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Broward Schools Ready To Send First Hurricane Dorian Relief Shipment To The Bahamas

BROWARD (CBSMiami) – Five days ago the Broward School District rolled out its campaign to mobilize the community to work together to support Hurricane Dorian victims in the Bahamas. On Monday, less than a week later, they've got donated items on a cargo container ready to head to those in need.

Broward School District workers spent part of their afternoon Monday loading pallets of relief supplies that they plan to be on a Carnival Cruise ship on Tuesday morning en route to the Bahamas.

It's a sign of the outpouring of support from the Broward School community as well as other concerned residents who want to do what they can to help the untold number of Hurricane Dorian victims in the Bahamas.

"We need to do what we would expect everyone else to do should we be in that same predicament," said Broward Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie.

Runcie said he's been impressed by the generosity of the community and specifically impressed by the efforts of young students.

"Especially our young people, some of our youngest children and how they've taken a heart to reach out and help people in need. I think it speaks to the character of our kids," he said.

The school district said they're sending items the Bahamian government told them they need – items like water, non-perishable food, paper products, bug spray and diapers.

Shea Ciriago is the Executive Director of the Broward Education Foundation. They're working in conjunction with Broward Schools and the United Way to get these much needed items directly to the people who need them.

"It's a great community collaboration," Ciriago said. "I've seen a lot of hurricanes and a lot of devastation of what can happen and we were very blessed that it didn't hit us and we feel a great obligation to help our neighbors."

With each pallet and each item, Broward schools and their partners believe they can make a difference for others at a critical time and also pay it forward.

"Let's count our blessings," Runcie said. "Let's continue to help our friends and neighbors because someday we might need that as well."

If you want to help, you can get a list of items and drop off locations at the Broward Schools or Broward Education Foundation websites.

Another relief effort in the school system is welcoming students from the Bahamas who need a place to attend school.

Runcie said so far at least 17 families from the Bahamas have enrolled their children in Broward County Public Schools and it's likely that number will rise.

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