While much of the nation’s attention has focused on relief efforts from natural disasters in other parts of the country, hundreds of South Plains citizens are expected to descend on Anton, Texas, this Saturday to help residents there clean up from severe storms that impacted the town this summer.
“While our hearts go out to all who have been impacted by this year’s natural disasters, we haven’t forgotten that we have neighbors in Anton whose homes were torn apart by hail and windstorms a few months ago,” said Richard Alires, spokesperson for South Plains Regional Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD), the organization heading up the relief effort. “Nearly every home in Anton was significantly damaged in this summer’s storms, and Saturday’s cleanup effort will make a huge difference for many families in this hard-hit community.”
Organized by VOAD, members of several community and church groups will meet at the Anton Senior Citizens Center, 201 Main Ave., at 9 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 14, 2017, to help clean up the town. According to Alires, VOAD expects about 300 people to show up to help with the clean-up effort, including volunteers from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Helping Hands), the Methodist Church, the Baptist Men’s group, and Catholic Charities. All members of the Lubbock and surrounding communities are invited to join in the event.
Anton City leaders declared a state of emergency in the aftermath of severe storms that hit the town in early July. But unlike other cities that have experienced disasters in recent months, Anton’s relatively small size (population 1,100) is too small to qualify for state emergency relief funds. In addition to this Saturday’s community cleanup, city leaders are still seeking public support for a fund that has been established at Citizens State Bank in Anton to help purchase supplies to fix damaged homes, such as windows and roofing materials. Donations can be made through the Citizens State Bank website at www.csbanton.com.
Those who wish to volunteer with this Saturday’s free citywide cleanup event are asked to bring their own tools, gloves, power equipment (chainsaws, weedwackers, etc.), trucks and trailers, and food and water.
For more information about the cleanup effort, please contact Richard Alires at 858-525-1356, or via e-mail at ralires@mac.com.
(News release from the South Plains Regional Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster)