Christmas in July: Why the Hardee Help Center has a million reasons to celebrate

In the blazing heat outside the old train depot in Wauchula, more than a hundred people gathered for a ribbon cutting, followed by a hot meal and a significant announcement. "We are very excited. We're scared. We're nervous but very excited," said Jill Vaillancourt, Director of Hardee Help Center. Vaillancourt said the last year for her team's been extremely challenging. Hurricane Ian and the fallout from the pandemic continue to fuel an economic crisis for many. At the same time, the non-profit was struggling to raise money to fix their busted transport van. Through our new ABC Action News Gives campaign, we awarded the non-profit $10,000. Mosaic followed up after our report with $50,000. They were able to skip repairs and get a brand-new reliable transport van.