Casey DeSantis is ‘shaking the trees’ for donations to Hurricane Ian fund

Casey Adamec
'We're not going to lay off the gas.'

First Lady Casey DeSantis is highlighting the generosity of Floridians in the wake of Hurricane Ian, while saying more must be done still.

DeSantis visited a Harley Davidson dealership in Jacksonville where she spotlighted the Florida Disaster Fund, a vital resource for those who suffered loss during Hurricane Ian.

Despite the $45 million raised from 62,000 donors, a “record” amount, DeSantis said “the work has only begun.”

She promised to return to Northeast Florida “as much as possible, shaking the trees” for more donations.

“We’re not going to lay off the gas,” DeSantis said, noting the fund is “raising as much money as humanly possible.”

And the fundraising beat goes on even at rock and roll concerts, she noted during Monday’s event.

The Van Zant brothers, whose anthemic Sweet Florida is the official song of the re-election campaign, donated $100,000 at a Hollywood gig last night. The Seminole Tribe also donated $100,000.

This money and much more is necessary, DeSantis said, to help people get “pathways to rebuild” after the “500-year flood” Hurricane Ian brought to much of the peninsula.

Donors big and small attested to the work being done and their commitment to the cause.

Florida Blue North Florida Market President Darnell Smith spoke of his company’s $1 million contribution as just part of the help the health care giant is offering storm victims.

“At CSX we care deeply about the communities that welcome us each day, but none more than those here in the state of Florida,” said CSX’s Brian Tucker, extolling the rail giant’s commitment.

The Harley dealership that hosted DeSantis Monday also is in the charitable spirit: 100% of proceeds from its “Florida Rides Together” T-shirts will go to the fund.

Volunteer Florida CEO Josie Tamayo explained how her agency works with nonprofits “on the ground” to help with recovery efforts, where the “long-term effects” of the storm are felt.

“We in Florida are all in this together,” Tamayo said.

“When (Federal Emergency Management Agency) dollars run short, the fund can supplement,” added DeSantis, underscoring a reality that for many people who won’t be made whole by federal help or private insurance, the Florida Disaster Fund is a lifeline of importance.

A.G. Gancarski

A.G. Gancarski has been the Northeast Florida correspondent for Florida Politics since 2014. His work also can be seen in the Washington Post, the New York Post, the Washington Times, and National Review, among other publications. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter: @AGGancarski


19 comments

  • Joe Corsin

    October 17, 2022 at 2:09 pm

    Shaking people’s trees for money? What the hell?

  • Yrral

    October 17, 2022 at 2:24 pm

    She will be really shaking,when her husband is indicted in Bexar County Texas Google Desantis Bexar County Texas Sheriff

    • Impeach Biden

      October 17, 2022 at 3:09 pm

      Why isn’t the sheriff of Bexhar County investigating the transportation of illegals throughout the country by Dumb and Dumber?

      • Charlie Crist

        October 17, 2022 at 3:14 pm

        DeSantis dumb
        Trump dumber
        Trump supporters sub human levels of intelligence…see Q-Shaman and Ashli Babbitt.

        • Impeach Biden

          October 17, 2022 at 4:03 pm

          No one and I mean no one is as dumb as the twosome currently running this country into the ground. 8 November is coming.

          • Charlie Crist

            October 17, 2022 at 10:34 pm

            You have no sense of judgement. This is why you people are a national security threat… terrorist supporters.

      • David A.

        October 18, 2022 at 7:13 am

        Literally, the job of Customs & Immigration includes any transportation of immigrants within the country that is necessary. The Federal Government has the authority to do it, by Law.
        DeathSentence’s Human Trafficking of hostages across State lines is several Federal felonies at once, so he’ll be joining his buddy Trump in jail.

    • Impeach Biden

      October 18, 2022 at 11:23 pm

      You will be shaking when President DeSantis finally removes the age of consent laws in 2024. 18 years old? Give me a break.
      A 12 year old is plenty old enough to consent for my tastes.

  • Virginia Dart

    October 17, 2022 at 3:05 pm

    FEMA has many responsibilities besides helping individuals who chose not to carry insurance on waterfront houses.

