GEM 2024  Mission

Hurricane Helene & Milton

GEM Mission Specific Press
WHSV
Florida strong initiative aids in hurricane recovery
Northern Kentucky Tribune
Amazon responding quickly and efficiently to provide disaster relief to storm-impacted communities
Palm Beach Daily News
Town of Palm Beach United Way hurricane fund gets boost with $125K matching grant
Hospitality Net
Airbnb.org offers temporary housing to people impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton
Local 10 News
Here’s how to help victims of hurricanes Milton, Helene
Good Morning America
Americans offer help to Southeastern communities after Hurricane Helene
Good Morning America
How to help those impacted by Hurricane Helene: Charities, organizations to support relief efforts
Florida Daily
Farm Share Deploys Over 1.5 Million Pounds In Hurricane Aid
Yahoo
Inician campaña de recolección de ayuda para víctimas de Helene en Florida
CBS News
Volunteers rally to aid Hurricane Helene victims with Aventura Mall relief drive
Palm Beach Daily News
Town of Palm Beach United Way launches Hurricane Helene Recovery Fund
PR Newswire
Goya Foods Provides Food Assistance to Victims of Hurricane Helene in Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas
Asheville Citizen Times
Asheville Dream Center sets up distribution site
Airbnb News
Airbnb.org offers temporary housing to people impacted by Hurricane Helene
Fox News
Bethenny Frankel provides emergency support in areas hard-hit by Helene
Citizen Times
Asheville NC floods: While no government aid distribution sites are up, one nonprofit steps up
Univision
Ayuda desde Miami-Dade para afectados por el huracán Helene en el Big Bend, Georgia y las Carolinas
NBC Miami
‘We're Perry strong': Recovery efforts continue after Hurricane Helene
WSVN
GEM in Doral and local organizations gear up efforts to send essentials to Hurricane Helene victims
CNN
How to help Hurricane Helene victims
WSVN
Volunteers gather at GEM in Doral to help box items for Hurricane Helene victims
WCTV
How to get help: See a list of resources for those impacted by Helene
Florida News
Hurricane Relief Supplies Being Distributed In North Florida.
WLRN
South Florida organizations to deliver aid to areas impacted by Helene
WSVN
GEM assemble essential kits and seek volunteers

Summary Stats

Individuals placed in free, short term accommodations through Airbnb.org
0
Full-size semi trucks of aid delivered & distributed
0
Starlink devices delivered via GEM & partners
0 +
Helicopter deliveries and/or evacuations
0 +
individuals supported with aid in NC & FL
0 +

Phase 1: Immediate Response

Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 storm. Over 4 million people were immediately affected with power loss, extreme flooding, and heavy winds. Countless more households have been affected along all of Florida’s Gulf Coast and through to Georgia, South and North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.

The GEM team is on the ground conducting distributions out of Perry, Florida and Asheville, North Carolina. From here our team has been providing large scale aid supplies to community members affected by this disaster since the beginning. This includes water, food, cleaning supplies, tarps, pet supplies, hygiene supplies, and more. Furthermore, GEM is also making smaller aid runs by vehicle and helicopter to rural zones and cut-off communities, as well as having provided air evacuation service in NC. GEM has also partnered with Airbnb.org to offer residents of Pasco County, Florida with free, short term stays.

GEM will be on the ground in Florida & North Carolina supporting those affected indefinitely.

Hurricane Milton

To respond accordingly, GEM has prepositioned for this storm by already securing local infrastructure. From this warehouse we will bringing in large quantities of necessary supplies for both the immediate need and the long-term recovery from Milton

 

Phase 2: The gap Period

At GEM, we are also dedicated to providing longer term solutions & empowering those affected by disaster. Right now, in tandem with The Horse Shoe Farm in North Carolina, we are committed to supporting local small businesses and artists in the community. Within this initiative, we will be providing local artisans, farmers, and business owners with $1,000 – $10,000 grants to help them get back on their feet & their businesses back up and running. To support our small business recovery program in North Carolina, please donate through the below link.

Hello applicants! We thank you for your interest in our small business grant program. We are now in the process of vetting received applications on a first-come-first-served basis.
 
We are not accepting any new applications at this time.
 
We are excited to get through as many applications as possible and to support the Western North Carolina small business scene.
Funds raised for the small business initiative
$ 0

Hurricane Helene Briefing

  • We have delivered 36 semi trucks of aid so far to FL and NC.
  • Trucks include water, ice, family emergency kits, tarps, cleaning supplies, and more.
  • We have vehicles that are stationed at each base camp that are taking supplies to more rural regions and to those without vehicle access.

North Carolina

  • We established a Basecamp in Asheville, North Carolina.
  • We were the first semi truck of humanitarian aid to this location.
  • We are currently serving roughly 3,000 residents per day
  • Air assessments via helicopter have taken place for Bat Cave, Spruce Pine, Chimney Rock. Airdrops of supplies and evacuations began taking place 09/30 in Cattail Creek, Pensacola near Burnsville.

Florida

  • Our advance team propositioned in North Florida last and drove before daylight to assess
    which communities were affected the most.
  • We established a basecamp in Perry, Florida.
  • From that basecamp, we have served 4,000+ community residents who have been affected
    by the storm via drive-thru distribution.
  • Our teams have distributed aid to residents in Keaton Beach, Dekle Beach, Dark Island,
    Steinhatchee and Sarasota.
  • Local volunteers from South Florida are still packing family emergency boxes at our
    headquarters in Doral.

Recent Missions

2024
Spain
GEM Europe, in partnership with Goya Spain, is responding to the deadly flooding in Valencia, Spain. The floods have claimed the lives of dozens and caused severe destruction around the region. Already recorded as Spain’s worst disaster in the last 3 decades
Floods
2024
Poland
Storm Boris has caused significant flooding across Europe in the past few days. In regions such as Czechia & Poland, this has been the worst disaster in decades. The storm has already taken many lives and has forced thousands of people from their houses.
Hurricanes
2024
United States
Hurricane Debby made landfall August 5th in Florida, USA. Hundreds of thousands of residents are without power and directly at risk for major storm surges and flooding. The GEM team has deployed from its Headquarters to offer critical supplies during and after this storm.