VIENNA, VA — Vienna Presbyterian Church is spearheading an effort to prepare relief kits for hard-hit areas of Florida after Hurricane Ian.

The hurricane is the second most deadly in the U.S. mainland in this century after Hurricane Katrina, according to the Associated Press. The hurricane made landfall on the southwest coast of Florida as a category 4 storm, causing over 100 confirmed deaths and widespread destruction.

In response to the hurricane's destruction, Vienna Presbyterian Church launched a fundraiser to create Gift From the Heart Relief kits that will benefit Florida residents. Donations are needed for two kinds of kits — cleanup bucket kits and hygiene kits.

Residents are asked to consider donating kits with all the needed items. Cleanup bucket kits and hygiene kits can be delivered to Vienna Presbyterian Church on Wednesday, Oct. 19 from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Volunteers will drive the kits to a processing center in Maryland, where they will then be delivered to hard-hit areas in Florida. Volunteers with SUVs or pickup trucks are needed to help deliver kits to Maryland.

Vienna Presbyterian Church previously held a similar drive to prepare welcome kits for Aghan refugees. The effort drew widespread interest from the community, with an estimated 85 percent of kit donations coming from non-church members. According to Sue Hamblen, director of missions at Vienna Presbyterian Church, "we were inundated with goods to welcome the refugees and had to increase the number of kits we were requesting as so many wanted to help."

Now the community has a chance to step up again to help Hurricane Ian victims. Sign up here to contribute a relief kit through Vienna Presbyterian Church.

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