Links for support / information

After everything has been typed up, I am now going to provide links for places that are accepting donations or things I've talked about in my posts (supplies).

• My neighbor, Ed Charles, is a Viet Nam Veteran. He is part of the Military Order of Purple Heart. Please think to donate to his chapter in Cape Coral (#696). "Chapter 696 encompasses all of Lee, Hendry and Collier counties" - BERT KURLAND CHAPTER 696 MILITARY ORDER PURPLE HEART. 
• Ed and his wife Joanne are the ones with the grill and have been graciously hosting everyone every day during the power outage. We will forever be grateful for their extreme generosity and willingness to help us and our neighbors. 
  
  
• Love Boat Ice Cream (Faccebook / Love Boat Home Page) is a family owned ice cream shop that has been in business for 50 years. It is one of the few shops along San Carlos Blvd that did not get really damaged. As it is on the way to the Beach, they are a big tourist stop (as well as local fan favorite). We always love to go there with family and friends who visit us (from around the world - I even took Rach there when she was here). Their small ice cream cones can feed two. We have a friend on the East Coast can pack away the hot fudge sundae, lick the bowl, and want another one. It's that good. Please help them help the community by following the GoFundMe link here. 
  
  
• Florida Disaster .org / Florida Division of Emergency Management. Up to date information on shelters, supplies, FEMA, Transportation, Schools, Businesses, Power, Fraud Reporting, Mental Health numbers, Announcements and a link to make a donation to help. 
  
  
  Non Local help (or, "Outside entities coming to do work"):
  
  
• Cajun Navy Ground Force has rallied the volunteer troops in the Beach Walmart today. There is a very organized human conveyer line to give out the necessary supplies people need. Water, snacks, cleaning supplies, shower supplies, MREs, batteries, flashlights and other things people desperately need. Please make sure to check them out and help them pay it forward, as they are doing an amazing job at keeping the peace in the parking lot while keeping the people in need going in the right direction to rebuild. The Cajun Navy is a group of Louisiana volunteers that take time out of their own busy lives to travel to hard hit areas. They deserve some thanks in any way possible. Follow them on Twitter as well. 
  
  
• American Red Cross - everyone knows about that. They go everywhere there is a disaster.
  

Amazon links to things we either used this week or thought about needing:

• Ryobi ONE+ 18V Cordless Hybrid WHISPER SERIES 7-1/2 in. Fan - Amazon has different ones from third party sellers, and it ranges in price. This is the actual one we used, and they have other models listed (unfortunately, it looks like third party sellers again). 
  
  
• The lantern used, "Ryobi ONE+ 18V Cordless LED Area Light with USB" is not on Amazon. However, they have other versions listed here. If they are anything like what Linda has, I am sure they work just as great. Again, they are third party selling.
  
  
• Solar Charger Power Bank - Generic search for the chargers. Something we all thought we would need for the next round of storms / power outages.
  
  
• Portable Power Banks - Generic search for what we used on our phones. 
  
  
• Paper goods  / Disposable coffee cups / Disposable pans for the grill (things like the ham needed to be cooked not on the grate) - we used a lot of the paper goods.
  
  
• Instant Coffee - surprisingly, Folgers is pretty damn tasty.
• Oddly, there is a listing for "Battery operated coffee maker", but I can't say how well they are. We just used hot water from boiling in a soup pan on the grill. 
  
  
• The grill we were using looks similar to the Char-Broil 463377319 Performance 4-Burner Cart 5+ Burner
  
  
• Battery powered radio - we all had different types in our houses, and at one point Ed and Joanne brought down their little battery operated boombox.
  
  
• Folding chairs - you want to be comfy while sitting all day, so we used camping chairs to lounge in, and folding chairs to sit on at the folding table. 
  
  
• Coolers. You may need one, especially if you can get access to ice. We were using our old school Igloo Playmate for a couple things. 
  
  
• I don't think I need to add things like first aid kits because that's a given (even though we had some near misses, we didn't need anything major) or write about camping toilets (we were creative in how we were peeing and pooping - "if it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down", except we had to be conservative with flushing. So yeah, we were creative).
  
  
  

I am probably missing a ton of things, but this is the overall gist of it. Please make sure to visit those sites listed in the beginning of the post. If you can help out in any way, it would really be appreciated!!