OCTOBER 7, 2018
Mission accomplished! Two 26' box trucks filled with supplies collected in Sullivan and Orange County were delivered to Clinton, Ivanhoe, and Wallace, North Carolina. Those participating on the Mission Team included Charles "Chuck" Atwell (OE CEO) Shannon Barry (OE Secretary), Gary Silver (OE VP Legal & Government Affairs and Past President of Liberty Rotary Club), and VP of Public 
Information, and Gary Siegel (OE VP of Public Information and Treasurer of Liberty Rotary Club) with Charles Lee Miller (OE COO and Liberty Rotary Club Member), Stuart Hirsch (OE Founder and current board member) and Al Shamah (OE VP of Tactical Paramedicine and Law Enforcement) at Mission Control. The drivers of the supply trucks were donated by Rolling V Bus Corp (Billy McArthur, George Lewis, Tom Danies) and arrived at the hurricane relief staging site/distribution center in Clinton, North Carolina on Friday morning (10/5) where they were greeted by the mission team along with volunteers from the Clinton, Sampson Clinton, and Wallace Rotary Clubs and the United Way of Sampson County. 
"Much appreciation and gratitude for Liberty NY Rotary club. Your enthusiasm and passion for helping others is contagious," says District 7730 Governor April Clark, "One of the best parts (of Rotary) is getting to know the people and now we have friends in Liberty New York. Because y’all are fun we had fun!" 
DG April, along with Nancy Carr, Region 7 ADG and Executive Director of the United Way of Sampson County, were the mission team's Carolina contacts with 'boots on the ground' and were instrumental in arranging the distribution of the supplies collected in Sullivan and Orange Counties. .jpg)
The Hurricane Relief Supply Collection Drive began shortly after Hurricane Florence devastated the Middle Atlantic States, leaving many victims homeless as well as suffering catastrophic losses as a result of the storm. Using the Rotary network, the Liberty NY Rotary Club teamed up with the Clinton Sampson NC Rotary Club, Operation Endeavor, and Wings of Michael to organize the hurricane relief supply collection drive based on the model that was utilized for Hurricane Harvey a year ago which targeted the Friendswood, Texas area. Supplies were collected at 31 sites throughout Sullivan and Orange Counties and were then delivered to SUNY Sullivan on "Collection Delivery Day" (10/3) where there were over 100 volunteers (including SUNY Sullivan Students, Sullivan Rotaract Club and the Liberty HS Interact Club) that sorted, packed and loaded the supplies on the two 26' box trucks which were completely filled. 
On Thursday, 10/4, the trucks and mission team took off for North Carolina where they met at the staging site in Clinton to unload on Friday (10/5) morning. Once the trucks were unloaded, a portion of the supplies were loaded into the Sampson County United Way Community Trailer to be delivered to a distribution site in the remote community of Ivanhoe. 
Before taking off for Ivanhoe, the Rotary/OE Mission team was informed that the local schools in Pender County were in dire need of a variety of supplies, and they were diverted to the local Walmart and Dollar Tree to purchase said supplies with the donated funds which they delivered to the Sampson Middle School in Pender County. 
The team then traveled to Ivanhoe where they helped to set up a remote distribution site with fellow Rotarians and volunteers from United Way of Sampson County. According to ADG Nancy, they had no idea how many people would show up at this site as there was limited communication due to the storm. But the word definitely got out as over 50 families in a community with a population of only 300 showed up to receive the much needed supplies. The following day, the team met at the staging site in Clinton and reloaded the United Way Community Trailer to deliver additional supplies to Wallace, one of the communities hardest hit by the storm. 
Wallace Rotary Club President Betty Earle's house was completely submerged underwater and suffered a total loss. Her property is located in the River Landing Community in Wallace where a number of homes were flooded as the water levels were more than 15 feet above flood stage. 
The mission team, along with the members of the Hamden-Sydney Rotaract Club, were given a guided tour by Wallace Rotary Club Past President, Steve Paes of the hardest hit areas in Wallace and North East, NC. ALL COLLECTIONS SITES
DEVIN WILLIAMSON - CARDINAL BASKETBALL
Marty Plevel
Loretta Duarte
Bethel Lions Club
Highland Rotary Club
Mike & Pat Abbott
Jack Strassman - LRC President's Fund
Lori Rae Jewelry
Woodbourne Home and Garden
Staples of Monticello
Home Depot of Monticello
Jack Strassman
Sal Lucido
Donna Belgard
America's Lifesavers
Billig, Loughlin and Silver, LLP
Gary and Diane Silver
CD Trips, LLC - Gary and Judy Siegel
Don Simkin
Linda Aumick
Barbara H Kelly
Al & Maria Frangipane
Irving & Janet Kaplan
Debra Fuchs Nadeau
Bud and Bridget LeConey
The American Soldiers Statue Committee - Michael Cody
Barbi Neumann Marty
Melissa Antizzo
Scott and Debbie Simpson
Bill Silver
Allan Lipsky
David Thomson
Alan Kesten
Chrissy Giangrasso
Tony Marmo
Carrie Hernandez
Susan Doyle
THANKS TO OUR MEDIA PARTNERS
Bold Gold Media Group - Thunder 102, 98.3 WSUL, 95.9 WVOS
Sullivan County Democrat
Spectrum News
The River Reporter
Steve Kurlander
WJFF Public Radio
Donations by Check made out to:
CFOS Liberty, New York, Rotary Club Foundation Fund
30 Scotts Corners Drive, Suite 203
Montgomery, NY 12549
(Write "Florence Hurricane Relief" in Memo)
Online donations are made through PayPal and are deposited directly into the Liberty Rotary Club Foundation Fund at The Community Foundation of Orange and Sullivan are tax deductible as allowed by the US tax laws. Please help us help others!
Related Links:
CLICK HERE for Liberty NY Rotary Club Website
CLICK HERE for Operation Endeavor Disaster Relief Website
CLICK HERE for Rotary District 7210 Website
For updated information go to www.libertynyrotary.org Or www.oe911.org
Operation Endeavor is comprised of EMS, Emergency Medicine and Rescue professionals and is incorporated as an M99 501(c)(3) that operates domestically and globally to build capacity for EMS and Rescue systems in regions of disparity. The team is also active in disaster response. www.oe911.org
About Liberty, N.Y. Rotary Club
The Liberty Rotary Club is dedicated to putting service above self locally, nationally, and internationally. Rotary members work together to identify community needs on a local, national and global level, and then leverage their resources to enable solutions. (www.libertynyrotary.org)
About Wings Of Michael S.A.R.
Wings of Michael is a faith-centric religious X99 501(c)(3) non-profit (dedicated to the spiritual charism of Michael the Archangel) that provides reconnaissance and rescue services, often incorporating aviation resources, to populations that are beset by natural disaster or acts of sectarian violence and refugee displacement. www.WingsOfMichael.org
About Rotary International
Rotary International is a global network of 1.2 million neighbors, friends, leaders, and problem-solvers who come together to make positive, lasting change in communities at home and abroad. For more than 110 years, Rotary members have used their passion, energy, and intelligence to take action on sustainable projects. www.rotary.org
Thanks for helping us help others!