Federal aid is essential after a devastating natural disaster. Florida is dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Ian as that storm leaves Florida to travel up the coast to South Carolina. The category 4 storm destroyed property and lives and much help will be needed. There is a disaster fund that has been organized by Florida’s First Lady Casey DeSantis that people can donate to that will take up the slack when federal assistance doesn’t meet needs.

In order to cut red tape and lumbering bureaucracy that comes with federal dollars, the Florida Disaster Fund has opened to be able to more quickly act so that needs on the ground do not go unanswered. The fund raised $12 million in the first 24 hours. First announced on Thursday during press conferences with Governor DeSantis, Casey DeSantis is front and center in this effort. She’s doing a good job articulating the purpose of the fund and encouraging people to donate.

The fund works with public, private and non-governmental donors to provide financial assistance to communities as they respond to and recover from the hurricane.

“We have 300 trucks in the affected areas as we speak, and they are chock-full of water, food, and supplies. We have two distribution points as we speak, going out with the National Guard,” said DeSantis.

“So people are getting the food and supplies that they need. We are working very quickly to ensure that they have that. But going forward with this fund, what we really hope it’s going to do is really help people who have lost everything.

Appearing on Fox and Friends Friday morning, Casey DeSantis said that her family is committed to help as long as is needed and that people are “going through hell.”

“A lot of these spots, other than a slab of concrete there’s nothing left for these people, they’re not sure what to return to.”

DeSantis said some areas fared better than anticipated with regard to flooding, but homeowners still need a lot of help, including with roof repairs.

“They still have roofs that need to be repaired. So we have 100,000 tarps being deployed to that area, so we can be able to help them in the immediacy,” said DeSantis.

“That’s why we have those 300 tractor trailers full of supplies that are being deployed as we speak. We have tens of thousands of first responders on the ground ensuring that people are safe and secure. They’re going house to house. They’re going to go back in again today, as they’ve been actually doing all night to see what the needs are. And then again, this fund will help supplement the state’s efforts.”

There are rescue missions and distribution centers helping those in need. The next stage of the disaster relief fund will be to provide warm meals. In the meantime, Casey said that “The National Guard is on the ground in full force, in addition to tens of thousands of first responders. And they’re going to be getting those resources out to the people in need.”

Florida is a can-do kind of state under the leadership of Governor Ron DeSantis and it looks like Casey DeSantis is of the same mold. Not waiting for federal funds and resources to reach the state, she started up the disaster fund to make sure people are taken care of as soon as possible. It’s good to see her being given an important role in the state’s recovery. Look for it to drive liberals and their cohorts in the media crazy, though. They despise confident, capable conservative women. I fully expect to see the hit pieces begin any time now. Especially after what we saw as the hurricane approached and some outlets acting as though they were hoping for the worst so they could blame the governor for a natural disaster, there is no doubt they are drooling over the possibility to write hit pieces against Casey, too. So far neither the governor nor his wife have given them the opportunity to do so.