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Donations from civic groups ease recovery in Immokalee
By DANIEL JACKSON, Special to the Daily News
October 29, 2005

Off-loading $15,000 worth of groceries from a yellow moving truck in Immokalee Friday, Javarris James said food, soap and diapers donated by his cousin, Indianapolis Colts running back Edgerrin James, won't satisfy all of the community's need.

People in Immokalee needed help before Hurricane Wilma struck Southwest Florida, he said.

But contributions from the Edgerrin James Foundation and other local civic groups, businesses and churches are making hurricane recovery easier for people whose lives were already hard, said Javarris James, 18, a senior at Immokalee High School who, following his cousin's footsteps, will play football at the University of Miami next fall.

"We're hard-living people ... and the hurricane makes it harder," he said. "It (Edgerrin James's donation) isn't going to clear away all the stress, but it helps."

Immokalee's impoverished population is more vulnerable to catastrophe than other areas, said Sgt. Marcus Carter, of the Collier County Sheriff's Office. But in Wilma's wake, distribution of food, drinking water and ice is reaching the poorest and most isolated communities, including migrant farm workers who don't speak English or have reliable transportation, he said.

"People want to get back to normal living, and they're well on their way to that," he said.

Capt. Richard Wolf, of the 3rd Battalion 265th Air Defense Artillery's Bravo Battery, said traffic at the Immokalee Farmer's Market diminished considerably Friday as National Guardsmen distributing water and ice there prepared to pull out and return to headquarters in Fort Myers.

Wolf said guardsmen served 1,600 Tuesday and more than 1,000 on both Wednesday and Thursday, but had only 150 cars come through the supply distribution line as of noon Friday. The National Guard is a stabilization force mobilized to deal with emergency needs immediately after a disaster.

Local groups in Immokalee can now handle recovery efforts there, Wolf said.

The guardsmen serving in Immokalee also live in hurricane-hit areas of South Florida. They are happy to help others, but also are eager to be with their families and rebuild their own damaged homes, Wolf said.

"I'm from Key West, and I haven't been home to check on my house yet," Wolf said. "The need (in Immokalee) has been stabilized. There is a lot of need here, but that need existed before the hurricane. Our mission is accomplished."

Ed Laudise, director of the Immokalee Foundation, a community outreach organization, agreed, saying local organizations have a more intimate knowledge of the communities' needs and are better prepared to meet them.

Laudise said the National Guard has done a fine job, as he helped transport leftover drinking water â€â€