DORAL, FLA. (WSVN) - After Hurricane Idalia made landfall in the Sunshine State, the Global Empowerment Mission in Doral is packing up and ready to send supplies to those areas hit hard by the storm.
Trucks filled with supplies left GEM headquarters in Doral for the Big Bend of Florida, Wednesday morning.
7News cameras captured several items in their assembly line such as socks, food, water and family hygiene kits.
Volunteers in an assembly line then put the items into the necessity kits.
Patrick Lynch, the Chief Development Officer at GEM, spoke with 7News about their current plans.
“It’s always getting the most amount of aid to the most amount of people in the least amount of time for the least amount of money,” Lynch said. “It’s what we’re doing here today. Our neighbors here in Florida, just up the road, are no strangers to storms like this, unfortunately, and neither are we. So starting yesterday, we already sent out two tractor-trailers worth of aid that are currently en route to Perry. They’ll be ready for distribution as soon as the storm clears.”
Lynch also discussed what GEM will do for the rest of the week.
“Throughout the day today, and for the rest of the week, we’ll have volunteers packing necessity kits in this assembly line right here behind me, to continually fill up trucks and get them up the road as often as we need to,” Lynch said.
They already have scouts on the ground waiting to survey the damage and welcome the trucks of supplies.
GEM also has food and water bowls for people with pets.
This is all part of GEM’s first phase of recovery. The second phase will focus on helping people will long-term solutions, which include dealing with mattresses, drywall and the things people will need to rebuild in the weeks and months after the storm clears.
“What we find is, there’s always two phases to our response like this: the short-term recover, the long-term recovery,” Lynch said. “The immediate aftermath is what we’re experiencing right now. So in this immediate aftermath, folks need basic supplies: food, water, hygiene kits. That’s what these family necessity kits are designed for. So, in the next 24, 48, 72 hours, we’re going to be packing these kits, putting them on trucks and sending them up the highway to our friends up north.”
But their work is not done yet. Throughout the week, GEM will continue to send much-needed items.
“We all have to come together as a community and help one another out,” said volunteer Anton Taveras. “People are very focused these days on their own individual needs and issues, so I think it’s important to help others and provide a hand.”
If you’d like to help GEM, either by volunteering or donating, click here.
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