FAB Donates $1,000 to local disaster relief Organization
By Lorne Chambers | Editor
In October, when Hurricane Joaquin churned off the Atlantic coast, causing a monster storm to stall right above us and dump 11 trillion gallons of water on the Carolinas, some people on Folly Beach lost everything. While we were more fortunate than other communities across the Palmetto State, there were still several Folly Beach residents who were left without a home, furniture, or clothing.
This prompted local business owners Mike and Wendy Ezelle to step up and do something about it. The couple owns Sunshine Rentals, renting beach umbrellas, chairs, etc. to beachgoers, as well as The Juice Joint Food Truck on East Ashley Avenue. They formed the Folly Beach Relief Squad (FBRS) and began assisting people in getting them out of their flooded homes and finding them new furniture, clothing, and other necessities.
“We knew we were doing the right thing when we pulled up to the very first family that needed help,” said Ezelle. “It was a lot of physical work to get them out of a house that was rendered dangerous and unlivable in my estimation. Several people from the community were on hand to help and the look of relief on the faces of this family when the whole group was humming along meant everything to me in terms of going forward with the Folly Beach Relief Squad.”
While the immediate emergency of the flooding has subsided, there’s still work to be done. “We have slowed down in the sense of digging people out of flooded homes, but we are still matching donated items to people with needs,” said Ezelle. “We just got a nice sofa donated from a long time Folly family that we drove directly to the house of someone who lost everything … a folly friend most of us know and care about. So the mission is working.”
At the November meeting of the Folly Association of Businesses (FAB), president Lewis Dodson presented Ezelle with a $1,000 for the FBRS. “FAB has always supported this community and we think this is a great way to directly impact people’s lives that were effected by the bad weather,” said Dodson.
Ezelle, graciously accepted the check and thanked FAB members for supporting his cause. More than the money, the gesture from his fellow Folly business owners meant a lot to Ezelle, who had to leave quickly after accepting the donation because his wife was literally on the verge of giving birth to their second child.
“What I encountered at the FAB meeting was an incredible group of business leaders determined to prop up the community in a very tough time,” said Ezelle. “So many wonderful Folly citizens stepped up to donate needed items and to lend a hand, but it was the leaders of FAB, (boardmembers) Lewis Dodson, Christine Wilkerson, Ron Hill, and their voting members who understood that the initiative would stall without some basic funding.
“To me, while the base nature of a business is to prosper financially, it is important to understand how the resources of each business can work in harmony to nurture and protect the community. This group understands this and seems to hold these values at its core. I think Folly is blessed to have them.”
According to Ezelle, the money has been used to purchase much needed cleaning supplies, houseware items, new sheets and bedding, and even to pay a utility bill for on struggling Folly resident. “So many of the people displaced were renters who might serve you lunch or cut your grass. The financial hardship for their situation seems more dire than others because they most likely did not have the ability to carry insurance on their belongings,” said Ezelle.
So now that the water has receded and people are recovering from the flood, what is the future of the FBRS? Although he originally thought it would simply help people dig out from just this particular disaster, Ezelle says he’s come to learn much about the importance of disaster preparedness and the resources needed.
“We all need to work together during these times and I think groups like FAB and resources like The Folly Current are valuable assets when it comes to serving the people of Folly,” said Ezelle. “In the future I hope to work together with such groups as well as City Officials to develop strategic plans and initiatives to keep us all safe and secure when disaster strikes.”
