Maniacs Give Back: Hurricane Helene and Milton

The 2024 hurricane season was especially powerful as Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton both impacted Pinellas County families within a span of merely weeks. Hurricane Helene made landfall on September 26 as a category 4 hurricane near the city of Perry, FL. However, the storm surge and widespread hurricane-force winds still made a major impact on Tampa Bay residents as tens of thousands of homes were affected with damage and flooding.

Then a mere 2 weeks later, Hurricane Milton made landfall as a category 3 hurricane near Siesta Key. Experts have assessed that the hurricane damage costs could exceed $85 billion, and Hurricane Helene damages cost around $89 billion.

Thousands of Tampa Bay area residents, including PostcardMania staff, were forced to evacuate or permanently leave their homes due to the hurricanes. As soon as the storms were over, Maniacs mobilized to help their own tribe of team mates as well as local families in need.

First, they started a GoFundMe page to raise money for staff in need of emergency funds. Specifically, 10 staff members lost everything overnight.

Here are just a few of their stories:

• Online Ads Specialist

She is a single mom who resided in a home that was tragically flooded. She had to rush her five-year-old son to safety, seeking refuge with a friend before landing in an Airbnb. She lost everything: her appliances, furniture, her bed, clothing, and cherished personal items. All she could carry were the clothes on their backs and a single bag.

• Prepress Specialist

Her home was flooded with over a foot of water. She lost all her appliances and most of her personal belongings. In addition to replacing those items, she now faces the daunting task of replacing her floors and repairing damaged drywall.

• Receptionist

Her home was flooded by 2 feet of water. She lost all her appliances, furniture and most of her personal belongings. In addition to replacing those items, she now too has to face replacing her floors and repairing damaged drywall.

• Flowmaster Operator

His house was devastated by three feet of water, and he lost nearly everything. Currently, he is staying with his cousin, trying to find some semblance of stability.

• Cutter Operator

His home suffered a foot of flooding, forcing him and his wife to seek temporary help from a kind colleague until the storm subsided. They lost all of their furniture and appliances and all their floors must be redone.

PostcardMania staff started a Go Fund Me page to help these maniacs in need and raised $16,585. PostcardMania also collectd $500 worth of supplies which was donated to non-profits supporting the community.

On October 4th, 28 maniacs also helped a local resident at his home in Crystal Beach that had been flooded to almost the second floor. He is a retired doctor who spent his medical career saving lives. After retiring, he would spend his time working on his cars in the garage, but both of his classic cars were destroyed in the hurricane. Since his home needed multiple hours of work, maniacs spent 6 hours helping him cleanup.

Maniacs also went to an apartment complex to help clean out some of the units to help get the residents back into their homes. They removed more than 700 pounds of debris, flooded carpets, drywall, and other damaged items.

PostcardMania is thankful for all of the support from the community amidst the aftermath of Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton. Please keep our Maniacs and our community in your thoughts as we continue to recover from the storms.

If you would like to donate to the Go Fund Me page, click this link.