While the devastating costs of Hurricane Michael are still rising into the billions, fishing rod manufacturer Ark Rods and Professional Angler Randall Tharp have teamed up to utilize his “Honey Badger” brand to raise much-needed funds for the people of the Panhandle.
“On the opposite end of the Florida panhandle, we at Ark Rods were fortunate to be located out of harm’s way, but the hurricane’s devastation to others still blew us away,” said Louie Zhang, founder of Ark Rods. “Our founding professional staff member and instrumental partner, Randall Tharp and his wife, Sara, sustained over $40,000 in property damage alone in Port St. Joe.”
After a humbling fundraising effort by those in the bass fishing community, the “Honey Badger” and Ark Rods want to give back.
“There are thousands of families that have been displaced from their homes, because their houses were total losses, if not seriously damaged,” said Tharp. “The rebuilding of our community could take years… I just feel fortunate that we have a home.”
“I know that buying a hat may not seem like a huge donation, but any help is some help for the volunteers that are on the ground, helping rebuild our community in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael.”
For a limited time, all proceeds from the Honey Badger Tharp Series Snapback Hat will be donated to the Florida Disaster Fund, the state’s official fund to help communities recover from disasters. The fund is administered by the Volunteer Florida Foundation. Volunteer Florida is the state’s lead agency for volunteers and donations before, during, and after disasters.
You can learn more about Volunteer Florida at www.volunteerflorida.org/about/.
