DukeStreetKing
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 24, 2004
- Messages
- 2,644
Some people from my firm have really stepped up to help the people who were right in the line of fire from Hurricane Charley. Here is the latest email sent from them regarding their efforts. It's amazing how much work there is still to do. It's been over a week and it seems like some areas have not even been reached by assistance.
I'm posting this only to let folks know how bad this hurricane was and how much destruction it left in it's path.
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Wednesday was our first trip. Our goal was to feed up to 400 people and we met that goal.
Our day started by purchasing $1,300 of food and supplies. This included over 600 pieces of chicken, bread, green beans, corn, hundreds of sodas, water and ice. We also bought small packs of toothbrushes & toothpaste, razors, shampoo, soap and things the kids would enjoy such as Rice Crispy Treats. Literally, the list goes on and on.
Our first stop was a sheriff auxiliary post in Port Charotte. We fed approximately 75-100 deputies that were coming off duty from throughout the county. We had hoped for more people at our first stop. The low number of people proved to be fortunate because this allowed us to get our process streamlined. (As Art put it...it was a good "UAT".) It also gave us the opportunity to get an additional 700 lbs of ice from the sheriff's office ;-) ).
Around 4:30 a Red Cross truck stopped by to see if we'd sell them some food. The Red Cross representative looked pretty stressed out. They had 350 people that needed food and they only had enough for 100. We told them we'd move to their location to give out the food.
I couldn't believe the destruction we saw driving to the new location. Entire buildings were flattened, huge trees were broken in half and there was garbage everywhere.
Our new location was one block from the bay and where the eye made landfall. Debris was EVERYWHERE. It was difficult navigating through the streets but we finally got there (I had to fess up to my wife last night that I almost messed up her Expedition going over a pile of debris...I remembered Art took a picture of it ;-). This neighborhood really needed assistance. We fed approximately 200 people at this stop.
One of the most moving experiences at the second stop came after we fed a majority of the people. We decided to walk through the neighborhood to make sure everybody had eaten. We saw a man dragging a huge branch that had fallen close to his house. We were about to help him when we asked if he had eaten. He said he hadn't because the Red Cross ran out of food several hours earlier. He looked at us in disbelief when we told him we had plenty of food. He dropped the branch where he stood and took off towards the food. This man would have gone to bed hungry that night if you wouldn't have helped us buy food.
Our next stop was the Command Center for Charlotte county. We decided to stop here because we still had food but the curfew was about to go into effect. This location was more like a military command post than a neighborhood. It was the central staging area for the Army and emergency personnel from counties across Florida. A large number of Humvees and trucks with armed troops were rolling out when we arrived. After they left it seemed like small waves of people were arriving in 30 minute intervals until approximately 11 pm. We eventually packed it up and drove back home. We think we served about 100-125 people here.
The Command Center made us feel strange. The military and emergency teams had taken over a Winn Dixie shopping center that had just been completed. With the exception of the grocery store (which was closed until further notice), none of the other space had been rented. You could look through the glass and see troops sleeping on cots in the A/C. Outside they had the parking lot fully lit and all kinds of communications equipment was setup.
In contrast, there was a nice subdivision of homes across a field behind the shopping center. We could see flashlights moving around inside the homes. You could only imagine what the people were going through...no A/C, no hot water, sleeping with their windows open, not knowing when power would be restored, etc. I'm sure their kids were scared. It made us consider what life might have been like for our families if the storm would have hit the Tampa Bay area.
On a more upbeat note, we're planning to go to Arcadia tomorrow. This time we're planning to have two teams with grills. We have a pretty good process that allows us to get to the people quickly and feed groups of 100 - 400 people. When we're finished we can pack up within 15-20 minutes and be on the way to the next place. We're planning to be prepared for 800+ people. The local authorities have asked us to start at one of the emergency supply distribution centers.
I've talked to a lot of people that are planning to help out over the weekend. It goes without saying, take lots of water. I also recommend taking some bug spray and a change of clothes for when the day is over.
