ARCADIA, Fla. — As thousands recover after destruction from Hurricane Ian, locals in and around Arcadia are banding together to gather donations and resources.
When you stumble upon the Peace River Campground off State Road 70, you can see that the relief efforts are around the clock. It's a hands-on effort from local congregations, local organizations and officials.
"This is a community of good folks," Fred Olson said.
Olson lives on one side of State Road 70. His church, Peace River Mennonite Church, has been collecting donations by the dozens.
"We are sending some fuel over, I guess there's no fuel on that side because of power," he said.
Other donations include food, water, clothes and nursery items.
Olson's brother, who he rode out Hurricane Ian with, lives just past the flooding that has covered Peace River Campground since Hurricane Ian made landfall.
The flooding has dissipated, but slowly. Olson said it's been too slow.
"It was unbelievably flooded," he recalled. "We couldn't get into Arcadia, we had to try alternate routes. There was no way to get through."
Fred Olson said that the flooding near his neighborhood is worse than anything they experienced during Hurricane Irma.
It is why other members of their church from as north as Pennsylvania will be coming in caravans with even more donations.
Those donations will be going to individuals like Charla Padgett.
"It's a blessing," Padgett shared while grabbing boxes of donations. "We have so many families who need it."
Padget is collecting what she can for her students and families. While she has filled her car to the brim over and over again, she said it still is not enough.
"They are thankful that everyone is safe and alive," she said. "We will eventually get through this, one day at a time."