Pitching in to rebuild Haiti
By Kyle LoJacono
Staff Writer
ZEPHYRHILLS (change to Pasco County) — Millions of dollars have already been donated for Haitian earthquake relief. In the spirit of giving, many have given money without knowing exactly where it will go. Pasco County rotary clubs are working together to help fulfill a more specific need.
“The people in Haiti are very resourceful and can find food and water, but they need shelter now,” said Nelson Ryman, member of Zephyrhills Daybreak Rotary and survivor of the Haitian earthquake Jan. 12.
“They need protection from the rain and the sun,” Ryman continued. “They are living in tents made out of bed sheets now because it is all they have. They need roofs to sleep under and a place be protected them from the weather.”
Ryman, 70, has lived in Zephyrhills since 1969 and owned H&R Interstate Mobile Homes. He has also made numerous trips to the Haitian village of Simonette to visit an orphanage, Tytoo Gardens, which he supports. While in Haiti, he formed relationships with locals and learned a lot about the culture.
“Nelson knows housing, so when he told us that we could build a Haitian house for $3,000, we thought we can really make a difference,” said Mike Wootton, assistant governor for the four Rotary clubs in Zephyrhills and Dade City. “So the Daybreak Rotary and the lunchtime Rotary got together and had a ‘boot drive’ in downtown (Zephyrhills).”
The boot drive, held Jan. 22 and 23, was promoted as an event to raise funds to provide Haitians with shelter.
“The idea really came from Mike Mira, who is the president of the lunchtime Rotary club in Zephyrhills,” Wootton said. “He wanted to do something to help Haiti as fast as possible because he knew the longer we waited the harder it would be to get people to respond. It came together fast and between member donations and the drive.”
Wootton continued by saying Tim Mayberry, president of the Daybreak club, agreed to the drive almost immediately and had volunteers and donations as soon as he announced it to the club.
Mira said the clubs’ goal was to raise enough money to rebuild two houses.
“We passed our goal and have close to $7,000 now,” he said Jan. 28. “We wanted to look legitimate during the drive, so we got shirts and signage printed up so the people would know we were for real.”
The clubs had nearly 50 volunteers collecting money over the two-day drive.
“We were only out there for about six hours and came up with that amount of money,” Mira said. “All the money we collected will go 100 percent to the people in Haiti. That’s what we told everyone when they donated, and the people here in Zephyrhills really stepped up big.”
While $3,000 might seem far too low to build a new house, Ryman explained Haitian houses are small — usually 200-square-feet. The people spend most of their time outside during the day because of the heat, so houses do not have to be large.
The two Zephyrhills clubs have their sights set on incorporating all the local Rotary clubs in their efforts.
“Nothing is really set right now, but I’m pushing to get the Eastside Eight to get together to raise money or give some kind of relief aid to Haiti,” Mira said. “All the clubs are separate groups, so it takes a little bit of time to set things up with all eight.”
The Eastside Eight are the eight Rotary clubs in central and east Pasco County, which include the two clubs in Wesley Chapel, Zephyrhills and Dade City, plus one each in Land O’ Lakes and San Antonio.
The first collaboration of the eight clubs was on the Eastside Eight Community Food Drive, which collected enough food to fill 400 baskets with food during the last holiday season for needy families.
“It would be a good thing to get everyone involved again,” Wootton said. “Hopefully we can do more things together in the future.”
The Zephyrhills clubs take on projects like the relief drive regularly, but Ryman’s connection to Haiti was the driving force in picking up the cause.
“We knew the money would get in the hands of the right people because Nelson would be going down there himself,” Wootton said. “He knows so much about housing and works closely with the people down there, so he knew what would be the best way to help the people in Haiti…Nelson is truly a great person in the community and this effort just shows that.”
How to help local Rotary clubs
- Rotary Club of Land O’ Lakes, (813) 918-3027, ">
- Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel Sunrise, (813) 907-7990
- Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel, (813) 973-2392
- Rotary Club of Zephyrhills Daybreak, P.O. Box 1797 Zephyrhills, FL 33539
- Rotary Club of Zephyrhills P.O. Box 1234 Zephyrhills, FL 33539,
- Rotary Club of Dade City Sunrise, (352) 797-0638
- Rotary Club of Dade City-Downtown,
