On Sept. 28, 2022, Hurricane Ian pounded greater Pine Island with nearly 150mph winds for more than 12 hours. By the time Ian — one of the strongest storms to ever hit Florida — finally moved on, the Island’s communities were devastated. Five islanders had lost their lives, 90 percent of the buildings — including homes and businesses — were damaged, with 20 percent of them classified by county officials as having “major damage” and 3 percent as “destroyed.”

Over the days and weeks that followed the Hurricane’s devastation, Island-based and visiting nonprofits continued working to help Islanders recover, but one thing became clear: The Island needed a central clearinghouse of information and activity to help coordinate recovery efforts of numerous organizations — both local and those from outside the community.

By October, Islanders Aaron Barreda and Jay Sanderson began developing the Greater Pine Island Alliance to work within the community to:

In December 2022, the Greater Pine Island Alliance was incorporated as a nonprofit 501©3 organization with the mission to provide leadership and coordinated management of the long-term recovery efforts for Greater Pine Island and to provide long-term assistance to individuals and businesses affected by the disaster who do not have adequate personal resources to meet their basic needs.

Since Hurricane Ian, our island has been hit with multiple storms, including Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton. These storms caused widespread damage which led to over 150 additional homes that reached out to GPIA. Our organization continues to support the long term recovery of Pine Island and our organizational goals which are: