. We will need to find temporary housing in the area. We appreciate all of you. We will be there for you in your time of need. We appreciate any help you can provide at this time.

-The Plumbs (and Friends of the Plumbs)