Hurricane Dorian has had a lasting impact on Bahamas residents who lost everything but the clothes on their backs.
A local service club is hoping to help.
“It can be really difficult when it’s out of the country. People have trouble visualizing it and understanding it,” said Chuck McIlravey, president designate of the Kiwanis Club of Barrie.
“We have to find ways of getting people to understand that it’s real and these people are in need.”
An estimated 70,000 people lost almost everything they had due to the hurricane.
Among them are close to 100 Kiwanians and their families living on the Island of Abaco and Grand Bahama in the Bahamas.
“The island was totally destroyed. They have nothing. Basically, they had the clothes on their backs and that’s it,” McIlravey told BarrieToday. “We immediately had a teleconference call from the directors from across Canada.
"We decided we had to do something.”
Right away, the clubs sprung into action, canvassing local donors and their membership.
In merely 10 days, the Barrie branch has already raised $33,000 and that number is climbing.
The money goes into a foundation, which then purchases items the families in the Bahamas require. So far, there’s been a need for new clothes, furniture and help with deposits on new apartments for those whose former residences have been completely destroyed.
“We wanted to make sure we could check to see what they were getting from other organizations, so we could fill in the gaps,” McIlravey said.
Funding is through the Kiwanis Foundation of Canada who have agreed to handle the administration free of charge for all money received. Tax receipts will be provided.
The generosity of local donors is almost overwhelming for McIlravey. He said further fundraising efforts in Barrie will be announced in the coming days.
“It’s exceptional,” he said. “And this is just the start.”
For more information on the program, click here.
