Friday, December 22, 2006

CREW Making Spirits Bright!

CREW has been busy this month making sure as many people as possible have a good Christmas.

Due to some private individuals who live in Cape Coral, CREW was able to make the wishes come true for 86 children in Hendry and Glades counties. Staff and Board members with kids from the Baptist Church spent the day Thursday before Christmas delivering gifts that had been handpicked for these specific kids.

Volunteers from East Lake United Methodist came and worked on replacing drywall in Moore Haven on December 2. First Presbyterian Church came and hung drywall, cabinets, and doors in Clewiston on December 16.

We have been very blessed and the New Year will see volunteers coming every week beginning January 6 till some time in March, and we are still scheduling. Donors have generously provided for the materials and costs of the repairs we are still making due to Hurricane Wilma. We still have 350 families needing to recover from Hurricane Wilma, and a handful from Tropical Storm Ernesto and from local fires.

Our Unmet Needs committee meets every month and finds local agencies and other donors and volunteers to help meet the unmet needs of these families. So far we have been able to help, or find others to help over 300 families. We are also helping low income residents strengthen their homes against future storms and disasters, through the statewide My Safe Florida program.

We are asking the community to step up and volunteer for CREW, we have had a few local volunteers, but most of our volunteers come from our town or state. We also need donations to help cover the cost of doing business, we often get donors willing to donate supplies or cover the costs incurred by volunteers, but we need donations simply to keep our doors open. Start the New Year off right by seeing what you can do to help!

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