Sarasota police collect supplies, donations for Keys recovery effort

As many Sarasota residents felt a sense of relief that their homes were spared from the worst of Hurricane Irma’s destruction, Bruce King wanted to find a way to help his former home, where people weren’t as lucky.

King, a sergeant with the Sarasota Police Department, lived in the Florida Keys for eight years before moving to Sarasota. Crews are still working to repair the extensive damage the storm caused in that area. The Federal Emergency Management Agency estimates 25% of Keys homes were destroyed and 65% sustained damage.

King decided to gather some supplies and travel down to the Keys to contribute where he could. He hadn’t organized an effort like this before, but he had done charitable work, and he knew people who could provide some guidance. One of those people was Mike Voigt of Voigt Brothers Construction. King asked him for input on what supplies people would need in the wake of the hurricane.

Voigt was not only willing to help provide guidance, King said, but he wanted to join him and help. As King reached out to other people, he found they were consistently eager to do even more than King was asking of them.

“It just seems like everybody is making it happen at this point,” King said.

Now, the effort has extended to the entire Sarasota Police Department. Today, the SPD is helping collect supplies and other donations as King prepares to drive down to the Keys with a team of volunteers. Marina Jack, Terry’s Plumbing and the Sarasota Police Foundation are among the other organizations contributing to the charitable effort. 

Through 9 p.m., the Sarasota Police Department is collecting supplies at its headquarters, 2099 Adams Lane. The requested supplies include:

• Non-perishable food
• Meals ready to eat
• Baby supplies (diapers, wipes, baby food, formula)
• First-aid kits
• Dog and cat food
• Paper plates
• Toilet paper and toiletries
• Work gloves
• Twelve-penny framing nails
• Tapcon screws (1/4” x 3”, 1/4” x 1 1/4”)
• Drill bits
• Hammers
• Nail aprons
• Tape measures
• Batteries
• Lights (flashlights, lanterns)
• Generators
• Fuel
• Tents
• Camping gear
• Tarps

The group no longer needs water nor plywood.

The Sarasota Police Foundation is also accepting monetary donations. All funds will go toward supplies, King said.

“All the people that are driving down there have said we will pay for fuel out of our own pockets,” King said. “We want to be able to say there are no overhead costs.”

Although he hasn’t lived in the Keys for about 15 years, King said the people there still feel like family. He was motivated to do something because he knows Sarasota could have been similarly devastated — and he’s sure Keys residents would have been eager to help the recovery effort.

“I was absolutely certain we were going to get devastated by Irma,” King said. “Fortunately, it missed us. Some other people were not so fortunate. That’s why I think it’s important. ... A lot of people down there were completely wiped out and don’t have anything — and are welcoming, with open arms, any support we can give them.”