“So many people have lost everything: homes, property and even their livelihood. The scenes of destruction are heart-wrenching, knowing that when we see a place where there once was a house, a family used to live there and are now homeless,” said Bishop William A. Wack of Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee in an Oct. 12 letter to his diocese.

But for the grace of God, that could have been us. We are doing our best to help our brothers and sisters in the Panhandle recover from this devastating storm.

Here are some of the ways our parishes. schools, and entities are helping. If you have a relief effort to add to this list, please email tlp@dosp.org.

Special Collection for Disaster Relief
Bishop Gregory L. Parkes is asking all parishes and missions to hold a special collection on the weekend of October 20-21 or October 27-28 for the needs of people affected by natural disasters, including Hurricane Michael. 100% of these disaster relief funds will benefit people affected by natural disasters.

Volunteers Needed in the Panhandle
The Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee, in collaboration with Catholic Charities of NW Florida, are seeking volunteers. Two-thirds of their diocese was majorly impacted by Hurricane Michael. They  need 50 volunteers seven days a week for several months! Catholic Charities is staging food and water distribution at Saint Dominic Catholic Church in Panama City and assistance is needed in distributing water, basic supplies and unloading trucks. The water and supplies are going directly to the Panama City Community and our other churches in the area.  Anyone who is able to assist in this effort is encouraged to sign up here.

Catholic Charities of St. Petersburg
Catholic Charities is collecting the following items now through Thursday, October 25 for Hurricane Michael victims at the following locations. Each location is open from 8am – 5pm Monday through Friday. Flyer (PDF)

• water
• cleaning supplies and gloves
• baby diapers
• non-perishable food items
• sunscreen
• toiletries (toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, shampoo, etc.)
• Tarps
• Pet Supplies
• Baby food and formula
• hand sanitizer
• bug spray

No Clothing or Household Items Please

Drop Off Locations

Citrus County
Citrus Outreach Center
9020 W. Atlas Drive
Homosassa, FL 34448
352-794-6019

Hernando County
Foundations of Life Pregnancy Center
8370 Forest Oaks Blvd.
Spring Hill, FL 34606
352-686-9897

Hillsborough County
Catholic Charities
2021 E. Busch Blvd.
Tampa, FL 33612
813-631-4370

Pasco County
Foundations of Life Pregnancy Center
37733 Meridian Avenu
Dade City, FL 33535
352-521-1218

Pinellas County
Catholic Charities
1213 16th Street N.
St. Petersburg, FL 33705
727-893-1313

St. John Vianney Catholic School
500 84^th Ave., St. Pete Beach, FL 33706
727-360-1113

Collecting gently used books to send to a shelter in Havana, Florida where many children are being housed. They are also doing a school-wide monetary collection.

St. Matthew Parish
9111 90th Ave N., Largo, FL 33777
(727) 393-1288

Financial collection October 27-28. Youth Ministry is collecting diapers and wipes, peanut butter and pet food through November 15. Donations can be placed in the Youth Room (Guardian Angel Room next to the Kitchen).

St. Raphael Catholic School
1376 Snell Isle Boulevard, N.E., St. Petersburg, FL 33704
727-821-9663

The House of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton will be heading up a donations drive for people affected by Hurricane Michael. We have been in contact with Sol Relief, an aviation non-profit group, and they will fly all donations that are collected by this Friday, October 19th to the Panhandle!

The list of items they will fly are:

• Hygiene products/Toiletries – High need
• Wet wipes / hand sanitizer – High need
• Lights – headlamp/flashlight/solar light
• Portable phone charger – solar or battery pack
• First Aid Kit
• Water bottle with filtration
• Travel Pillow
• Multi Tool
• Compact kids games
• Notebook / pens or markers
• Story Books
• New Underwear

If you are interested in more information about Sol Relief you can visit their website at: https://solrelief.org/

Additionally, the school will be sending the profit from the Donut sales to Catholic Charities to assist with Hurricane Relief. Students are also writing letters and making prayer cards for children in a Catholic school that was affected by the hurricane.

PLEASE SEND ANY DONATIONS TO SCHOOL BY THIS FRIDAY, OCT. 19TH.