FAIRBORN — Fairborn Council 3724, Knights of Columbus (K of C), recently participated in a hurricane relief effort for a town that suffered damage and whose Clear Creek schools were destroyed by Hurricane Harvey — League City, Texas.
Pat Banaszak, executive director of Family and Youth Initiatives (FYI) in New Carlisle, lead the relief efforts that included assistance and donations from the Tecumseh School District, the Northwestern School District, the Miami Valley School in Dayton, the New Carlisle Rotary, the Fairborn 3724 K of C Council and its Past Grand Knights Club, the New Carlisle K of C Council 6144, the Texas Beef, Cattle Company in Dayton and others.
“We are so grateful we could be a small part in gathering the water and needed items and working with so many wonderful people here and there,” Bazaszak said. “What a blessing it was for FYI and others to help in the ways we could and what a lesson our youth learned”
In addition to the 5,000 cases of water that were donated, other needed items including blankets, towels, toys, food, clothing, diapers were also collected to be sent to Texas. The next step in the process was to find trucks to deliver the items. Bob Holder of Holder Oil in Springfield, and John Evans of Evans Farm in New Carlisle, volunteered the use their trucks and drivers to get the water and other donated items to Texas.
“This was truly a God driven task,” Banaszak said. “These men are so great to offer their trucks to get the water and other items down to such a needy area. We are grateful that both the community was so generous and that within our small community we have two heroes who will get the water to the places it needs to go.”
