COMPASSIONATE MOUNT DORANS AID S.C. FLOOD VICTIMS

The action was swift, much like the rising waters in South Carolina caused by the 1000-year rain.

Mount Dora resident and Columbia, South Carolina native, Lauren Graham Cunningham, felt compelled to help.  The hardest hit area in Columbia is the place of Cunningham's childhood memories.  The victims are her old classmates.  Although she moved away years ago, the established local artist still converses in a Southern accent that indicates where her heart is firmly rooted. 

Cunningham had a Jeep for sale at the time of the floods and watched as many of the victims had absolutely nothing while she remained fortunate.    At that point, Cunningham quickly decided to donate the vehicle to a South Carolina flood victim she's known since childhood.  The artist credits, Mount Dora friends, Jonni Vermulen and Patti Thompson with the idea of filling the Jeep with donated goods and supplies before its departure.   The three women quickly spread the word and the response was overwhelming.    When the Jeep left for South Carolina last Friday, it was stuffed to the roof with donations.  

"I've bawled like a baby all week. First out of shear sadness for people I love and then out of the joy of those giving so generously that I also love," said Cunningham.

It's compassion, generosity and swift action like this that makes Mount Dora such a wonderful place.

Residents that missed this effort, but would like to know how to help the victims of the South Carolina floods can click here.

​For more news for Mount Dora, Tavares & Eustis, click here.

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