The Glazer family is making a $1million donation to aid Hurricane Helene relief efforts in Florida, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers has announced.
A record-breaking storm has ripped through Florida this week, with dangerous wind speeds of 140 mph and mass flooding destroying buildings and killing nearly a dozen.
In the wake of the fatal hurricane, the Buccaneers’ Glazer owners have pledged a nine-figure sum to help the state get back on its feet.
‘The Glazer family has pledged $1million to support local nonprofit organizations aiding those most impacted by Hurricane Helene,’ a Tampa Bay statement reads.
‘The donation will be allocated to support local agencies involved in relief efforts across Tampa Bay.’
The Glazers, who also own Premier League soccer club Manchester United, have been running the Buccaneers since Malcolm Glazer paid a then-record $192million to acquire the franchise in 1995.
Under their ownership, Tampa Bay has won two Super Bowl titles in the 2002 and 2020 seasons.
‘The flooding caused by Hurricane Helene’s storm surge has been devastating to many throughout the state and specifically in our Tampa Bay community,’ said Bucs owner Darcie Glazer Kassewitz.
‘There are many areas throughout our community that will require time and additional resources in order to begin the recovery. We offer our full support to those who have been impacted and are extremely thankful for the heroic and brave efforts of the many first responders and utility workers who have been working tirelessly to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our community during this difficult time.’
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Saturday that there have been at least 11 storm-related deaths in Florida.
The deaths included traffic fatalities and people caught up in storm surge, the governor said during a news conference.
‘There were no fatalities in Taylor County, which is where the storm made landfall,’ DeSantis said, adding that he credits the people of hard-hit Taylor County for heeding the warnings.
‘If you had told me there was going to be 15 to 18 feet of storm surge, even with the best efforts, I would have assumed we would have had multiple fatalities.’
The remnants of Hurricane Helene dissipated Saturday but millions remain without power across the Southeast and officials warned that record-breaking river flooding is ongoing in parts of southern Appalachia.
The storm has been blamed for at least 52 deaths across five states, including 23 people in South Carolina and the 11 in Florida. Officials fear the death toll could rise as authorities continue to take stock of Helene’s devastation.
The hurricane roared ashore Thursday night as a Category 4 storm on Florida’s Gulf Coast and then quickly moved Friday through Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee, uprooting trees, splintering homes and sending creeks and rivers over their banks and straining dams.
Tropical Storm John made its second landfall along Mexico’s Pacific coast Friday, while in its wake authorities in the resort city of Acapulco called for help from anyone with a boat to deal with the flooding. It has since dissipated over Mexico.
