JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville pilot is taking to the skies to bring help to Hurricane Melissa victims.
Jimbo Stockton, along with other volunteers, collected supplies at the Beaches Rescue Recovery Mission in Jacksonville Beach to deliver to the islands in the Southeastern Bahamas.
“Islands like Ragged Island, Acklin Island, Crooked Island, and Long Island, I believe, got hit,” said Stockton.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
Karal Oberdier was one of several community members who dropped off donations on Thursday.
“I wish I could do more,” said Oberdier. “I feel like it’s just a drop in the bucket for what they need.”
All the supplies like food, water, and even a generator were packed into cars and taken to the airport to be loaded onto planes.
“Planes are so needed right after a hurricane because it takes so long for boats to get in,” said Stockton.
And this is not the first time Stockton has worked to bring aid to disaster zones.
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
“We started doing relief work a couple decades ago,” said Stockton. “I’ve seen what a Cat 5 will do to some of these out islands.”
He said it’s not just about flying supplies over to those communities but showing up when others can’t.
“A lot of times when these little out islands get hit, no one pays attention to them,” said Stockton. “Sometimes we are the main hurricane relief source to some of these smaller islands. We want to be there in their time of need.”
Stockton said they have two planes that will be loaded with supplies and then take off on Friday morning.
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Action News Jax Top Stories