Hurricane Helene & Milton

In just two weeks in the fall of 2024, Hurricanes Helene and Milton tore through the southern United States, causing over $300 billion in damages. Families lost their homes. Schools were flooded. Animals were displaced. Milton alone prompted 126 tornado warnings — a state record. This activity from the Project Heart Beats series brings students into the human reality of that devastation and asks them not just to observe, but to respond.

Using the Design Thinking Process, students decide which need they want to impact — food security, housing, kids, animals — and build a real plan to help. Are there organizations already doing the work that need more hands? Are there items you can collect or raise funds for? Because the cleanup from storms like these takes years, and every effort — no matter the size — is part of the recovery.