Morgan Hill residents don
’t let a lack of money stop them from sending relief to people
in need
A Morgan Hill couple spent their weekend packing up boxes – of baby clothes, supplies and toiletries – in San Martin that will be sent to Jackson, Miss. this week for victims of Hurricane Katrina.
With the help of family and friends, Ryan and Heather Elias spent every weekend since Labor Day in the Gilroy Wal-Mart parking lot collecting donations for those in need.
“It all started when all the pictures started coming on the news,” Heather said. “It made us mad that [the people] were just sitting there and no one was doing anything.”
She and her husband knew they couldn’t afford to make a monetary donation, but they realized they had baby clothes and supplies in good condition. When Ryan called the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army, just days after New Orleans flooded, everyone he spoke to told him the same thing.
“They all wanted money,” Ryan said. “No one was taking supplies because they had nowhere to put them.”
The answer didn’t dissuade Ryan, who thought there might be other people like he and his wife who wanted to help hurricane victims but who couldn’t give money. He continued to call the American Red Cross until he persuaded an employee to give him contact information for organizations stockpiling supplies for hurricane victims in Mississippi or Louisiana.
He found a multi-agency warehouse in Jackson that agreed to take whatever items he could collect from clothing to diapers to toothbrushes and deodorant.
“The man I spoke with said, ‘We are in desperate need. People are walking around in the same clothes they had on when the hurricane hit,’” Ryan said.
During the weeks the Eliases worked on their donation drive, several local businesses helped them out. Home Depot of Morgan Hill donated lumber for Ryan’s make-shift sign advertising his drive. Hometown Buffet offered to feed Ryan and his crew during their 10-hour days collecting items in the Wal-Mart parking lot. The Print Shop of Morgan Hill donated 2,500 fliers that Ryan distributed throughout Morgan Hill and Gilroy to let people know of his collection.
Donations poured in from residents throughout South County.
The Gilroy Fire Department dropped off five bags of adult clothing after seeing one of the fliers.
“It was spur of the moment,” Heather said, of her husband’s idea to start a drive.
Ryan admitted there were times he was ready to give up on the drive, but once people started donating he knew he had to get their items to Jackson, as he had promised.
For more information on the drive or to donate money toward the cost of shipping, contact Ryan Elias at ry***************@ya***.com.
Melissa Flores is an intern, who recently graduated from the University of Southern California, in Los Angeles. Reach her at 842-6400, ext. 207 or mf*****@gi************.com.
