The M/V Adventure Disaster Relief Team was started by Lorraine and Bradford Carlton. Our friend, Kahlil Ali, quickly stepped in to help with our mission. We left Florida on a humanitarian mission on September 14 on our 55’ trawler loaded with over 10,000 pounds of food, kitchen equipment and other relief supplies. We arrived on Green Turtle Cay (GTC) in the Abacos on September 15 with the intention of providing food and water to the people whose island was devastated by Hurricane Dorian. We located a church rectory in the heart of New Plymouth to use for our kitchen (later called the Adventure Café). With the help of many local volunteers, we cleaned it out and started serving food on September 16, the day after our arrival. By the time we closed the Café in mid-December, we had provided well over 35,000 hot meals to the community. We partnered with the United Aid Foundation (501(c)(3), other NGO’s and private donors who donated the food and supplies for the Café after our initial supplies ran out. We also made and distributed R/O water to help supplement Water Mission who was (and still is) making water for the island.
After closing the Adventure Café in mid-December, our mission has switched to rebuilding homes. Our primary focus will be on the homes that are repairable and currently dried in (have roofs). We will initially begin with 2-5 homes and will add more based on funding. Many roofs have been repaired or are in the process. However, many homes still do not have doors or windows. Walls, sheetrock, ceilings and appliances that were damaged by water and mold need to be replaced. We have started an “adopt-a-home” program where people can donate to a specific home that we identify. We will target those people who cannot do this on their own due to financial or physical constraints.
We will develop a prospectus for each of the homes we identify which will have information and photos about the homeowner and their current situation. Funds will be primarily used for supplies. We have construction crews from different NGO’s on standby who will provide most of the labor. We will also hire locals to work on an as needed basis.
Donations should be sent to the United Aid Foundation, 305 Seventh Ave, Suite 1101; New York, NY 10001. Please specify that the donation is for Bahama relief. Donations can also be done online at GoFundMe. All funds will flow through to us in entirety.
Bradford and Lorraine own Carlton Industries Corp.(CIC), Hamden, CT, an electronics manufacturing company that has been in business for 26 years. Bradford was also a senior project manager for a very large construction company for 18 years. Lorraine has a Master’s Degree and oversees the accounting and financials for CIC. Kahlil Ali owns Counterstrike Security and Sound, a Custom Electronics and Contracting company in Cape Coral, FL.
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Please see our Facebook page which shows our previous activity on GTC.
Please contact Bradford at (203)314-5903 or bctiara@gmail.com if you require additional information.