Broadcasters Foundation Expects More Emergency Aid Requests

The Broadcasters Foundation of America is preparing for another influx of emergency grant applications from victims of Hurricane Michael, even as requests for emergency aid from those affected by Hurricane Florence are still coming in.

 Broadcasters whose personal lives or property are acutely affected by Hurricanes Michael or Florence are encouraged to find out if they quality for an emergency grant by visiting https://broadcastersfoundation.org/hurricanerelief/.  State Broadcast Associations in affected areas are working with the Broadcasters Foundation to alert members that they can apply for aid.

 The Broadcasters Foundation Emergency Grant Relief Program provides an expedited application process that is streamlined to deliver emergency funds as quickly as possible to qualifying individuals who work (or have worked) in broadcasting. Emergency grants are based on financial need.

 Earlier this year, the Broadcasters Foundation Board of Directors elected to double the maximum amount of an individual emergency grant from $1,000 to $2,000. This increase is particularly significant when considering that last year more than $300,000 was awarded to individual victims of a rash of disasters that included Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, as well as wildfires and floods.

 For more than 70 years, the Broadcasters Foundation has distributed millions of dollars to thousands of needy broadcasters and their families. To learn more about emergency or monthly grants or to donate, please contact the Broadcasters Foundation at 212-373-8250 or info@thebfoa.org or visit www.broadcastersfoundation.org.

As of Wednesday morning, Hurricane Michael has intensified into an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm as it bears down on the Florida Panhandle, which is bracing for extreme winds and flooding on Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Michael is poised to make landfall Wednesday afternoon, potentially near Panama City, Fla. The hurricane, recently packing maximum-sustained winds of 145 miles an hour, will be "the worst storm that the Florida Panhandle has seen in a century,” Gov. Rick Scott said.