Update on Our Hurricane Response

Applications for Hurricanes Helene and Milton are now closed.

Cases are processed in the order in which they were received. We are distributing weekly updates regarding processing time; please watch for emails from our team!

If you applied for assistance unrelated to these disasters, we are working as quickly as possible to process your case. Please reach out to your case manager directly or casemanagement@southernsmoke.org for any updates. Thank you for your patience during this time of unprecedented volume.

We are so grateful for the outpouring of support, and thanks to generous donors, to date we have granted $680,800 to 487 F+B workers affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton with 2,500 more being processed.

Leighann Bakunas

Secretary

LeighAnn Bakunas is the Director of Food, Beverage, and Music for YETI where she currently leads and manages the marketing efforts to drive awareness, affinity, and advocacy for the brand and products within these communities globally. She has over 15 years of professional experience in the marketing realm. Prior to YETI, LeighAnn was the Special Events Director of Texas Monthly where she oversaw the events division and marketing and promotional efforts for Texas Monthly’s TMBBQ brand and Texas Monthly advertisers. She graduated from Texas State University – San Marcos with a BBA in Marketing and is on the Leadership Council for the Andy Roddick Foundation and a member of the Les Dames d’Escoffier Austin Chapter.