Carnival Corporation, the parent company of Carnival Cruise Line, the Miami HEAT Charitable Fund and the Micky and Madeleine Arison Family Foundation are pledging up to $10 million in funding and in-kind support for relief and rebuilding efforts in Florida and the Caribbean following Hurricane Irma.
The Micky and Madeleine Arison Family Foundation will make an immediate donation of $2.5 million to Direct Relief, UNICEF and the United Way of Miami-Dade County. Meanwhile Carnival Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Carnival Corp., and the Miami HEAT Charitable Fund are each pledging to raise a combined $5 million in funding for relief and recovery efforts. Carnival Corporation Chairman Micky Arison and his wife Madeleine will match that commitment up to a total of $5 million from the Micky and Madeleine Arison Family Foundation, including the organization's initial donation aimed at supporting the most immediate needs in Florida and the Caribbean.
As part of the relief fundraising efforts, Carnival Cruise Line is embarking on humanitarian efforts to deliver supplies to the most deeply affected areas of Florida and the Caribbean. The cruise line is deploying 11 ships to provide affected ports in the region with crucial supplies and the most immediate necessities, including food, water, clothing, diapers, medical supplies and generators, among others.
Scheduled as part of ongoing cruise itineraries, the humanitarian aid efforts will benefit impacted destinations across the region, including Grand Turk, St. Maarten, St. Thomas, Antigua- Barbuda and affected Bahamian islands. Carnival Corporation remains in touch with leaders throughout the Caribbean to be able to support each country's quickly evolving recovery needs. The company also initiated a multi-faceted plan to begin providing relief to areas of the U.S. mainland, including Florida and the Florida Keys, which will begin as soon as all impacted areas are accessible.
The Hurricane Irma support and relief efforts follow the recent announcement that Carnival Cruise Line, Carnival Corporation and the Micky and Madeleine Arison Family Foundation provided a minimum of $2 million for Hurricane Harvey recovery across the Gulf Coast region, including some of the hardest hit areas of Texas. Support following Hurricane Harvey has been committed to Direct Relief, Houston Food Bank, Operation Homefront, Save the Children and the United Way of Greater Houston.
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