  • nail

    October 17, 2022 at 7:23 pm

    FEMA is paying for all cleanup. The only thing on the website for the scam is listed as:
    6M for cutting 14,000 trees. FEM takes care of this. The Handmaiden Desantis is not on the corp docs or even listed as a employee. How many MAGAts have hired their family to get away with what they can’t? Only one that I now of and he will be indicted the week of the election.
    FEMA will not help those that live on the waterfront unless they had no insurance. Then every hime be it 1M or 100K gets the same $75.900.

    “Government is not there to solve problems.” said the Handmaiden DeSantis
    “government cannot solve all your problems.” Rick Scott.”What has happened is there was fraud. It’s going to take the Legislature and DeSantis to crack down”
    “Crist did fight for the insurance in FL and it was solvent when I left office to DeSantis 4 years ago.” Scott

    “In the popular television series Stranger Things, the ‘upside down’ describes a parallel dimension containing a distorted version of our world,” Judge Walker,
    wrote. “Recently, Florida has seemed like a First Amendment upside down.”

  • David A.

    October 18, 2022 at 7:19 am

    While after a disaster is always a good time for those with more resources to step up to the plate, so to speak, and help those with less, “shaking the trees” is only a way for some Republicans to grift money.
    A properly funded government would have been more well-prepared, but the GOP prevents that.

  • David In Shoreline

    October 18, 2022 at 11:54 am

    First Lady DeSantis’ efforts to raise hurricane recovery funds are inspiring and just another example why Governor DeSantis should be re-elected. A DeSantis administration solves real problems affecting real Floridians. And people like that.

    • David A.

      October 18, 2022 at 6:41 pm

      How many Republicans have to be convicted of grifting off of other Republicans before you figure out their con?
      Asking for a friend.

    • Still am

      October 19, 2022 at 5:25 am

      Her cancer inspired me to root for it

      • nail

        October 29, 2022 at 1:03 pm

        Her cancer? You think she had breast cancer on Oct 15th and it was gone on Dec 31? Oh! MAGATs are gullible! Must be normal in your world that ppl with cancer at the height of Covid, attend rallies with ppl that do not have masks on. She stood on s stage THE SAME DAY she announced she had her last chemo treatment. While 30-50 ppl without masks were surrounding her. Maybe it was Covid and the voodoo Surgeon General gave her one of those 1M Ivermectin pills that DeSantis bought from trump with funds from the state budget. The rest of them are with the 1M test kits that DeSantis forgot in a closet. That ended up expired. Would not have made a difference, the Auditor General reported in his 45 page report, more than half the test kits were never sent in to be diagnosed.

  • marylou

    October 19, 2022 at 11:36 am

    Desantis, why are you encouraging “voter fraud” by changing voting rules like: longer early voting, extended registration deadlines, easier mail ballot voting, extra drop boxes, even allowing ballots to be sent to a different address than where the voter is registered? According to Republicans this will allow non-citizens to vote and rampant “ballot harvesting”.

    Why are you only making voting easier in Republican counties? Why are you denying the same voting changes requested by Democratic counties? Why are you discriminating against Democratic voters?

    • Hope

      October 19, 2022 at 7:03 pm

      I will be here for you on November 9th, marylou, to talk you off the ledge.

    • nail

      October 29, 2022 at 1:08 pm

      Please nort everyone is a stupid MAGAt. Peddle your garbage to MAGAts that are dumb and ignorant.

      News:I picked up over 21 mail in ballots from neighbors like I do every election, and dropped them in the mailbox. The postmaster thanked me. When I said most are for Charlie Crist, he gave the thumbs up.

  • Beth

    October 23, 2022 at 8:25 am

    Would love to see an account of where that money goes.

Comments are closed.


#FlaPol

Florida Politics is a statewide, new media platform covering campaigns, elections, government, policy, and lobbying in Florida. This platform and all of its content are owned by Extensive Enterprises Media.

Publisher: Peter Schorsch @PeterSchorschFL

Contributors & reporters: Phil Ammann, Drew Dixon, Roseanne Dunkelberger, A.G. Gancarski, Ryan Nicol, Jacob Ogles, Cole Pepper, Jesse Scheckner, Drew Wilson, and Mike Wright.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @PeterSchorschFL
Phone: (727) 642-3162
Address: 204 37th Avenue North #182
St. Petersburg, Florida 33704