Author Topic: Fleet of flights carrying 15,000 lbs of Christmas supplies head to Bahamas  (Read 2841 times)

Offline KB4TEZ

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From the home KLNA, I know not necessarily Aviation"News", but just pride in the local effort here.(hope you don't mind)
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https://cbs12.com/news/local/fleet-of-flights-carrying-15000-lbs-of-christmas-supplies-head-to-bahamas

LANTANA, Fla. — Hurricane Dorian took a lot away from the Bahamas, especially the Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama; volunteers want to make sure it will not take the holidays away.

Thursday afternoon, a group of volunteers with the Paradise Fund loaded planes full of a total of 15,000 lbs worth of Christmas supplies. That includes food, gifts, decorations, and even Christmas trees delivered with ten flights.
"We've responded to several different disasters, starting with the one in Haiti in 2011," said Kent Anderson, a founder of the organization and a pilot for this Bahamas mission. "We've performed flight operations for I believe five different hurricanes now."

Hurricane Dorian devastated the Abacos and Great Bahama with its category five strength three months ago. With a proper Christmas celebration in jeopardy, the Paradise fund took action.

"We wanted to get all dressed up, get Santa sacks full of food, toys and Christmas gear," said Anderson.
Tina Hollaender is one of those volunteers, dressed fully in an elf costume.

"We have 450 lbs of turkey, 150 lbs of ham, and lots of toys for the kids wrapped up," she said.

Volunteers will head to the Grand Bahama Thursday afternoon and return after delivering their gifts. Friday morning, they will take off to the Abacos. While in Cooperstown, they will announce plans to rebuild a high school, S.C. Bootle High School, after the New Year.

According to organizers, singer/songwriter Brett Michaels will join the efforts on their flight to the Abacos Friday morning.