WSAV News 3, iHeart Media and Parker’s Kitchen raise money for victims of Tropical Storm Debby

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — WSAV News 3, iHeart Media and Parker’s Kitchen raised roughly $9,000 in donations on Thursday for victims of Tropical Storm Debby.

Money raised will support disaster relief efforts by the American Red Cross as well as special funds established by the United Way of the Coastal Empire and the United Way of the Lowcountry.

News 3 spoke to several people who could give back to the storm victims. We spoke with Bobby Rogers, who rode a bike to the drop-off location, moments after he put money into our donation bins.

“Oh,” he said excitedly. “That makes me feel good. That’s why I came. It makes me feel good just to donate some money to the flood victims.

Being from Coastal Georgia, Carl Burrell knows how it feels to have your life turned upside down with a snap of a finger. Traveling from the Isle of Hope, he donated too.

“I felt like they are people in need,” Burrell said. “Flood insurance, I know some of them don’t have. They weren’t expecting this, so this is really a shock. This whole storm is a shock, so I really thought it was the right thing to do.”

A question a few donors asked was, “Where does the money go once it is dropped into the donation bucket?”

The United Way of the Coastal Empire has created a Rapid Response Disaster Fund for Chatham, Liberty, Bryan and Effingham counties. This began in 2022 and 2023, when the organization launched formal partnerships with all four of the county’s emergency management agencies after a tornado hit the area.

“After Tropical Storm Debby and the related flooding events that had occurred across and over the weekend, we know that this is a longer-term event,” said Kimberly Waller, United Way of the Coastal Empire’s president and CEO. “All four of our counties asked us to activate their rapid response disaster fund.”

Emergency management agencies assess where the most needs are in the communities. Each household is eligible for up to $1,000 in services based on need and the availability of the fund.

“Some of the highest needs that we are seeing…these things include things like housing stability,” Waller explained. “…so emergency access to hotel-motel, home repairs, appliance repair, first-month rent security deposits…”

If you’d like to see whether you’re eligible for assistance, all you have to do is dial 211.