By SARAH CULTON

Sarah.culton@leaderpub.com

 

When Dwayne Weeks and his daughter Gina Frakes, of Plano, Texas, visited Port Arthur a week ago Sept. 14, they were shocked by the scene they were met with. They said they saw piles of debris and homes with visible water damage.

“We were keeping up with the news, and it seemed like everything was OK here,” Weeks, an international chaplain, said. “Turns out that wasn’t the case.”

However, when a fellow chaplain told Weeks that he had to see what was happening in Port Arthur himself, Weeks and his daughter packed up a car and visited. When they saw the true conditions in the area, they knew had to do something to help.

In a week’s time, the father/daughter duo organized an item drive on 13^th Street for those affected by Tropical Storm Harvey. With the help of several donors, the family loaded up a U-Haul, packed to the brim with memory-foam mattresses, cleaning supplies, clothing, water and more to bring to the people of Port Arthur Thursday evening.

Weeks estimated that they gave away around $10,000 worth of products to those who attended the 13^th Street giveaway.

“It’s just incredible,” Frakes said of the amount of people who came to the drive. “There was so much need. We were happy to help.”

Originally, the family planned to bring two car loads of supplies Frakes had purchased from dollar stores in her home town to the Port Arthur area. However, when Weeks mentioned to Buckner International, where he volunteers twice a week that he was planning the trip, the company sprung to action and donated enough supplies to fill the U-Haul Frakes rented.

“I’d say about two-thirds of the things in that truck came from stuff from [Buckner’s] domestic sites,” Weeks said.

While Weeks and Frakes said they are incredibly grateful the donors for supporting the project, the person who deserves the most praise is Port Arthur resident Tobia Smith.

The father and daughter met Smith when they originally visited Port Arthur on Sept. 14. They sat on her porch for more than an hour and listened to her tell the story of the things she and neighborhood lost in the flood.

“Her story touched us,” Weeks said. “She is an amazing woman and strong.”

Smith then worked with Weeks and Frakes to make the supply drive happen and spread the word throughout her neighborhood. Smith is now working with donors to potentially create more supply drives for Port Arthur.

“I’ve decided to call it Hope After Harvey,” Smith said of her relief efforts. “Even though the storm is gone, there is still a lot of needs here.”

Smith said she is grateful for what Weeks and Frakes have done, and that the way they stepped up for the Port Arthur community after a single conversation with her has inspired her to keep telling her story in order to inspire hope.

“When you get a group of people and it gets to the point that there is a need for hope, just hearing stories touches the hearts of people miles away, like these people,” Smith said gesturing toward Frakes and Weeks. “Every situation is different, but I think we can continue to spread hope. All that was washed away in the storm is okay, so long as we keep hope. Hope has done so much for us and what better place to restart than hope.”

Weeks and Frakes said they were happy to help out Port Arthur any way they could.

“You just don’t see from outside, but there is so much to do and so many who were affected,” Weeksa said. “People should pay attention to that.”