CES always assists our community whenever we can. We have learned to CONTRIBUTE to those who are already in place, getting the show on the road. Partnering is magic when done with well-intentioned, hard-working groups!
With Hurricane Dorian devastating our beautiful neighbors in the Bahamas, we knew we had to help!
Our employees have two fund raiser activities that we use to generate money to help charitable activities. On Thursdays our employees can dress down, wear jeans for a $1.00 donation, wear shorts for a $5.00 donation or wear a baseball cap for a $10 donation. We also do a weekly 50/50 chance drawing. Tickets are $1.00 each and employees can buy as many tickets as they want. The employee with the winning ticket gets 50% of the pot that week. The other 50% goes to charity. We unanimously agreed that these employee-raised funds would go directly to assist and bring aid to the good people in the Bahamas.
With hundreds of dollars collected, we were able to purchase many needed and wanted items for the production of both baby kits and personal hygiene kits. These kits are very in demand, as displaced people do not have access to the simple hygiene supplies that make a person feel good.
These “kits” include: tooth brush, tooth paste, soap, deodorant, wipes, toilet paper, comb, hand sanitizer, diapers, baby bottles, feminine hygiene products and more!
Our good friends at the Volunteer Ministers Florida Center here in Clearwater had many community volunteers working on putting together thousands of these kits. In addition to this, many volunteers immediately deployed out to the Bahamas. By plane and by boat, they have been arriving with much needed supplies and loving volunteers each day!
In the Bahamas, the Volunteer Ministers are still partnering with local churches and other valuable charitable organizations there preparing food, delivering meals, unloading trucks, delivering supplies, going door to door, and always finding out more ways they can HELP!
In fact, the motto of the Volunteer Ministers is: “Something Can Be Done About it,” and they exemplify this with every action!
Camped out in tents, wielding chain saws, cases of water and delivering succor and supplies, they are still continuing to bring volunteers to the island. Debris removal is hard work. Sweltering heat makes it double-difficult, but the volunteers don’t flinch! Whatever is needed, they are ready to help!
If you wish to contribute time or funds to this Big Help project, please let us know. We are continuing our CES staff donation collections through November. There is MUCH devastation and so much help is needed.
With disasters of this magnitude, the list of needs changes on a daily basis. So we continue to collect funds so we can provide exactly the needed aid in a timely manner!
Along with the Volunteer Ministers of Florida, we are sending our support to another stellar organization which is providing ALL types of aid directly to the people! It is a non-profit, 501(c)3 organization called Grand Bahama Disaster Relief Foundation.
Their website is: www.gbdisasterrelief.org
This organization is providing funds for EVERYTHING! They are providing food and water, supplies and shelter and are even helping with rebuilding materials! These guys are there and doing great things!
By following the simple “partnering with other good guys” method which works miracles, they are really making a huge impact in the Bahamas’ recovery!
Please check out their website which is updated often to show what they are working on in real time!
https://www.gbdisasterrelief.org/rebuild/
Donate if you can. Here’s how:
Donate via their website (United States)
Donate via Go Fund Me (Worldwide)
Both methods are U.S. tax deductible.
All donations to The Grand Bahama Disaster Relief Fund and The Grand Bahama Disaster Relief Foundation go to be distributed to local charities and individuals in Grand Bahama with full transparency for short and long term relief and recovery efforts, with incredible speed thanks to our coordinated, decentralized network of on the ground volunteers and private charity organizations who are responsive to local needs.
