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Sheldon ISD, Food Bank partner to help those still in the dark
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| C.E. King High School ROTC cadet Maribel Gueta helps load food and ice into a car in the parking lot of Crenshaw Stadium, where over 100,000 lbs. of supplies was donated by the Houston Food Bank Saturday, Sept. 27. |
JOSH HARDWICK
As the Houston area heads into its third week following the arrival of hurricane Ike, pockets of communities in the North Channel area are still waiting for essential utilities such as power and water to return.
And though many grocery stores and restaurants have long since resumed their day-to-day business, many residents already in the dark are facing a new problem – a lack of money.
Members of North Channel Assistance Ministries (NCAM) partnered with Sheldon ISD Saturday to distribute food, water and ice to those still without power, water or even a job to return to and whose emergency funds are beginning to dry up.
Gayle Redford, spokeswoman for NCAM and volunteer from the Second Baptist Church of Channelview, said that in the 15 days since Ike made landfall the organization has given out hundreds of thousands of essential food and supplies to citizens of Sheldon, Channelview, Cloverleaf and as far away as Winnie and Anahuac.
And though FEMA-supplied points of distribution (PODs) have long since left Harris County, Redford said the need is still great in communities where lower-income residents are running out of rainy day money.
“We were all told to save up for about two weeks,” said Redford as vehicle after vehicle inched through the line in the parking lot of Sheldon ISD’s Crenshaw Stadium. “Some people just don’t have any more left; they have exhausted it all over the past two weeks on gas, generators and eating out when they weren’t expecting to have to.”
This unofficial POD was thus quiclkly organized with the hope that an extra few days’ worth of food will tide residents over until power is restored to their neighborhood.
The supplies, over 100,000 lbs of food and ice, were contributed by the Houston Food Bank and included much more than the staple water and MRE’s handed out at the official PODs.
This time there were juices, chips, cereals and even bread and lunchmeats.“They’re getting complete meals, even if it’s only for a day or two. That may be what holds them over until they get power back,” Redford added.
Sheldon ISD Superintendent Vickey Giles has watched with frustration the past several days as surrounding communities began returning to normal and the focus on recovery and relief efforts wavered.
And since Sheldon’s population of less than 2,000 citizens has no police or municipal body to turn to for help, Giles said she felt that all eyes were turning to the only organization available.
“We’re not a township or anything like that, so the school district really is the center of the community,” she said.
Peoples’ situations were further complicated by the lack of large-chain grocery stores in the area.
“They began announcing that places like HEB and Kroger were reopening, but we didn’t have those stores around here, and the places we do have had very limited stock,” said Giles.
Stories told by residents who have been visiting these volunteer POD sites have also revealed that many seemed to panic in the aftermath of the storm, unsure of anything but their desire to take care of their families in a time of crisis.
Some even pooled funds with neighbors to purchase a single generator, “to save a refrigerator that probably didn’t have $20 worth of food in it,” said Redford. “The storm put them in a stressful situation they weren’t used to and they just panicked.”
Those handing out the food included volunteers from the district and surrounding churches, many of whom just days ago were without power and water themselves.
Guillermo Ovalles remembered just a week ago when he and his family drove through the Humble Civic Center and securing some much-needed water and ice thanks to FEMA, and so when word got out that locals were taking relief efforts into their own hands he was one of the first to offer a hand.
“At some point I got helped out, so I thought I would come and help now,” he said.
Ovalles, who teaches fourth grade bilingual studies at Sheldon Elementary, said that over half of his class of some 30 students still did not have power when they returned Thursday, Sept. 25.
Cadet First Lieutenant Derryth Gavira with Sheldon’s Civil Air Patrol cadet squadron was one of the lucky ones with power. His unit was responsible for directing traffic through the stadium parking lot and loading up vehicles with the food.
Regardless of the haves and have nots, Gavira said that the first day back from school was welcomed by nearly all of his classmates.
“Everyone was happy to be back. I guess they were tired of the break,” he said.
As the Houston area heads into its third week following the arrival of hurricane Ike, pockets of communities in the North Channel area are still waiting for essential utilities such as power and water to return.
And though many grocery stores and restaurants have long since resumed their day-to-day business, many residents already in the dark are facing a new problem – a lack of money.
Members of North Channel Assistance Ministries (NCAM) partnered with Sheldon ISD Saturday to distribute food, water and ice to those still without power, water or even a job to return to and whose emergency funds are beginning to dry up.
Gayle Redford, spokeswoman for NCAM and volunteer from the Second Baptist Church of Channelview, said that in the 15 days since Ike made landfall the organization has given out hundreds of thousands of essential food and supplies to citizens of Sheldon, Channelview, Cloverleaf and as far away as Winnie and Anahuac.
And though FEMA-supplied points of distribution (PODs) have long since left Harris County, Redford said the need is still great in communities where lower-income residents are running out of rainy day money.
“We were all told to save up for about two weeks,” said Redford as vehicle after vehicle inched through the line in the parking lot of Sheldon ISD’s Crenshaw Stadium. “Some people just don’t have any more left; they have exhausted it all over the past two weeks on gas, generators and eating out when they weren’t expecting to have to.”
This unofficial POD was thus quiclkly organized with the hope that an extra few days’ worth of food will tide residents over until power is restored to their neighborhood.
The supplies, over 100,000 lbs of food and ice, were contributed by the Houston Food Bank and included much more than the staple water and MRE’s handed out at the official PODs.
This time there were juices, chips, cereals and even bread and lunchmeats.“They’re getting complete meals, even if it’s only for a day or two. That may be what holds them over until they get power back,” Redford added.
Sheldon ISD Superintendent Vickey Giles has watched with frustration the past several days as surrounding communities began returning to normal and the focus on recovery and relief efforts wavered.
And since Sheldon’s population of less than 2,000 citizens has no police or municipal body to turn to for help, Giles said she felt that all eyes were turning to the only organization available.
“We’re not a township or anything like that, so the school district really is the center of the community,” she said.
Peoples’ situations were further complicated by the lack of large-chain grocery stores in the area.
“They began announcing that places like HEB and Kroger were reopening, but we didn’t have those stores around here, and the places we do have had very limited stock,” said Giles.
Stories told by residents who have been visiting these volunteer POD sites have also revealed that many seemed to panic in the aftermath of the storm, unsure of anything but their desire to take care of their families in a time of crisis.
Some even pooled funds with neighbors to purchase a single generator, “to save a refrigerator that probably didn’t have $20 worth of food in it,” said Redford. “The storm put them in a stressful situation they weren’t used to and they just panicked.”
Those handing out the food included volunteers from the district and surrounding churches, many of whom just days ago were without power and water themselves.
Guillermo Ovalles remembered just a week ago when he and his family drove through the Humble Civic Center and securing some much-needed water and ice thanks to FEMA, and so when word got out that locals were taking relief efforts into their own hands he was one of the first to offer a hand.
“At some point I got helped out, so I thought I would come and help now,” he said.
Ovalles, who teaches fourth grade bilingual studies at Sheldon Elementary, said that over half of his class of some 30 students still did not have power when they returned Thursday, Sept. 25.
Cadet First Lieutenant Derryth Gavira with Sheldon’s Civil Air Patrol cadet squadron was one of the lucky ones with power. His unit was responsible for directing traffic through the stadium parking lot and loading up vehicles with the food.
Regardless of the haves and have nots, Gavira said that the first day back from school was welcomed by nearly all of his classmates.
“Everyone was happy to be back. I guess they were tired of the break,” he said.
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