Locals help locals in times of need

Socially distant donations

From left, Craig Tellerd donates more than $13,000 to Sister Season Fund board members Scott McCarthy, Julie Hanson, Debbie Bigelow, Ryan Macauley, Ginger King, Paul Murphy. The funds were raised when Tellerd and his wife, Cindy, raffled off a week’s stay in their Key West condominium. PETER ARNOW/Contributed

Times have been indescribably tough for thousands of Key West workers and families, many of whom lost their livelihoods when the coronavirus pandemic shut down much of the island city in mid-March.

The nonprofit Sister Season Fund immediately stepped in to continue its mission of providing financial assistance to service industry workers who are unable to work due to illness, injury — or now, a global pandemic. The fund immediately started providing $1,000 grants to households in need, but the need soon exhausted the fund, so other organizations and individuals found ways to refill the Sister Season coffers.

Craig and Cindy Tellerd, who own a vacation rental condominium in Key West joined in the assistance effort during the COVID-19 crisis and decided to raffle off a week’s stay in their condominium. The Tellerds donated the week’s stay and all proceeds from the raffle to Sister Season. 

“We have already assisted over 220 households since COVID-19 closed our island, awarding almost $500,000 in rental assistance,” said Sister Season President Julie Hanson.

Also, between Hurricane Irma in 2017 and the continuing COVID-19 health crisis and economic disaster, the Krewe of Key West has raised and donated $64,000 to Sister Season.

“We’ve had serious concerns about the service industry sector and their ability to make ends meet during these disasters,” said Valsin Marmillion, who launched the Krewe of Key West with partner Juan Pisani in 2015 to encourage its members to “party with a purpose.” 

Since then, the Krewe has donated more than $160,000 to local organizations. In addition to SSF, its members have helped Key West Wildlife Center, Lucy’s Fund for pets in distress, Wesley House, Key West High School Band, Keys2Swim to teach kids water safety,  and Womankind, which needed an important piece of imaging equipment. The group also helped individual families pay off debts to the school district for school lunches and donated hundreds of holiday gifts through Kids Come First.

Marmillion emphasized that the Krewe members don’t publicize their donations and assistance for thanks or credit, but rather, “We are most hopeful that our donations encourage others to be generous and to support local organizations, most of whom run on a shoestring and do incredible work for this community.”

Krewe of Key West Treasurer Chase Hurst presents a check to Sister Season Fund board members Ryan Macauley, Julie Hanson and Paul Murphy. The Krewe also donated $11,000 to the Key West Wildlife Center and made another donation to Keys2Swim, which teaches kids water safety. Krewe leaders put their giant checks on a fence for social distancing, so the beneficiaries could grab a picture and a check from the mailbox. VALSIN MARMILLION/Contributed
Mandy Miles drops stuff, breaks things and falls down more than any adult should. An award-winning writer, reporter and columnist, she's been stringing words together in Key West since 1998. "Local news is crucial," she says. "It informs and connects a community. It prompts conversation. It gets people involved, holds people accountable. The Keys Weekly takes its responsibility seriously. Our owners are raising families in Key West & Marathon. Our writers live in the communities we cover - Key West, Marathon & the Upper Keys. We respect our readers. We question our leaders. We believe in the Florida Keys community. And we like to have a good time." Mandy's married to a saintly — and handy — fishing captain, and can't imagine living anywhere else.