By B.C. Manion
Superstorm Sandy may have slammed into far away parts of the country, but the destruction touched hearts and spurred people into action here.
Glenn Gibson, general manager of Wesley Chapel Nissan, and David Capovilla, a Rebuild America Auto Program Representative, drove to New Jersey to deliver generators and gasoline to Sandy victims.
Gibson later went back to New Jersey with Troy Stevenson, Robert Regan and David Keller, who also work at the dealership, to deliver a truckload of supplies the business collected to help the ravaged area.
Wesley Chapel Nissan, 28519 SR 54, worked in conjunction with the Wesley Chapel Lions Club to bring in the supplies, said Stevenson, who is the president of the club. The supplies were delivered to the Toms River Lions Club in Toms River, N.J., he added.
Items they delivered included blankets, warm winter clothing, new underwear, nonperishable foods, batteries, feminine hygiene products, diapers for children and adults, toiletries, small flashlights, first aid supplies and other goods.
It took the four men two days to drive to New Jersey, Stevenson said. “We set up a muster point” where they gave out items and accepted donations from other people who wanted to help, he said.
“It was 32 degrees,” Stevenson said, noting he was freezing cold. “We worked the first 24 hours straight.”
The quartet flew back to Florida with expenses covered by Lions Club International, Stevenson said.
They aren’t the only ones whose hearts were touched by the devastation.
Another group also supported by the dealership and the Wesley Chapel Lions Club, as well as the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce, the Pasco-Hernando Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Bridgeway Church headed to New Jersey on Nov. 19 to deliver supplies and to cook a Thanksgiving dinner for storm victims.
The group drove two trucks full of supplies, said John Jay Anglada, who was among those making the trip. They brought clothing, furniture, diapers and toothbrushes. They also took cookies and cold medicines that were donated by Support Our Troops.
They expect to feed Thanksgiving dinner to about 200 people, Anglada said.
Other local efforts included work by Kristin Green, owner of Monkey Bizness at The Shops at Wiregrass, and by Lori Malott, of A & A Boutique, 2553 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., to collect supplies and ship them to Sandy victims.
New Walk Church of Zephyrhills, 37301 Chapel Hill Loop, also had a Jersey Shore Disaster Relief Drive, coordinated by Matt and Elenya Hulbert.
The church collected supplies, including warm clothing, socks, towels, clothes, adult diapers, baby diapers, food, baby food, pet food and other supplies and loaded the items onto a truck. They were delivered to the Monmouth and Middlesex counties in New Jersey.
