Kennesaw volunteers provide constant support for Hurricane Michael victims
KENNESAW, Ga. (FOX 5 Atlanta) - We first met Julie Zinicola and her fellow volunteers, just days after Hurricane Michael tore through the Florida panhandle and south Georgia. They were filling their first trailer load of supplies in Kennesaw, heading south to wherever the need took them.
"One of the kids (a volunteer) kept saying, it looks like somebody just took a 'weed-eater' to everything, I mean, you can't prepare your mind for what you see," Zinicola said.
In the months since, the places they saw, and the people they've met, have stuck with this diverse and growing group of volunteers. So much so they have gone back 9 times to the region, with food and supplies.
"Every direction looks like a war zone, that's all I can compare it to, a war zone," Zinicola says.
On their most recent trip to south Georgia, they say they met a 79-year-old veteran, who lost his home in the storm. They say he has been living in a church kitchen. Rebuilding a structure for him has become the latest mission on their mind.
"Our focus moving forward is him. A veteran should not be homeless at Christmas, there is no reason for that, so we need to band together and still continue this work, as far out as we can reach, the more people that can help, the more people we can help" she adds.
The group says they just returned last week, delivering nearly 150 bags of toys to families in south Georgia. Now they are raising money and volunteer labor to build the veteran a home.
A fund has been established if you would like to donate towards supplies.