Fundraiser for Brian & Donna Mendez-Hurricane Ian

My name is Jackie, and I am the daughter of Donna and Brian Mendez. My family and I are raising funds to help my parents post-Hurricane Ian. Donna and Brian live in Fort Myers, Florida, and recently lost their home, all their belongings, and both vehicles to the hurricane.

Brian and Donna rented a house in an area known as the Shores in Fort Myers, along the Caloosahatchee River. As the storm surge came some 30-plus miles up the river from the Gulf, they struggled to get any valuable possessions to higher ground in their one-story ranch home. Within a few hours, they were waist-deep in flood water and sewage. Panic had set in, and thankfully Brian’s brother, Tom, a retired firefighter from Buffalo, was able to reach them through the spotty cell phone service. He managed to look up the specs of their home on google and talked them through cutting a hole in their ceiling to take shelter in the rafters. As the flood waters rose, and they no longer had a dry place to sit, they climbed onto their washing machine and hoisted themselves into the ceiling with only a few bare essentials. They remained there for the next 12 excruciating hours. They had lost all means of communication; by morning, no one knew if they had survived the night. While we are forever thankful for the amazing people we have watching over them from above, everything they own has been lost.

No one can fathom having to start over at 63 years old with just the clothes on your back like my parents are facing right now. While we are heartbroken over the 41 years of our family’s memories lost in a blink of an eye, we are incredibly thankful to still have Donna and Brian with us today, especially knowing some were not as fortunate.

As a family, we want to help my parents during this challenging time, easing their financial burden, so we ask friends and family who have the means to do so for your support. All funds will go directly to Brian and Donna to help them with clothes, food, shelter, and transportation.

We greatly appreciate everyone who has already helped them over this past week.