It All Started,.,,,,

It all started in Adams garage on Halloween. There were the four of us standing around eating  chili and talking about how bad we felt about the people on the East Coast. 

Halloween Chili Drump

Belly is full, time to go.

Trick or Treat

We kept running ideas around and them said "Lets just do it". So the planning started. We made a flyer and some posters, took them to a few of our local businesses. Put an event on facebook, sent out Tweets and people started to get involved. We had the trailer and the truck to get out there, we just needed donations.

We set up donation dated, times and places. And things started to come in. 

Loaded van from Raymond School

 It was so wonderful to see strangers come and meet us and drop off donations, just because they wanted to help. Thank you all!
 

1st Week

1st week

We were so excited and grateful for all of these things. We couldn't believe it. Every time we would walk into our garage we got goose bumps. It was so exciting to think this is really going to happen.

Donation barrels were put at the Day Care, Meda-Care Ambulance had a fund raiser and donations, people put up signs at there work..... It was blowing up by week 2! Our very dear friend Jason Caira, got the Town of Somers and South Shore Fire Dept. involved. Both areas were so giving......and that's putting it lightly. He contacted Mt. Pleasant Patch and  Heather Asiyanbi
She wrote a great piece about what we were doing. Mt. Pleasant Patch

We soon realized that the trailer we had was not going to work. We needed more room...!!  We made 2 phone calls. The first to Uhaul Trailers and they told us they don't budge on the price and they don't donate.  The second call was to Tom's Trailers. Adam told Tom what we were doing and that all costs were coming out of our pockets. Asked him if he would be able to cut us a deal. Tom told us to come in and he would take care of us.

Last Friday (11/16)  Bruce and I went to pick up the trailer. We met Tom and Marge. Bruce filled out the paperwork and gave it back to Marge. When she handed him his copy of the receipt it said "NO CHARGE". Well needless to say we both had tears in our eyes and were so grateful. These two wonderful people had just donated a 20x8x8 foot trailer for us to take out to Toms River, NJ and back.

Let's fill this baby up!

Saturday Bruce and I went to Green Bay for a party. I had called my family there 2 days prior and told them what we were doing. The out poor was FANTASTIC. We came home with my Expedition filled. No room for anything more. It is so amazing. All we keep saying is WOW. 

Week 2, we were speechless. Things just happen, when they are meant to be. Up until this time we didn't have a destination, we just knew we would get there and it would happen. Bruce got a phone call from a women by the name of Shannon Courville Heit. She introduced herself and told Bruce she may be able to help us. Shannon's husband had gotten an email of our flyer. (our flyer made it to Harley :) to make a long story short, Shannon had been collecting items to send out east for the victims of Hurricane Sandy. She was raising money through a bake sale for shipping costs (shipping is outrageous). Shannon had been doing all the baking with a friend. The bake sales where held at Eisenhower School in Wauwatosa.

Shannon became our Earth Angel. She had a contact in Toms River, NJ. A school teacher by the name of Jemma. Shannon gave Jemma Bruce's contact info and NOW we had a destination!  The universe moved people, places and things to make it all fall into place. 7 of the teachers that worked with Jemma lost everything and were living in the shelter. More on that later.

As you can see week 2 was very exciting. Our garage was over flowing with donations. We had to move the Harley's out to make room for everything. So off to storage they went. 

Garage with both Harley's

 

Things are getting tight.

 

I would leave for work in the morning and there would be bags of donations on our front porch. Just unbelievable.

By week 3 the garage was full!! Time to call in the troops. We called the family and on Friday night (11/16) they all showed up at 4pm. Even a neighbor girl came and helped! Most of them hadn't seen any of it and wow were they surprised. A few watery eyes and goose bumps, then we got busy. 

Bags and boxes everywhere

We have our work cut out for us

We even had the teenagers helping on a Friday night.

Wondering if we are going to be able to fill this big trailer

Sort everything to make it easier for everyone in Toms River

1/3 of the way full :)

We had lots of fun and laughs

 

 

We also had 7 of the best kids, ranging from age 5-8

They still love the cardboard :)

A family get together wouldn't be right with out food.

7 little Earth Angels <3

Working together, we got everything sorted, boxed up and marked. It got all packed in trailer  ready to go. 6 more days.  :)

We found out on Tuesday (11/21) that Jason had called the new networks. One had responded! Justin Williams of Fox6 wanted to come out to the house to interview us and do a story...........
Bruce and I both left work early (so thankful for the job we have and the company we work for). Bruce called some family so we could do some more packing (garage was getting full again). Justin showed up at 1:30 and did a nice segment on Hurricane Sandy Relief.

Click on the link below and watch the news footage

 Wind Lake family heads to NJ to distribute donations to Sandy victims

Tuesday evening Bruce & Adam went to Somers & South Shore to pick up their donations and came back with 2 pick-up trucks FULL. WOW. The generosity is so overwhelming. It is time to start to take care of each other and I think we are all seeing and feeling that. People helping people, what a great feeling. 

By Tuesday night, the trailer we didn't know if we could fill, looked like this.

Almost full!

Wednesday Jason called and said he had more donations from Somers and South Shore. He brought them out to the house. His van was FULL. There was 2 ToysRus bags that 2-5 y/o donated. They dumped out their piggy banks and went shopping for the kids in NJ and picked everything out on their own.

We also had several other friends drop off donations from work and some from their family. 

So many wonderful stories and so many wonderful, warm, caring people. 

Last of the sorting and packing

  

Well that trailer that looked like we would never fill........

It's full! Front to back, top to bottom.

 I am so proud of everything we have all accomplished. Friends, families, co-workers, strangers, businesses .... we all came together and look what we did! :)

With the trailer full, it's time to start the rest of the journey. 

Final Truck Inspection 

Off they go

Bruce & Adam left about 7:30pm and drove until 2:30am. They made it to Elyria, OH. When they checked in and the clerk heard what they were doing they got a discount at the hotel. Even when they stopped for fuel the clerk there donated 2 rolls of paper towel... Life is good.


 Don't forget to leave Bruce & Adam some comments.

 Happy Thanksgiving