SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — Counties in the Panhandle were destroyed by Hurricane Michael, and the Seminole County School District is doing their part to give back and help communities in need.

  • Seminole Schools to ship 38 pallets of supplies to Panhandle
  • Superintendent says community stepped up day after Hurricane Michael
  • Supplies to reach Calhoun Co. distribution center Tuesday afternoon

Liberty County Schools as well as schools in Calhoun County were decimated by the Category 5 Hurricane Michael.

Seminole County Public Schools’ Superintendent Dr. Walt Griffin asked all the schools in his district to come together and help others in need.

At a Seminole County warehouse, 38 pallets are stacked high with a trove of supplies ready to head to Northwest Florida.

"(I’m) overwhelmed by the generosity and kindness of our community,” Dr. Griffin said proudly. “The day after Hurricane Michael, we reached out to our Seminole County community for school supplies, new clothes and gifts."

Schools supplies, backpacks, and shoes are just some of what’s visibly marked on the pallets, but there’s so much to help folks who have lost everything.

"As long as clothes were new, we had volunteers sort through all of this. We even had some humidifiers and things they asked for. I’m so proud of this community,” Griffin said.

Originally everything was going to be shipped via school bus, but with 38 pallets ranging from four to seven feet high, a heavier duty truck was needed.

A semi-truck will be packed Tuesday morning, and the donations will then be shipped to the Panhandle.

The supplies are expected to reach a distribution center in Calhoun County Tuesday afternoon.

A Calhoun County school after Hurricane Michael tore through the Panhandle. (Courtesy of Ralph Yoder)
A Calhoun County school after Hurricane Michael tore through the Panhandle. (Courtesy of Ralph Yoder)