Billy Joel and Alexis Joel, through their organization, The Joel Foundation, are helping residents in Fort Myers and throughout southwest Florida recover from Hurricane Ian, which made landfall as the fifth-strongest hurricane to hit the continental U.S. last month.

The Joel Foundation announced their donation of $250,000 to the Lee County Strong Hurricane Ian Relief Fund, an emergency fund providing relief and long-term recovery assistance to the residents of southwest Florida recovering from the devastating impacts of Hurricane Ian.

According to Community Cooperative, The Joel Foundation is focusing on relief and rebuilding efforts in southwest Florida for those impacted by the storm, for children and school programs, as well as the local maritime community.

“Our family is moved to action by the catastrophic hurricane that wiped out an entire coastline in Lee County Florida,” said Billy and Alexis Joel in a joint statement. “Florida is our winter home and living through our own experience during Superstorm Sandy and the rebuilding needed in the ongoing years, our goal is to help those less fortunate.”

“While we always put music education at the forefront of our agenda, we also help those during devastating times. We have partnered with The Lee County Community Cooperative to aid those that are suffering in the aftermath of this storm. We are grateful to them for their tireless work in the community,” they added.

“We are blown away by the outpouring of support from people across the world, including Billy and Alexis Joel,” said Stefanie Ink Edwards, CEO of Community Cooperative. “The Joel Foundation’s incredible donation will go such a long way in getting our community back on its feet, our children back in school, and their families back at home. We can’t thank The Joel Family and their organization enough.”

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