‘Give a little, change a lot’ focuses on help for victims of hurricane

Published 1:32 am Saturday, September 16, 2017

Comfort Care Hospice’s Vickie Wacaster knows a thing or two about a hurricane, having grown up in Kissimmee, Fla., and now she and the CCH staff are asking the community to help provide some basic necessities for those affected by Hurricane Irma.

The fundraiser is called “Give a little. Change a lot.”

Wacaster said she knew that they should do something with Andalusia and Brewton being so close to the Florida line. The Andalusia office has joined the Brewton office in this drive.

“I knew we needed to help,” she said. “But I also grew up in Kissimmee and I have family down there still and I kept seeing photos of flooding and devastation. There were houses underwater.”

Wacaster said she and an employee at the Brewton office asked, “What could they do?”

“These are our neighbors,” she said.

Wacaster has been in touch with a classmate of hers from Kissimmee, who only had her power restored on Thursday and that the neighbors across the street were still awaiting theirs to be restored.

Wacaster said they are collecting toiletries, diapers, first aid items, cleaning supplies, canned goods, boxed fans, leather work gloves, hand sanitizer, water, new underwear, new socks, new bed pillows and new blankets.

They have two options to get the supplies to South Florida, she said.

“There is a distribution center is Pensacola,” she said. “The are sending trucks down there, or I may get my cousin to meet us halfway with the supplies, so we can take it closer.”

The deadline to turn in the supplies is Sept. 22.

There are two drop-off location, the Andalusia office located at 820 South Three Notch Street, or the Brewton office at 215 Belleville Avenue.