Once again, thanks to everybody for their support! I really appreciate it and I KNOW the people we fed appreciate it!
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I'm posting this only to let folks know how bad this hurricane was and how much destruction it left in it's path.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday was our first trip. Our goal was to feed up to 400 people and we met that goal.
Our day started by purchasing $1,300 of food and supplies. This included over 600 pieces of chicken, bread, green beans, corn, hundreds of sodas, water and ice. We also bought small packs of toothbrushes & toothpaste, razors, shampoo, soap and things the kids would enjoy such as Rice Crispy Treats. Literally, the list goes on and on.
Our first stop was a sheriff auxiliary post in Port Charotte. We fed approximately 75-100 deputies that were coming off duty from throughout the county. We had hoped for more people at our first stop. The low number of people proved to be fortunate because this allowed us to get our process streamlined. (As Art put it...it was a good "UAT".) It also gave us the opportunity to get an additional 700 lbs of ice from the sheriff's office ;-) ).
Around 4:30 a Red Cross truck stopped by to see if we'd sell them some food. The Red Cross representative looked pretty stressed out. They had 350 people that needed food and they only had enough for 100. We told them we'd move to their location to give out the food.
I couldn't believe the destruction we saw driving to the new location. Entire buildings were flattened, huge trees were broken in half and there was garbage everywhere.
Our new location was one block from the bay and where the eye made landfall. Debris was EVERYWHERE. It was difficult navigating through the streets but we finally got there (I had to fess up to my wife last night that I almost messed up her Expedition going over a pile of debris...I remembered Art took a picture of it ;-). This neighborhood really needed assistance. We fed approximately 200 people at this stop.
One of the most moving experiences at the second stop came after we fed a majority of the people. We decided to walk through the neighborhood to make sure everybody had eaten. We saw a man dragging a huge branch that had fallen close to his house. We were about to help him when we asked if he had eaten. He said he hadn't because the Red Cross ran out of food several hours earlier. He looked at us in disbelief when we told him we had plenty of food. He dropped the branch where he stood and took off towards the food. This man would have gone to bed hungry that night if you wouldn't have helped us buy food.
Our next stop was the Command Center for Charlotte county. We decided to stop here because we still had food but the curfew was about to go into effect. This location was more like a military command post than a neighborhood. It was the central staging area for the Army and emergency personnel from counties across Florida. A large number of Humvees and trucks with armed troops were rolling out when we arrived. After they left it seemed like small waves of people were arriving in 30 minute intervals until approximately 11 pm. We eventually packed it up and drove back home. We think we served about 100-125 people here.
The Command Center made us feel strange. The military and emergency teams had taken over a Winn Dixie shopping center that had just been completed. With the exception of the grocery store (which was closed until further notice), none of the other space had been rented. You could look through the glass and see troops sleeping on cots in the A/C. Outside they had the parking lot fully lit and all kinds of communications equipment was setup.
In contrast, there was a nice subdivision of homes across a field behind the shopping center. We could see flashlights moving around inside the homes. You could only imagine what the people were going through...no A/C, no hot water, sleeping with their windows open, not knowing when power would be restored, etc. I'm sure their kids were scared. It made us consider what life might have been like for our families if the storm would have hit the Tampa Bay area.
On a more upbeat note, we're planning to go to Arcadia tomorrow. This time we're planning to have two teams with grills. We have a pretty good process that allows us to get to the people quickly and feed groups of 100 - 400 people. When we're finished we can pack up within 15-20 minutes and be on the way to the next place. We're planning to be prepared for 800+ people. The local authorities have asked us to start at one of the emergency supply distribution centers.
I've talked to a lot of people that are planning to help out over the weekend. It goes without saying, take lots of water. I also recommend taking some bug spray and a change of clothes for when the day is over.
Once again, thanks to everybody for their support! I really appreciate it and I KNOW the people we fed appreciate it!
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