Delco answers the call in time of need
Goodbye Harvey. Hello, Irma. If only if were that simple. Even as still another massive storm takes aim at Florida – Irma is now a Category 5 storm as it rumbles across the Caribbean headed toward the southern U.S. – the devastating effects of Harvey are not going away anytime soon.
This is going to be a matter of months, if not years.
While we here in the Delaware Valley put the carefree days of summer behind us, send the kids off to school and try to shake ourselves out of vacation mode, there remains very little normal about life in the areas of Texas devastated by Hurricane Harvey.
That is why it was so heartening to see how so many here in Delaware County reacted to the incredible need in Houston.
Nickson Home Services down in Marcus Hook set themselves up as a collection site for items needed for the relief effort in Texas.
They soon discovered what the good folks at Proaction Restoration in Ridley already knew.
In times of great need, Delaware County has a big heart.
Just as was the case at Proaction, Nickson’s quickly was overwhelmed.
“Every time we get a complete truck load, we send a complete truck load out,” said owner John Nickson Jr. He got the idea to pitch in from his son John III, who as a student at Texas A&M, seeing the devastation in Texas first-hand. The younger Nickson started collecting clothing, shoes, blankets, non-perishable food items, batteries, flashlights, personal and female hygiene items, and baby care materials such as diapers, formula, and baby food.
Over in Media, the owners and employees at Media Dental Associates started accepting donations of new and gently used adult and children’s clothing, household items, toys, diapers and infant care items. They will continue to collect materials through Sept. 18.
In Morton, the folks at the Coffee Station are holding a spaghetti dinner Wednesday night to raise money for the hurricane victims. Owner John Paciotti is hoping to raise $5,000 from about 700 dinners. He’s planning to use all funds from the dinner to purchase supermarket and Walmart gift cards for those in need in Texas.
As you might expect, it’s not just humans who are hurting.
Harvey also has wreaked devastation on animals and pets as well.
Providence Animal Center, the former county SPCA in Upper Providence, took a truck down to Texas and returned with 38 cats and dogs from Corpus Christi. The animals had been trapped in flooded conditions for three days. They’re planning to return to Texas and rescue more animals just as soon as space opens up in the Delco facility.
Officials from the Delaware County Sheriff’s office got involved in the effort by Proaction Restoration.
Sgt. Joseph Duffy was not surprised at the reaction.
“People in Delaware County come together constantly to help each other,” Duffy said. “If we could, we’d send 5,000 of us out there to help clean up. Obviously, when there’s a disaster, you need everyone on board in Delaware County or across the country.”
His boss, Sheriff Mary McFall Hopper, concurred.
“Everybody wants to help,” she said. “They’re just trying to figure out how they can do it.”
Duffy learned it feels good to know you are taking part in something bigger than yourself, it’s part of being a caring community, even when the community in need is hundreds of miles away.
“Helping with something like this, there’s just no better feeling,” he said. “It’s fantastic.”
Hopper cautions the goal now is not to lose sight of the need. While the immediate emergency starts to subside, the long-term challenge remains ever-present.
“I wish we could do more,” Hopper said. “It’s not just an immediate need that they’re going to have. They’re going to have needs going forward. So we’ll keep and eye out and see what we can do in the future, not just in the next week.”
And with Irma, potentially a devastating Hurricane 5 storm lurking out in the Atlantic, the need is not going to go away anytime soon.