Charles Garavaglia, a longtime Miami resident and former Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) employee, has continued his commitment to community service after retirement by helping local seniors prepare for hurricane season. Garavaglia joined other FPL volunteers and retirees at the Allapattah Community Center to distribute hurricane meal kits in partnership with the Florida Council on Aging and United HomeCare.
“At FPL, we always emphasized getting involved and giving back to the community,” said Garavaglia. “As a lifelong Miami resident, this was an opportunity to do just that.”
Garavaglia began his career at FPL as a summer intern in engineering, later working nearly four decades with the company before retiring from information technology in October 2022. He remains active with former colleagues through the NextEra Energy Miami-Dade County Retiree Chapter.
“I think it’s just a good thing to do. It’s the right thing to do to help,” said Garavaglia. “You can’t just dismiss all those relationships, and I’ve always been a big fan of FPL. It’s a way of staying connected with a company that I really enjoyed working for.”
The meal kit distribution event focused on supporting seniors in Allapattah who may face challenges such as fixed incomes or limited mobility, making it difficult for them to prepare for storms. Adrian Rosario, one of the recipients, said: “The help that FPL gives us is essential and really appreciated. I hope they continue to do it because it’s something that is desperately needed, especially for the seniors in our community.”
This effort is part of FPL’s broader hurricane preparedness initiative developed with partners like the Florida Council on Aging. Each kit included three days’ worth of shelf-stable meals and water as well as storm preparedness information.
Garavaglia believes these efforts strengthen community ties: “I think community is what you make of it. If you want to participate and get interested in what’s going on, you can do that, and if you want to keep to yourself, you keep to yourself.”
In addition to volunteering with FPL events, Garavaglia serves as a certified ombudsman for elderly residents in assisted living facilities across Florida.
FPL’s ongoing initiatives reflect its longstanding role in Miami over the past century—supporting residents beyond utility services through direct outreach programs aimed at vulnerable groups ahead of hurricane season. The company’s comprehensive storm readiness program includes collaborations with local organizations throughout Florida.
For more information about preparing for hurricanes—including tips and checklists—residents can visit FPL.com/storm.
