Collier County, Fla. (August 30, 2019) – Team Rubicon, a veteran-led disaster response organization, is wrapping up its home rebuild operation in Collier County, Florida. Working in conjunction with the Salvation Army, Team Rubicon rebuilt 40 homes that were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Irma. This work allowed 118 disaster survivors to return to stable homes.
Since launching the Florida Rebuild Operation in September 2018, Team Rubicon deployed 169 volunteers that contributed more than 4,900 work hours in support of this mission.
“Our rebuild operation in Florida was a success. I’d like to thank our volunteers, donors, the Salvation Army, our partners, and the cohort of Clay Hunt Fellows that led this operation for their continuous support,” said David Venables, Deputy Director of Rebuild Operations. “Without their tireless effort, our rebuild operation and mission to put these disaster survivors back into their homes would not have been possible.”
Looking ahead, the organization will continue rebuild operations in communities impacted by Hurricane Harvey in the greater Houston area. Team Rubicon plans to keep building on what they’ve learned in both Florida and Houston to ‘scale down’ their rebuild capability to support families and communities affected by storms that never reach the national news cycle, weather incidents that are more regularly being referred to as low attention disasters.
“The Florida Rebuild Operation proved that our pilot concept developed in Houston can be taken to other communities to assist disaster survivors,” said David Burke, Vice President of Programs and Field Operations. “We look forward to continuing to refine, grow and scale this capability. Our goal is to be in a position to help any communitylarge or small, urban or rural – through the full disaster cycle, from preparation to response to recovery.”
Team Rubicon would like to the thank the Home Depot Foundation, Hilton Hotels, the Bob Woodruff Foundation, and Parsons Xtreme Golf for their generous contributions to fuel the Florida Rebuild Operation. Team Rubicon is powered by a 100,000-strong, highly skilled volunteer force that helps communities prepare, respond, and recover from disasters and humanitarian crises. Since its inception following the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Team Rubicon has responded to over 390 disasters, including Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria, Florence, and Michael.
Through a strong communications infrastructure supported by cutting-edge technological solutions, Team Rubicon volunteers efficiently and effectively respond to natural disasters and humanitarian crises to provide crucial support to affected communities. By giving military veteran volunteers the opportunity to continue their service through disaster response, Team Rubicon provides them an avenue to gain a renewed sense of purpose, community, and identity.