Cape Region steps up to help hurricane victims
A tractor-trailer packed with much-needed supplies left Lewes Oct. 14, bound for hurricane-ravaged North Carolina.
A group of local businesses and communities joined together to collect the donations. An army of Atlantic Refrigeration employees helped load 33 pallets of food, clothes and pet supplies, and six pallets of bottled water.
The truck was headed for High Point, N.C. The items will then be distributed to the Asheville area and other locations hit hard by Hurricane Helene in late September.
Atlantic Refrigeration, on Nassau Commons Boulevard near Lewes, offered to store the donations until the truck arrived. Their warehouse, conference room and hallways were stacked.
“We tried to sort it as it was coming in, but it was just overwhelming,” said Kim Scarpitti of Atlantic Refrigeration. “It really warms your heart to see all the stuff that everybody’s brought, and people calling to see what we need most.”
Karla Araujo, who lives in the Governors development in Lewes, started a donation drive with her homeowners association.
“I used my front porch as a drop-off point. My husband and I made eight trips in SUVs to take everything over to Atlantic,” Araujo said.
Residents of Arcadia Landing also gathered donations.
The Cape Henlopen High School field hockey team asked people to bring donations to a recent game.
Lefty’s Alleys & Eats, Irish Eyes and Mulligan’s in Middletown collected donations at their respective restaurants.
Bayview Homecare donated wheelchairs and walkers.
Jay Bond of Ocean Boulevard Furniture in Rehoboth Beach coordinated the logistics and provided a truck to take the supplies down south.
