While many people have been distributing water, making food, helping people cleanup, there are a few basic tools and supplies you should and could bring with you to be useful.

Wear work boots, long strong pants, t-shirt, hat (preferably a hard hat). Have gloves- leather.

Bring: water, snacks, hand sanitizer, wet wipes to clean yourself and to keep yourself from being an additional hassle.

Tools: shovel, wheelbarrow, ropes, winches, chain saw, hammer, nails- 16’s and 8’s, cordless screw gun, 1.25″ screws, cordless circular saws, cordless reciprocating saw, tape measure, ladder, 5 gallon bucket, brooms, dust pans, utility knife, socket set, crow and or pry bar, mallet, sledge hammer, trash cans, flash light, wire and bolt cutters. Duct tape always comes in handy.

BRING A FIRST AID KIT- not for someone else- for you- in case you screw up. Be careful with saws, shovels, pry bars etc.

The goal is to clean up debris so workers can get to the homes to board them up and secure them without injury or obstacles. Broken glass, nails, sharp things- are all potential issues- they have to go.

And here’s a tip, you can use debris as makeshift boarding material. Roofs that get blown off aren’t going back up on a house- but can be used as temporary walls or to cover doorways. A 2×4 that you knock down here- can be used as bracing somewhere else. Think creatively.

Donate: plywood, OSB, tarps. Never can have enough. Plastic sheeting. Large strong trash bags.

If you aren’t handy- watching peoples kids, helping people pack what’s left- bring boxes.

If you have a vehicle with a winch, this is your day to have fun. It’s a jeep thing is real.

If you own anything that can pick up tree limbs, move cars, get to it.

People would love a pod in front of every home to store their stuff securely.

If they could get a storage unit cheap- and can get to it- great. If you have a truck- or a van- you could help them move their stuff to those units. Don’t be a dick and steal their stuff- they’ve already suffered enough.

Don’t expect your cell to work. Towers may be down. Circuits may be jammed up. Know where you are- and make sure someone else knows where you are. Be careful that where you park is a good spot and not going to hinder heavy equipment from getting there. Better yet- get dropped off.

Please feel free to add any other suggestions in comments.

#DAYTONSTRONG

#HE’SMYNINJA