Florist delivers help to forgotten
By Times Staff
Published September 19, 2005
EDITOR'S NOTE: Among the many stories from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina have come some tales of generosity from individuals moved to do something extra. Here are a few of those stories from North Pinellas:
LARGO - When Tom Salinsky saw the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina, he did as many others did. He wrote a check to the Red Cross.
But that still wasn't enough.
"There were a lot of places in Mississippi that were not getting help," said Salinsky, 59. "All the newscasts were from Louisiana, as it should have been, but it made me think it was time for me to do something."
What that something was, he didn't quite know. But he wanted it to be more than cash. And he didn't want to mail it. He wanted to bring it in person.
"I wanted to make sure it got to someone."
So Salinsky, the owner of DJ's Florist in Largo, put up signs, trolled his neighborhood, solicited his customers and ended up with a van packed to the roof with food, water, canned goods and pet food.
"I didn't want cash," he said. "I wanted to bring in things they could use right now. I felt it was more important to get them something to sustain themselves."
Salinsky and his 29-year-old son Tom left Florida on Sept. 8, headed for Gulfport, Miss., with no plan on how to deliver the food once they got there. The overloaded van could do no more than 60 mph the whole way there.
"We weren't sure we would get into Gulfport, but we figured we'd just drive and see what happened," Salinsky said. "We drove straight there, got a few hours sleep by the side of the road."
The two were stopped by the police upon arrival in Gulfport, but armed with the name of a local church that was feeding evacuees, they reached the one-building church in what Salinsky described as a lower-income area of town 5 miles from the coast. Aside from individuals, who were handing out food, and Wal-Mart, which was giving out free ice and water, the neighborhood had yet to see any outside aid.
"We started unloading and there was a big bag of dog food - that was the last thing out of the van," Salinsky recalled. "I told the guy I figured someone would have a dog that needed it, and he told me if it had been two days later, they'd have been eating it themselves."
Salinsky got a tour of the devastated area before he left.
"You see what you have and what you think you need, and then you go there and see no real help, that's a humbling experience."
Church members asked Salinsky and his son to stay overnight, but they decided to come home. The van, now empty, did a much faster 85 mph on the way home.
"We're thinking of maybe around Thanksgiving, we may end up trying to go down again," Salinsky said. "We'll give them a call and see where they are and what they still need."
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CLEARWATER - When Pam Marks' 7-year-old daughter Lea and 10-year-old son Joshua heard about the devastation from Hurricane Katrina, they offered their allowance as a donation to the Red Cross.
"(Lea) told me, "I wish I could do more,"' Marks said. The stuffed bear in Lea's hand sparked an idea.
"We knew the organizations we approached were doing food and water, because they were obviously the initial need. But I had collected a small amount of animals for Hurricane Andrew."
Now the guest room in Marks' Harbor Oaks home has been given over to stuffed animals - 4,000 of them and counting, from students at Oldsmar Elementary, First United Methodist Church and preschool, Harborside Christian Church's senior group, North Pinellas Medical Center, Skycrest Christian School and even Marks' hairstylist.
Then there was Anona United Methodist Church, which donated toys, baby quilts and a $30,000 check.
"It has been unbelievable," Marks said. "Some of the animals are new, but some, you can tell the kids went to their closets and looked at their toys and said, "Hey, these kids have nothing."'
Marks doesn't know where her furry new companions will go, but will probably box them up to send with various church groups that are making their own deliveries of emergency supplies.
"My goal is 10,000," she said. "I thought that was crazy at first, but that room is just getting stuffed. It's wonderful."
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CLEARWATER - While others are sending money or food to victims of Hurricane Katrina, Socrates Charos is sending Bibles, hundreds of them.
So far, Charos, owner of the King of Kings Royalty Theatre in downtown Clearwater, has sent 250 Bibles to Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama, and is seeking more. Evangelists in those areas pray with the hurricane victims and give them one of the books.
"We are giving them the fruit of the Lord," he said.
By Friday, he had collected 480 more, and is still hoping to reach 10,000. He isn't fussy about where he gets them, figuring the good word doesn't have to be new to be effective. He gets the Bibles from private donors, garage sales and hotels that have closed or gone condo.
He wants to feed the needs that can't be met with just bottled water or cans of soup. His reason comes straight out of the Bible itself.
"Man can't live on bread alone," Charos said.
If you have a Bible you would like to donate, call (727) 441-8868 or drop it off at the theater from 1 to 7 p.m. 405 Cleveland St. in Clearwater.
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LARGO - Tim Cavanaugh's Eagle Scout project was a little more prescient than he expected.
A senior at Osceola High School, Cavanaugh decided two months ago to make hygiene kits for hurricane victims for his project. He collected donations from neighbors, retailers and hotels, and put together kits filled with wash cloths, lotion, shampoo, soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes and combs.
At first, he said, some people thought he was just asking for money, but once he made it clear he wanted personal hygiene items, they gladly handed them over.
Cavanaugh said he had been focused on building something for his Eagle Scout project. "But then I called the Red Cross and they said they needed hygiene kits, so I took that idea and put everything together," he said. "I didn't realize how much work it was."
Then Hurricane Katrina hit.
On Friday, Cavanaugh delivered all 276 of his kits to the Red Cross.
He didn't anticipate that people would need his kits so soon after he assembled them, but said he was glad the timing was right.
"I felt good that it actually did something," he said. "The Red Cross guy said they usually use (the kits) in Florida. I knew it was hurricane season, so I figured they would be used quickly but I didn't think it would be somewhere else."
--Compiled by Times staff writer Katherine K. Lee.