Broward Cares is a fantastic collaboration of the# United Way, the Community Foundation of Broward, and the Jewish Federation of Broward County.

It's# a partnership like no other in the country where when a disaster strikes, we jump into action# and we do everything that we can to raise money jointly and to grant it out jointly as a team# to make sure that this community gets up and running as soon as possible after a disaster.# More than 20 years ago, the three organizations came together and said, "You know, why are we all# fundraising differently during a disaster?

Why are we all going in different directions when# the goal is singular?

Do what's best for this community and get this community through this.

"# And when we put the pieces together and said, "Let's work together", magic happened.

We know the more we work together, the better that everybody's going to do.

The better our economy# does, the better that all the organizations and businesses, we bring in business leaders to show# them that you are part of this collaboration with us.

It is such a trust partnership that we# each know that we're gonna lend our expertise to disaster preparedness and to our community.# And I think it just works really well.

We've been doing it for a long time.

Unfortunately,# Broward has had its share of disasters.

We vet the organizations that get the money.

A# lot of them we have preexisting relationships, trusted relationships with, so we know they# can do the work.

We know that they're fully capable of getting out there, boots on the# ground, and doing what needs to be done.

Rebuilding Together's mission is to create and# sustain safe and healthy homes and communities.

So our primary focus is always about# fixing people's homes for seniors, people with disabilities, people impacted by# disasters.

So we go in and we provide health and safety improvements so that they can have a safe# home.

And then we help communities to revitalize, or in scenarios like Broward Cares, to help# people that have been impacted by disasters.

You name the disaster, we can help.

We are the# long-term recovery partner in the Broward Cares group of nonprofits that they partner with to# provide the physical repairs on the homes that are impacted.

On the date of April 12th in 2023,# all throughout Broward County, but particularly the city of Fort Lauderdale, the rain just didn't# stop.

It rained for hours and hours and hours.

As soon as the flood was over and people could# begin help, that's where Broward Cares calls their partners and begins.

Who needs help?

There was no preparedness for this.

It just started to rain and didn't stop.

And next thing# you know, people's homes were being flooded and people were out of housing, et cetera.

So while# that was happening, the three CEOs just got on the phone quick and like, this is an emergency.# And donors came to the table.

They responded the night of, the day of, we were able to, the next# day, put out resources, get food, get lodging, help with repairs.

We funded 211 to answer some of# these emergency calls to make sure that they knew what we were doing so they could connect people# that were looking for assistance directly to Broward Cares, directly to United Way and to the# other organizations that were ready to serve.

When you give to Broward Cares, 100% of that is# used for disaster preparedness.

It's used to help people recover, to help people in a disaster.

And# it's to uplift our community, you know, before, during, and after a disaster happens 'cause what# happens when a disaster occurs?

Media comes in, it becomes a big story and everybody is all focused# on it 100%.

But what happens as soon as that storm is over, you know, we care about it locally.

The# rest of the country has moved on to something else.

Well, who's paying attention?

Well, Broward# Cares is paying attention and is here for the long haul and is here to make sure that the# community gets back on its feet when everybody else has turned their attention elsewhere.

There is a lot of unmet needs.

There are a lot of folks and families and organizations that# struggle.

Broward Cares wants to be able to be responsive to those gaps in service.

We wanna try# to prepare people ahead of time for emergencies.

We wanna fund some organizations so that they're# ready to respond to their clients that they serve.

In a disaster, people need water, they need# electricity, they need food, they need financial assistance, they need clothing.

If you're talking# about children, there's diapers and there's just so many essential needs that happen.

It's the# folks that live on the fringes that always get the most affected, right?

The people that# don't have a savings account, they don't have an emergency plan.

They are one paycheck away from# spiraling, you know, into poverty.

So those are the folks that we wanna be able to support.

My house is flooded.

Where am I gonna live?

I don't have a car anymore.

You know, I can't# get to work.

My work is flooded.

You know, the roof has been blown off my house.

You just# have to understand where the community is and where people's heads are and help them,# you know, with what they need right now.

Because if they don't have the basics taken# care of, none of the other stuff matters.

I'm always blown away about the generosity of# our community.

When a disaster happens, or even if it's happening, if there's a hurricane and we# know it's coming, so many businesses reach out and they're like, "We're ready.

You tell us what you# need, how you need it, and we're ready to go."

The great thing about Broward Cares is it's not a# onetime event.

It is an ongoing partnership where they meet with all of the different nonprofit# charities that provide different services.

When Irma hit, Broward Cares is already# has relationships with organizations that are gonna provide the case management 'cause# these people need to reach out to someone.

They work with the state, Broward County Emergency# Management, not just when a disaster happens, but every hurricane season, we begin the# process of meeting and making sure that the pieces and the relationships are still in# place so that if a disaster incurs, we're ready and prepared to make an impact immediately.

Broward cares.

We care.

And this is a community we love.

We live here, we've raised our families# here.

You know, this community is us.

You know, we're part of this community too.

And you# know, this is just us helping our neighbors.