NORWICH – While some states deal with the impact of Hurricane Hermine, communities in Louisiana are still trying to recover from last month’s flooding.
The catastrophe took 13 lives, flooded thousands of homes and the problems are still lingering for these devastated communities.
In order to for the victims to hold their heads above water, they need all the help they can get, and a Norwich couple, Jessica and Jason Hartke, are determined to give back.
“I would hope that if that were us in the Northeast and we were stuck in a blizzard, that people would pack up shovels and salt and come bail us out,” Jessica said.
About a week ago the couple put a call out to the community on Facebook to collect supplies for those impacted. They said the response has been overwhelming.
Their garage is filled with boxes of items for the victims including toiletries, pet supplies, fans, air mattresses, extension cords, dust masks, tools, cleaning supplies and clothing.
The Hartke’s Norwich neighbors are also storing items in their garage.
The next step is to take the donations to Louisiana, stopping at churches, animal shelters, homes, the streets and anywhere they hear there is a need.
“We might not be able to help the whole state of Louisiana but maybe a couple of families, you know,” Jessica said.
She’s learned through the process, even when things seem small, they can have a big impact.
“We're only a couple of people and look what we've done,” she said. “We raised $2,000 in two weeks and all these supplies.”
Any money collected will go towards purchasing tools and supplies.
This will be the couple’s first trip to Louisiana but they plan to bring people along through Facebook posts. They will be posting live videos so those who donated can see where their items are going.
The Hartke’s leave Monday morning for the trip. and they’ll be collecting items on Saturday at Johnsons True Value Hardware in Groton from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
For more information contact: ctsuppliesforlouisiana@gmail.com or visit the Facebook Group page: CT-Supplies for Louisiana Flood
