Tents, tarps and other supplies are on the way to Haiti, thanks to the efforts of local volunteers.
Since the recent earthquake and Tropical Storm Grace hit the southern peninsula of Haiti, Heritage Community Church of Fruitland Park and members of the mission organization S.H.I.N.E (Sustainable Hope In Necessary Endeavors) have been monitoring the best way to address the immediate needs of those affected by these two disasters. Given the wide spread destruction of housing they determined that tarps, tents, and medical supplies were urgently needed.
The groups collected 110 tents, 320 tarps, 96 solar-powered lanterns, 192 mission soccer balls, 144 boxes of food, 144 boxes of sanitizer, 24 boxes of face shields, 72 boxes of hospital gowns and 18 boxes of creole gospel tracts. S.H.I.N.E. also collected fish cage materials and fish food as the group has been helping farmers who are raising fish in local ponds and lakes.
Several volunteers met Monday at Trinity Constructors warehouse in Fruitland Park to load a large container with those supplies to be shipped to Haiti. With the help of a RoMac Building Supply forklift operator they quickly accomplished their tasks.
Jeff Bell, one of S.H.I.N.E.’ s founding members, was at the Trinity Constructors warehouse helping volunteers load medical supplies, tents, food and aqua culture equipment to take to Haiti.
“The people there are desperately poor,” he said.
He explained that S.H.I.N.E., in addition to helping set up fish farms, has provided interest-free micro-loans to help Haitians start small businesses.
Steve Whitaker, another founder of the S.H.I.N.E. group, will be traveling to Haiti to help deliver the supplies.
He originally went to Haiti to help build a church.
“The people of Haiti are warm friendly people. There are few things made there other than what is produced on local farms,” he said.
Whitaker has spent more than 11 weeks helping with various construction projects in Haiti and has helped move S.H.I.N.E’s Haiti projects forward. He expressed the groups’ thanks for Trinity Constructors’ help by providing warehouse space, RoMac’s assistance in loading and transporting supplies and Ross Plumbing for help with supplies.
If you would like to participate in this mission endeavor, you can do so by sending a check payable to the office of Sustainable Hope in Necessary Endeavors located at 101 E. Berckman St., Suite B, Fruitland Park, Florida 34731 or you can drop a check off at the office from Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. In addition, you can go to https://shinemission.org/join-our-mission/ and click on DONATE to give via PayPal. The cost of a four-person tent is $75 and tarps can be purchased for $10 each. Updates on the work will be provided through S.H.I.N.E.’s facebook page https://www.facebook.com/SHINE-Matt-516-247307612672063
For more information, you can contact Jeff Bell at (352) 396-2537 or Rev. Sidney Brock at (352) 267-2939.
