Critter Corner

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

LOCAL

OCTOBER 20 - 26, 2022 | PAGE 23

Marshall Volleyball Picks Up 2 Wins Local Organizations Lend a Helping Hand in Hurricane Ian Relief

Continued from Page 16

Volleyball won twice last week, beating WashingtonLiberty 3-0 and Wakefield 3-1. They end their regular season Tuesday night with a visit to Yorktown.

Marshall competed alongside Falls Church at the Third Battle Invitational Saturday afternoon. The Boys team finished an impressive 6th out of 45 behind a ninth place finish from Sean Sanders and a 20th place finish by Seth Oliver. The Girls also ran well, finishing 20th out of 34 in large part due to a sixth place finish from Haley Spoden.

Although Hurricane Ian dissipated over two weeks ago, the southeastern coast of the U.S. is still reeling from the effects and damages the Category 4 Atlantic hurricane has caused.

Labeled the “deadliest hurricane to strike the state of Florida since the 1935 Labor Day hurricane,” Hurricane Ian’s devastating impact has affected thousands of people living mainly in Florida and South Carolina. With Virginia only facing fewer damages and reparations from the storm, local organizations are doing their part in helping with the relief of people and places heavily afflicted by the storm.

In the City of Falls Church and surrounding areas, shelters, churches and non-profit organizations are lending a helping hand to those who have suffered losses due to Hurricane Ian. Whether it be returning or rehoming beloved pets, creating care packages, or traveling to those affected areas to search and rescue those unaccounted for, these organizations are doing their part to provide help in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.

Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation is a Falls Churchbased non-profit organization helping homeless pets “find their way to loving homes through rescue and adoption.” The organization prepared their Rescue Care Center for an emergency intake of pets impacted by Hurricane Ian.

Chloe Floyd, the media and public relations manager and volunteer manager for the organization, said the organization was contacted by one of their national partners BISSELL Pet Foundation to help shelter preevacuated pets from the path of the hurricane. Floyd said they weren’t aware of the number of pets they would receive until the day of their arrival.

The Rescue Care Center received two intakes of animals, leading to a total of 37 dogs taking shelter at the organization. Floyd stated the first group of pets received were rescued before Hurricane Ian made landfall, which helped create “more capacity in the shelters and rescues down in Florida.” The second group were found and rescued in the wake of the hurricane, which Floyd said the organization has evolved from “pre, during and post-Hurricane Ian.”

Although Floyd said the organization is “very well positioned to react to emergencies and crises” like Hurricane Ian, there was the challenge of making sure the rescued pets received the “appropriate care” due to volunteers not knowing what their medical needs were and making sure they didn’t pose “an additional risk” to the animals already staying at the shelter. Floyd said the goal by the end of all this would be to make sure that all 37 dogs the organization brought in “find their forever homes” and receive the “behavioral medical care they need.”

Vienna Presbyterian Church in Vienna started a fundraiser called “Gift From the Heart Relief Kits” that is helping Florida residents. These relief kits are funded by donations given by church members and local residents. Cleanup bucket kits and hygiene kits are the two kinds of kits provided to the people affected by the hurricane.

Once the kits are accounted for, volunteers will drive them to a processing center in Maryland, where they will then be delivered to hard-hit areas in Florida.

The church had previously held a similar drive to prepare welcome kits for Afghan refugees. That effort drew widespread interest from the community, with an estimated 85 percent of kit donations coming from non-church members.

Fairfax-based first responder non-profit organization Tidewater Disaster Response (TDR) serves nationally at the request of fire departments and emergency management agencies. The organization deployed a five-person team to respond to Hurricane Ian.

After the initial landfall of the hurricane, the team of volunteer first responders headed down to southwest Florida to meet a team of eight other local volunteers. When they arrived at Fort Myers, they began to pull people out of their flooded homes in the wake of Hurricane Ian.

During an interview with WUSA9, TDR logistics coordinator Costa Sardelis stated there were several individuals that volunteers of the organization “took out of their homes and brought to a local area hospital.” He added there were a “handful” of individuals who chose to stay in their homes despite the storm, which volunteers of TDR “checked on” while dispatched in the area.

The acts of kindness and service these organizations have displayed following the impact of Hurricane Ian can be a feeling of relief to local residents, as they can safely assume if an event such as Hurricane Ian was to affect them, they would have the help and resources they need. Hopefully in the future, there will be even more local organizations lending a helping hand for future crises.

Hladky’s Two Goals Lead Mustangs to District Semis Victory

by Ryan McCafferty

Facing the Kettle Run Cougars in the District Semifinals on a brisk Tuesday night, the Meridian field hockey squad was ready for action. They came out firing early in the first quarter but were unable to find the back of the net despite several prime opportunities, though Kettle Run also failed to convert on the few they saw. Lucy Hladky was finally able to open things up with twenty seconds remaining in the first half, and she then scored again less than five minutes into the third. A third goal, this one from Cassie DuBois, late in the fourth put things away for good, and the Mustangs won by a final score of 3-0.

Meridian will now advance to play in the District Finals on Thursday, which will also be played at home against an opponent yet to be determined.

MERIDIAN VARSITY FIELD HOCKEY earned a decisive win against Liberty High School on Tuesday, October 11th. (Photo: FCCPS)

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Falls Church News-Press

LOST DOG & CAT RESCUE FOUNDATION has taken in 37 dogs affected by Hurricane Ian. The organization prepared their Rescue Care Center for the emergency intake. (Photo Courtesy: Chloe Floyd)

PAGE 24 |OCTOBER 20 - 26, 2022 FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

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