11/17/2022
***CHALLENGE ACCEPTED***
Hurricane Ian made landfall on Thursday, September 29, 2022. Our founders, Tom and Jean left on Sunday and drove 22 unusually long hours to arrive in Florida. Jean stated how uplifting it was to drive along the highway seeing all the help headed to Florida. There were trailers designed as sleeping quarters, port-a-potties, feeding stations and laundry facilities. There were trailers hauling large clean up equipment and generators. Americans were rushing to the aid of fellow Americans and it was refreshing to see!
Jean had taught for the American Red Cross for over 35 years but did not find a group of them helping in Florida to join so they sought out another humanitarian aid organization and stumbled upon Samaritan’s Purse which is part of the Billy Graham Evangelical Church.
Active volunteering began Tuesday following the storm and Tom and Jean were assigned to a team which was among the first groups allowed to enter the devastation. They entered, inland from Fort Myers, a North Port subdivision with over 1,000 mobile homes for retirees and each family’s home had major damage. Jean and Tom were asked to assist a 92 year old woman whose husband had passed away 9 years before and she had no family left. This woman had spent the hurricane barricaded in her bathroom all alone. She was thankful to have survived! Donations to Samaritan’s Purse paid to move her to an extended stay hotel and anticipated that it would be 6 weeks before she could return home.
The volunteer group salvaged anything that they could but the flood waters claimed most items and mold was quickly setting in to claim the rest. The team packed belongings in boxes including bubble wrapping years of knickknacks representing this woman’s lifetime! Siding was collected from all over the yard located in raw sewage and set at the curb for massive collection by the state. Palm trees were removed and tarps were put on roofs. Glass was swept up from broken windows. Refrigerator/freezer was cleaned out. Furniture was disposed. Ceilings were torn down so that wet insulation could be removed. Wet carpet was torn up. All in all, the entire home was gutted without any interruption from snakes or alligators!
Samaritan Purse team leaders went door to door asking if anyone wanted to fill out a work order. No one, no matter the need, can step onto someone’s property without permission. Many of the residents were still in shock and did not know what to do next. This group gave guidance but more importantly, they gave hope! All volunteers were told to forget any physical work if a neighbor came to talk. People came first! The priority was to allow hurricane victims to tell of their experience to an active listener and simply be present for them. Tom and Jean were told that Samaritan’s Purse Response Team will not leave until every single one of the work orders are completed even if it takes years!
Samaritan's Purse is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charity. All contributions designated for specific projects shall be applied to those projects. Tom and Jean saw gifts in action with this group while noticing other high profile organizations were completely missing in action!
We challenge each of you reading to take the challenge: “For a time such as this…..spread kindness” and post your experiences here on our page. We guarantee you will not regret it and it will be exciting to see what a difference we can make with this challenge and its ripple effect.
