‘It could have been us’: Hilton Head charity works to get hurricane relief to Florida

Sofia Sanchez
·2 min read

The Hilton Head Island Rotary Club rolled out its first shipment of hurricane relief supplies Tuesday morning to southwest Florida with more coming, club President Joe Chappell said.

“It’s really rallying the community,” Chappell said. “Everybody knows it could have been us. The devastation is incredible.”

The shipment, which was already on its way in a 6-by-12 trailer by noon Tuesday, will go to communities like Fort Myers, Sanibel and Port Charlotte that were devastated by Hurricane Ian. At least 100 deaths were reported in Florida following the Category 4 hurricane which barreled through the area on Sept. 28. Hundreds are still without power or have lost their homes or businesses.

Ian traveled across central Florida and entered the Atlantic Ocean, regaining energy as a Category 1 hurricane that was aimed at the South Carolina coast. In the end, the storm turned north and missed Hilton Head and Beaufort County before making landfill in Georgetown, South Carolina, near Myrtle Beach.

Seeing the devastation in Florida, Chappell said he and other Rotary Club organizers began making calls Saturday night to see what could be done. Using the club’s previous experience donating relief supplies after Hurricane Ida as a guide, he and his team got busy and were accepting donations and collecting supplies by Sunday morning.

Currently, the main collection center has been set up at the Coastal Home Furniture warehouse on 144 Beach City Road, Chappell said. The club plans to accept and roll out donations over the next six weeks. By Friday, they plan to have another trailer filled to the brim with supplies such as beds, stoves, cleaning supplies, dog food and diapers.

Dozens of boxes of diapers were prepared to be loaded onto a trailer Tuesday to head to Florida as part of the Hilton Head Island Rotary Club’s Hurricane Ian relief donation, according to president Joe Chappell.
Dozens of boxes of diapers were prepared to be loaded onto a trailer Tuesday to head to Florida as part of the Hilton Head Island Rotary Club’s Hurricane Ian relief donation, according to president Joe Chappell.

“We knew what we were doing was going to be a very quick thing, but we will be getting the word out more broadly,” Chappell said. “We just didn’t have enough time to involve enough people in this one. We love other people helping out.”

He added, “They need it [now], so we had to get our first shipment going.”

Anyone with supplies to donate or who wishes to volunteer may do so by calling 843-686-4100.

Anyone who is coordinating other Hurricane Ian relief efforts locally can contact the Island Packet at newsroom@islandpacket.com.

Cleaning supplies and other essentials were packaged, categorized and loaded on a trailer to be sent to southwest Florida from the Hilton Head Island Rotary Club Tuesday.
Cleaning supplies and other essentials were packaged, categorized and loaded on a trailer to be sent to southwest Florida from the Hilton Head Island Rotary Club Tuesday.