HOUSTON (WSVN) — South Florida support and supplies for Hurricane Harvey victims in Texas are coming from generous families and organizations, and the Miami Dolphins are no exception.
On Monday, the football team delivered 40,000 pounds of donations to those affected by the devastating storm in Houston, and 7News was there to see the response.
All My Sons Moving & Storage also made the trek from Pompano Beach to two Houston school districts.
“We actually coordinated this within less than 24 hours,” said Jameson Olsen with All My Sons Moving and Storage. “On the side in Miami, it was amazing to see the community come together, and it’s amazing here in Houston to see the community come together.”
Dolphins players Michael Thomas and Xavien Howard, who are both Houston natives, started the initiative with the team.
“It’s tough out there,” Howard said. “I have people and family that’s from there right now, and some of my family’s in shelters right now.”
In a matter of days, thousands of donations poured in from South Florida residents.
One of their first stops was Thomas’ former high school in the Aldine School District.
“Man, what can I say? We appreciate you so much,” said Richard Delgado, athletic director in the Aldine Independent School District, Richard Delgado. “This isn’t the first piece of generosity that you’ve shown us.”
Straight out of practice, the Nimitz High football team joined the movers and helped them unload.
“Michael put himself in the position where he’s able to give back,” said Nimitz High School coach Jarvis King. “We try to teach this to these young men.”
Their next stop was Howard’s former high school, Wheatley High.
The Wheatley Wildcats also helped unload donations. Wildcat coach Cornelius McFarland said he still keeps in touch with Howard.
“There was a lot of times when he was extremely tired, and I was like, ‘Xav, give me one more play,’ but today he’s giving us one more play,” McFarland said. “He’s giving back to our school and our community.”
For the All My Sons Moving & Storage movers, this assignment was more than just another job. “I know it’s helping the community over here, and I’ve never done nothing like this before, so it’s actually first time, and it’s grateful,” said All My Sons mover, Anthony.
In just a matter of days, South Florida donations poured in, and the generosity has left a mark on the people of Texas.
Albert Molina brought his family from Plantation to bring over the supplies. “The sweat and the tears and the donations, it was all well worth it,” he said.
The Coral Springs Chargers also transported donations. “A small little group from Coral Springs, Florida, imagine what we can do with the entire community,” said the Chargers’ Hernando Rocha.
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And the Miami Dolphins and All My Sons movers are happy they made the initiative. “The bottom line, doesn’t matter,” Olsen said. “It’s really what the community needs right now.”
There were so many donations from the Miami Dolphins initiative that three truckloads still need to arrive in Houston. They should be there sometime next week.
The Coral Springs Chargers finally arrived back home, Monday night, to a warm welcome. Family and friends cheered and held signs with words of encouragement.
As a memento from their journey, the volunteers returned with a signed cowboy hat from Texas.
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