Friend Ships set sail for Florida to help with hurricane relief

LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) – September and October brought deadly and devastating hurricanes to the southeastern United States. And although Louisiana was saved, we are no stranger to the devastating effects of storms. That’s why a local disaster relief organization Friendly ships heading to Florida.

Murray Douglas is the director of the Seahawks organization and says they are ready to help in any way they can.

“Right now we have a small team in the Middle East and then we have our teams here in Lake Charles. We have a ready team. Or in the process of preparing for Florida to respond to a hurricane. We have an evaluation team that comes in there beforehand and kind of works out the basic things that need to be done. In the past, we’ve done anything from feeding people to prospecting, sandbagging, and cleaning houses. We work depending on what needs to be done.”

One of the Seahawks’ recruits, Matthew Swinton, says it’s important to help others by using the gifts they’ve been given: “If we go to Florida or anywhere, whether it’s local or overseas or Israel, later on, part of that means no to be ashamed to use the gifts given to us by God. To be brave and also to use our physical training that we do every day, several times a day, to serve the community through food distribution or providing needs during natural disasters or anything else that needs to be done specifically.”

Murray says there’s a lot people can do locally to help those affected by the storm. In particular, donations are always welcome and they are especially happy when someone says they want to volunteer.

“There are always standard things that are always needed in times of disaster: food, water, hygiene products, sanitation and hygiene products. We understand that when people in their community are struggling, they need us to step in and help them with whatever they need help with. Everyone is a volunteer here. We are a 100% volunteer organization. So we do it because we want to help. We have a heart to help people in need. And we know that there are people in our community who have a similar heart. And anyone who would like to help us collect these goods or even come and help us with some of the things that need to be done here. We would love to have them.”

Friend Ships crews plan to assist in Florida for the next two weeks. They are now in the Cedar Key community.

If you would like to contribute to their cause, you can register as a volunteer or donate online HERE.