IMMOKALEE — One-hundred Immokalee Foundation students and their families were presented 5-gallon Homer buckets filled to the brim with cleaning supplies and other necessities to give them the tools to prepare for natural disasters by The Rotary Clubs of Charlotte Harbor Sunset and Immokalee.

Southwest Florida is no stranger to the damaging effects natural disasters can have on the community, routinely experiencing hurricanes, tropical storms and severe weather throughout the year. The residents of Immokalee, where the poverty rate hovers around 40% of the population, often lack the necessary resources and supplies to adequately prepare for natural disasters. Though hurricane season officially begins on June 1, it’s never too early to be prepared.

The donation to The Immokalee Foundation students and their families was made possible through a Home Depot Foundation grant to the Rotary Club of Charlotte Harbor Sunset. The Home Depot Foundation gave $15,000 to the Charlotte Harbor Sunset Rotary Club as part of Home Depot’s Annual Disaster Giving Program, which helps support communities through disaster preparedness, immediate relief and recovery.

“We are so grateful to the Home Depot Foundation and the Rotary Club of Charlotte Harbor Sunset for this generous donation,” said Noemi Perez, President and CEO of The Immokalee Foundation. “By giving our students and their families these buckets, we’re helping ensure that they’re prepared with resources no matter what mother nature brings to our community.”

The grant was used to purchase 300 5-gallon Homer buckets and accompanying disaster preparedness supplies. One hundred buckets are being donated to The Immokalee Foundation while the other 200 are being split between the Charlotte Harbor Sunset Rotary Club and Rotary clubs in the Fort Myers area for use in their districts.

“After attending a Rotary Foundation dinner, I learned about the wonderful work that Rotarians do in our communities,” said Marcia Dilger, Home Depot Store Manager. “I worked with Home Depot and Rotary to build a partnership which resulted in a $15,000 grant to help people in need throughout our community prepare for natural disasters.”

The Immokalee Foundation is an organization based in Immokalee that focuses on providing students — from kindergarten through postsecondary education — educational and professional development opportunities. They provide support, mentoring, tutoring and life skills development to help students unlock their potential and succeed.

The distribution of buckets is taking place at Foundation’s Career Pathways Learning Lab that serves as a hands-on professional career development experience for Foundation students. This 18-home subdivision is a unique project that enables students following the Foundation’s Career Pathways curriculum for Engineering & Construction Management and Business Management & Entrepreneurship to work with industry professionals and learn about land development, home construction, marketing and sales. The Foundation also has high school after school and summer programs for the Healthcare and Education & Human Services career pathways.