Fort Myers Technical College students clean up North Fort Myers neighborhood after Milton (242 hits)
NORTH FORT MYERS, Fla. — On Monday, at the Lake Fairways community in North Fort Myers, a call to action was answered.
It happened after Louis Garrido watched NBC2’s coverage of the neighborhood in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton.
“Peter and Kellie were talking on NBC2,” Garrido said, “And Kellie says, 'If there was only a group of guys that could go over and help them here.’”
Garrido just so happens to know a group of about 40 people — his electrical students at Fort Myers Technical College.
They are now helping the community that was left twisted by one of Milton’s tornadoes.
"Looking out at this, I'm just lost for words,” electrical student Cristian Resendiz told NBC2. "I feel for them; I couldn't even imagine losing my own home."
For the people who live in Lake Fairways and who lost everything, recovery will be long.
The students hope they can speed up that process, even if just a little bit.
“It feels good giving back to this community where I grew up,” Resendiz said. “It honestly feels really amazing."
Although the students have traded the classroom for the community, that doesn’t mean there’s not a lesson.
It may be greater than any they could get from a book.
“It's learning to be thankful for what we have,” student Jasmine Anderson said. “It's being thankful for what we have around us, even though we might not on a daily basis. Lights, air conditioning, electricity.”
And perhaps the greatest lesson in all of this is one the community learns each time a disaster strikes.
Out of something so bad emerges so much good.
“I think we should take these opportunities as a reminder of all the good stuff we have,” Garrido said, holding back tears. “It's good stuff.”
