Residents donate to flood victims

NEW HARTFORD —   This past August, an unprecedented rainfall caused catastrophic flooding across large swaths of southern Louisiana, destroying homes and infrastructure and leaving over 100,000 people in need of emergency disaster relief, with many families and homes still waiting due to the incredible scale of destruction and damage.

On Friday, Sept. 9, a Federal Express truck arrived in the Livingston Parish, located just east of Baton Rouge, loaded with desperately needed supplies, ranging from freshwater to pet food to feminine hygiene products.

The truck had left East Hartford at the end of August, a little over one week after a heartfelt call to action from one man on social media began a scramble that brought people and communities from Windsor to New Hartford together.

Nicole Misko, children’s librarian and program director at Beekley Community Library, was on Facebook one day when a video caught her eye.

“It was just him, sitting at his desk at work, talking so frankly and sincerely to all his friends, anyone,” Misko said. “Trying to just motivate everybody and it was so beautiful. That’s when I picked up the phone, I’m like ‘Bill, what are you doing and how can I help you?’”

“Bill” is Bill Moore, a Simsbury resident and retired Marine who owns an East Hartford sporting goods store named Soccer N Moore. His message, recorded through Facebook’s live streaming video service, was a very simple one.

“The last time there was a flood down there, I really was bothered by the fact that we had American citizens that we couldn’t get food and water to in a timely fashion,” Moore said. “So when I saw this happen this time I said, ‘I’m going to do something about it.’”

He called the Department of Homeland Security, who put him in touch with relief-effort coordinators in Louisiana. Moore asked what items were most needed and how he could get them there.  

“We only had three days,” said Misko, “He was doing it really fast, because they needed relief like, immediately. On the first day, someone came in and put some water in the donation box in front of the library. And then one of our patrons is like, ‘Well this is terrible.’ So she went to Maradino’s Supermarket and purchased bottles of water to donate.”

As more people continued to come into the store for water, Peter Maradino, owner of Maradino’s Supermarket, started to donate items directly to the library. Misko said more and more people who heard the story and saw the library’s signs began traveling further afield to find needed supplies, and soliciting local businesses to donate whatever they could.

Pet food and supplies she specifically named as items that people went out of their way to bring in. Moore said he eventually sent almost 1,000 pounds of cat and dog food down to Louisiana.

“Everybody had the same message: ‘Great thing that we’re doing, glad we could help,’” said Moore. “And I heard over and over ‘Is there anything else we can do? Do you want me to go get more?’ I think a lot of people were really glad that we were collecting items that people were actually going to get, and be able to use, as opposed to donating money that you don’t know where the money goes to.”

Misko said the library contributed “10 to 20 big boxes” of water, along with a multitude of other necessities such as diapers, toothbrushes and soap. Moore came to pick up the items personally, and continued to travel all around the area to reach people who had collected items.

Moore said he thought all the people who donated truly understood, and felt a real and deep sympathy for those affected by the flood, despite the geographic or any other differences between them.

“I really feel strongly that this donation drive resonated with a lot of people who said ‘If that was me, I would wish that there was somebody in this country who would answer the call,’” Moore said. “I felt that it was necessary, and apparently my friends and customers did as well.”