CRESTVIEW — Troop 30 Second Class Scout Kenneth Mayfield heard Shoal River Middle School, where he is a seventh-grade student, was being used as a Red Cross Shelter for people displaced by Hurricane Irma.
He visited the shelter and saw a need for help. He contacted Senior Patrol Leader Spencer Whitten, Scout Master Abe Rodriguez and Committee Chair Iris Valdez to ask if the troop was willing to help. Immediate needs included setting up the shelter, preparing meals and occupying the time of kids in the shelter; there were no activities planned for kids.
Troop 30 responded. Nearly two dozen Scouts, leaders and family members volunteered at the shelter on Sept. 9 and 10.
They brought balls, games, toys, movies and an X-Box game system. They organized games, prepared and served food, set up cots and helped evacuees get settled into the shelter.
Word of the need for assistance passed to other units. Scouts, leaders and parents from Troop 773, Crestview Cub Scout Pack 799 and Explorers from The Okaloosa County Sheriff Post, among others, also responded.
About 10 Troop 773 members and four of their adults spent hours at the shelter Sept. 9 and 10. They then returned Monday to help evacuees load items into their cars, break down shelter use items, sanitize cots and load everything into the Red Cross trucks, finishing up about 4 p.m. Monday.
There were at least two Cub Scouts from Pack 799 helping out, along with pack adults. A troop mom/Girl Scout leader was also assisting. A leader involved with both Pack 799 and Troop 30 organized a location to collect items for delivery to the shelter, including coloring books and crayons for the kids.
The shelter served more than 100 evacuees in the two days it was opened. The Red Cross, which ran the shelter, and the Crestview Rotary Club, which organized meals, as well as the residents praised the scouts for their consideration and efforts.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview Scouts aid Irma evacuees