Hurricane relief efforts for Key West sister city ramp up

Hurricane relief efforts for Key West sister city ramp up

BY PRU SOWERS

KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER

Seven plane runs, including a few in large DC-3 aircraft. More than 15 tons of supplies delivered. Over $160,000 raised in donations, with more coming in from a sold-out benefit concert on Saturday, Sept. 14.

That’s what Key West Cares has organized in the two weeks since Hurricane Dorian blasted The Bahamas with Category 5 winds, the strongest hurricane in modern records to strike the northwestern Bahamas. One of the hard-hit islands was Green Turtle Cay, Key West’s sister city. The strong relationship between the two islands, including a long history of Green Turtle residents moving to Key West, led to the formation of Key West Cares as a way for Key West residents to help out.

“It [Key West Cares] is volunteer and donation driven,” said Bernadette Restivo, a member of the group’s finance committee and current Fantasy Fest Queen. “The need over there, it will take years to rebuild them.”

Amazingly, there were no deaths on Green Turtle Cay, although there were some serious injuries, according to former Key West Mayor Craig Cates, who is a founding member of Key West Cares. But most of the buildings on the small island, which measures only three miles by one-half mile, are severely damaged, if not destroyed completely. Cates went to the island last week as part of a Key West Cares assessment team, flying in to nearby Treasure Cay, then ferrying over to Green Turtle because its airport is not functional.

“There’s only one ferry left. All the others had sunk,” he said. “There’s so much damage out there. The out-islands are the last to get help because [other relief efforts] are working on the main island.”

The first supply runs from Key West to Green Turtle contained water, food and immediate essentials. The call now is for cleaning supplies, including bleach to combat mold, and children’s books, games and school supplies. Donations can be dropped off at multiple locations around Key West, including the Winn-Dixie, CVS, Fausto’s, Good Tidings Church and any public library. There is also a main donation drop-off location at 6000 Peninsular Avenue on Stock Island, where Key West Cares has several storage containers.

Cates said the next step is to finalize arrangements with a barge owner in Marathon. The barge can haul 80 tons of supplies, as opposed to about 3.5 tons in an airplane. While the use of the barge may be donated, Key West Cares will have to pay for gas and a crew.

“We want to take building supplies over; plywood, lumber, plumbing, pipes. Things we haven’t been able to get on a plane,” Cates said. “We want to go to the next step. Every building [on Green Turtle] is damaged.”

In addition to supply donations, money is needed, as well. The Key West Cares Finance Committee is handling the money through First State Bank and Kurt Lewin. While direct donations can be made through the Key West Cares Facebook page, there have also been two recent benefit concerts. One was held this past weekend by Billy Currington, a country music singer-songwriter who has strong connections to both Key West and Green Turtle. Currington also sat in at a benefit concert held at the Key West Theater Saturday, Sept. 14, where local stars like Coffee Butler and the Bubba System entertained. The proceeds from both concerts are still being calculated, Restivo said.

“It was a sell-out,” she said about the Key West Theater concert. “The minimum tickets were $50. Then we had a silent auction and a live auction.”

“It was an incredible event, very emotional” Cates said. “The mayor welcomed everybody. They talked about Key West coming together to help. It was a great night.”

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