All Hands on Board The Compound Boardshop

Alright folks, this is a short article but there's a lot to say. Thus I've decided to jettison quirk in favor of the facts because there are still many people in great need and quippy quotes just eat up precious space.

So, here’s the nuts and bolts of it: I don’t need to remind you of what happened with Hurricane Dorian. You saw the news. What I may need to remind you of is the rib-breaking sigh of relief we all felt when that monster turned away from our state and that many people never got to (and still don’t get to) experience that grateful exhale. That said, for every storm cloud there is a silver lining and when it comes to natural disasters that silver lining comes in the form of support, aid, and overall do-gooding. I’m proud to say that Sarasota, and many other cities, did a lot of good, but there is still so much to be done.

Kelly Drost, a local Realtor and the former beloved chef behind the greatly missed Brown Bag Provisions, who is famous for her big smile and even bigger heart, has traveled the globe but considers the Bahamas, a country she’s visited for decades, to be home to the kindest people she’s ever met anywhere in the world. When she saw Dorian’s devastation she jumped into action by contacting her longtime friend Benny Ray, lead manager at Compound Boardshop, to say, “We’ve got to do something.” Benny, also a big-time Bahamas lover, and The Compound—an organization known for its surf and skate supplies, certainly, but also equally known for its great philanthropic desire to give back—wasted no time in forming a plan.

Kelly contacted Agape Flights, a nonprofit aviation ministry she had learned about through her mother’s church as they had provided an immense amount of aid after the Haiti earthquake in 2010. They provided a list of needed items and together Kelly and Benny organized a donation flow using The Compound as a dropoff station.

They were not prepared for the outpouring of tangible support that our incredible city showed. Car after car came with everything Agape requested and far more: Blankets, brooms, buckets, Band- Aids, and baby formula—Sarasota showed up by the boatload to ensure that the people of the Bahamas would get what they needed. It was a beautiful show of support and Sarasota, Kelly, Benny, Agape, and The Compound should be incredibly proud.

But, that said, there’s still a long road to go. At this precise moment, the official death toll is at 58 with over 1,300 people still missing. The country still looks like a wasteland and for a country that relies solely—not heavily, but solely—on tourism, continued relief efforts can’t come soon enough. Now that the initial shock of the storm has passed, Agape is distributing items to where they’re needed most and have updated a new list of requested needs with financial donations for fuel, hangar costs, and building supplies at the top so they may continue their relief missions.

It could’ve been us, guys. It could have been our shores and our streets that were left unrecognizably damaged and destroyed. I’d like to believe the stories of Sarasota’s sacred protection from severe storms are true, but someday we may not be so lucky. And if Mother Nature unleashes her wrath here, may we only hope that people like Kelly and Benny mobilize on our behalf and that do-gooders around the globe don’t forget our needs just because the media moved on.

If you’d like to help our neighboring island paradise, please contact Compound Boardshop directly as they can further assist with what’s needed, when to bring it, where to send it, or how best to help.

We’re all in it together.

> Compound Boardshop: 3604 S Osprey Ave, Sarasota, 941-552-9805; compoundboardshop.com