South Florida Donations Headed To Hurricane Struck Louisiana
DORAL (CBSMiami) - Donations are on their way from South Florida to Louisiana in the wake of Hurricane Ida.
The powerful and dangerous category 4 hurricane made landfall Sunday and search and rescue efforts are just beginning.
"We have been notified by probably 100 people just through messages on Facebook, people saying that they're terrified, that they couldn't evacuate. They've been texting us throughout the night because there's no more power, no more internet," said Michael Capponi, founder and President of Global Empowerment Mission. "We've lost communication with a lot of people because there's no power now."
The group loaded up family kits with supplies throughout the weekend, Capponi said, in advance of any likely devastation from the storm.
"We were scheduling volunteers here all weekend, packing boxes when this thing was still offshore knowing what was going to happen," said Capponi. "It's a lot of work to do."
GEM partnered with UC Group to transport the boxes of supplies from their warehouse in Doral straight to Baton Rouge, Louisiana where they will work with churches to distribute to those in need.
Inside each family kit are essentials like wipes, flashlights, blankets, canned food, and even COVID-19 testing kits. Each kit should be enough to help a family of five. On Monday morning, a truck filled with about 1,000 kits left Doral headed north.
Capponi said they are planning to send 10 trucks.
If you would like to help, head to globalempowermentmission.org.
Neighbors 4 Neighbors is also accepting monetary donations to assist in the relief and recovery. Donations can be made at neighbors4neighbors.org/ida or by texting IDA to 41444.