PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) — Bay County is still recovering from the damage caused by Hurricane Michael, and Hurricane Ian won’t be an exception.

And according to one local organization when our area needed support, several people, organizations, and communities helped, and now is the time to show why we are “Panhandle Strong.”

The Bay Education Foundation is asking you to help some of the people affected by Hurricane Ian.

Foundation leaders kicked off a one-week campaign Monday to help Lee, Collier, and Seminole County school teachers. For every dollar donated by the public, the Foundation will match the amount.

“This is a dollar-to-dollar match by the community, that every dollar the community gives to Bay Education Foundation, We will match up to 20,000 dollars,” Bay Education Foundation, President Larry Carroll said.

This is a way to repay the generosity those counties extended to Bay County after Hurricane Michael.

“Many of our teachers lost personal items in the classroom after the storm,” Bay District School’s Director of Communications Sharon Michalik said. “We discovered that personal items are not covered by the district’s insurance nor were they covered by FEMA. So we had veteran teachers that had been teaching for 25 years and lost 25 years’ worth of classroom library books, for example.”

All the donations Bay County received provided resources to teachers. Classrooms were up and running quickly and teachers were able to buy what they needed. The Bay Education Foundation now wants to provide those Southwest Florida teachers the same assistance.

“A lot of those education foundations had come together after Hurricane Michael to help us in dire need,” Bay Education Foundation, Board Secretary Aaron Rich said. “I just think it’s our turn to do the same for those communities. I think it’s the right thing to do, and I think it’s something that we should be proud to do.”

The campaign will begin today and last through Friday, December 2nd. Click here to donate to Hurricane Ian victims.