LoveAbaco.org is working in conjunction with First Orlando Foundation
WHO IS LOVE ABACO?
Love Abaco is a large network of individuals and organizations who all share in the same mission: to provide ongoing support for the islands of Abaco, Bahamas following Hurricane Dorian’s catastrophic landfall on September 1st, 2019, in the form of donation logistics, volunteer support and medical resources by land, air and sea. Love Abaco is not just an organization; we are a movement, a shared spirit, a feeling we all share, to help and support those in need when they need us the most. Learn more by following us on our Love Abaco Facebook Page.
THE BEGINNING
Hurricane Dorian hit the islands of Abaco, Bahamas on Sunday, September 1st and lingered for more than 36 hours, devastating the islands while injuring and killing many people. On Monday, September 2nd, a group of concerned Central Florida residents, all with connections to the islands, met to devise a plan on how we could best pool our resources to save as many people as possible.
TAKING ACTION
Volunteers from Love Abaco, under the moniker Abaco Flight Support, immediately began flying airplanes and helicopters in and out of Abaco, delivering much needed food, water and medical supplies, while evacuating people and their pets on the return flights, many of whom were in need of immediate medical help. Since September 2nd, Love Abaco has coordinated over 1000 relief flights from all over the United States, delivered over 600,000 pounds of supplies and evacuated over 500 people in need.
WATER MISSION
Love Abaco teamed up with Water Mission International to provide a helicopter to assist in the installation of a 30,000-gallon per day Clean Water machine and transported over 200 generators and smaller Clean Water machines to hard to reach areas of Abaco.
TEAMWORK
Love Abaco immediately provided air transport for the Samaritan’s Purse field team, Global Dirt in order to set up satellite internet services, www.fuelrelieffund.org providing much needed fuel for Abaco, and a team of mental health professionals from Orlando to assist the evacuees.
PARTNERSHIP
Love Abaco has since teamed up with multiple well respected NGOs, such as Living Vine International Ministries, Good Samaritan Shipping Ministries, OpenWorld Relief, World Central Kitchen, Right Side Up Ministries, MedicCorp, Team Ghosts and Crossroads to continue our mission in Abaco.
ONGOING SUPPORT
Of course, there is still a lot of work ahead, and we are not done. Our current mission includes:
- Construction, Inspections and Restoration of homes, fire houses, police stations, community centers, churches, small businesses, and docks
- Strategic flights delivering medicine, food, water, supplies and volunteers
- Coordination and assistance maintaining distribution centers in Abaco
- Spiritual and post traumatic assistance
- Gift Card Programs with local businesses to ensure sustainability and provide much needed support to community
WE NEED YOUR HELP
We continue to incur a tremendous amount of expense transporting and purchasing much needed food, water and supplies, as well as our team of volunteers to assist in distribution and reconstruction in Abaco.
100% of all donations made to the First Orlando Foundation will go directly to Love Abaco’s efforts in the Bahamas.
1 Corinthians 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
TEAM MEMBERS
Andrew Albury
Debbie Anker
Ivette Blanco-Knowles
Holly Bobrowski
Stacy Burgess
James Cameron
Steven Chea
Troy Cornea
Brian Doonan
Shannon Doonan
James Downs
Shawna Downs
Dan Drummond
Janie Drummond
Lia Head-Rigby
Duane Kuck
Cindy Kuck
Whitney Laney
Chris Lowe
Pete Madison
Brad McClendon
Susan McClendon
Austin Malone
Melissa Manchester
Allyson Meldeau
Dave Meldeau
Cristy Nielsen
Mark Neubauer
Patricia Pattillo
Craig Pinder
Darrell Pinder
Jenny Pinder
Steve Pece
Scott Plakon
Scott Simons
Gregg Slade
Jana Stone
Don Strube
Peggy Strube
Garnell Stuart