Micky Arison has been the owner of the Miami Heat through the Alonzo Mourning era, Shaq and Wade era and the Big 3 in Miami. He is a staple of the local culture and city.
He along with the Miami Heat Charitable Fund, Carnival Corporation and the Micky and Madeleine Arison Family Foundation, have announced that they will donate $10 million for Hurricam Irma relief efforts in Florida and the Caribbean.
Heat Owner Micky Arison Part of $10M Hurricane Irma Relief Pledge https://t.co/ItfCNPpCb4 pic.twitter.com/U34ZpGRk97
— Zesty Miami Heat (@zesty_heat) September 15, 2017
This is an awesome move by one of the most beloved owners by players and the Miami community and should go a long way toward helping support families, businesses and infrastructure that suffered as a result of last weekend’s hurricane.
The Arison family itself is donating $2.5 million of that and he and his personal foundation are matching the $5 million donation from the Carnival Foundation and the Heat Charitable Fund.
The donations are being sent to UNICEF and the United Way of Miami.
Here is a statement from the Heat on the donation and the effects of the storm:
“As a long-time resident of South Florida, I have witnessed the resiliency of our communities – watching neighbors come together to overcome adversity,” Heat President Pat Riley said. “The South Florida community has supported our organization throughout the years, so it is only fitting that we are there to support and help uplift this community in its time of need.”
At least 26 people in Florida have died under Irma-related circumstances, and six more in South Carolina and Georgia, many of them well after the storm passed. The death toll across the Caribbean stood at 38.
Carnival is deploying 11 ships to provide affected ports in the Caribbean with supplies like food, water, clothing, diapers, medical supplies and generators, among others. Those missions are coinciding with scheduled and ongoing cruise itineraries.
“Our friends and partners from across Florida and the Caribbean have always displayed remarkable resilience, strength and spirit when facing difficult circumstances,” Carnival CEO Arnold Donald said. “They have come back strong in the past, and we will be standing with them as they work to come back strong once again.”
It can sometimes take years for communities to recover from storms of this magnitude and those islands in the Caribbean that were hit directly by multiple storms in the past month need plenty of support and aid especially.
This is another situation where an organization and owner are bringing the community together and making a difference.
