Hurricane Irma update: Everglades City School principal is helping restore the community

Following Hurricane Irma, residents of Everglades City returned to sort through and salvage bits and pieces of homes that had been in their families for generations.

After working for two days in the Gulf Coast High School shelter, Everglades City School Principal Jim Ragusa was eager to return to his school to assess the damages. Once the storm waters receded enough to return, Ragusa and some of his colleagues — Patricia "Patti" Jones and Dale Patt — returned to Everglades City.

With the school still standing, Ragusa and his team drove through the community to check on the safety of their students and families.

“Everybody just loves the kids so much. Our teachers and staff drive an hour to be here every day because we all love the children,” said Ragusa.

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The site of the devastation took a hard toll on Ragusa, who is no stranger to what a Category 5 hurricane can do. Twenty five years ago, Ragusa lived in Homestead, Florida, and lost his home to Hurricane Andrew. What he saw in Everglades City was a different kind of devastation, though, and he knew that his team had to do something to help.

“I’m Italian, what do we do? We cook and feed people,” he said.

For the next three days before relief supplies showed up, Ragusa and a few volunteers returned with a grill, propane and supplies to cook meals for the families of Everglades City, Chokoloskee and Copeland.

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He laughed a little as he recounted cleaning Publix out of all their rotisserie chickens one day, then fried chicken and donuts over following days. He spent thousands of his own money to feed and support a ravaged community.

Michelle Wheeler, the Everglades City School assistant principal, helped wrap meals and deliver them through the community.

“People were working so hard cleaning up their homes, we wanted to make sure they had something to eat,” said Wheeler.

As children came through the Everglades City School, Wheeler asked if their parents were home so that she could deliver food. They found that bringing food to the families was the best way to reach them, make sure they were safe and learn what else was needed on the front lines.

They kept a running list of requested items. One person needed a squeegee to help get mud out of their house, so Ragusa gave him the school’s squeegee and he stopped at Lowe’s the next day to buy more. Another family requested plastic tubs and buckets to be able to wash off toys and materials. And, with beds ruined by floodwaters, there was a need for air mattress for people to sleep temporarily.

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When word got out on social media about their efforts, supplies started pouring in to aide in the emergency relief. Originally, they setup four tables to place received donations. But those tables were quickly overflowing with canned foods, paper towels, diapers, bleach, mops and buckets. In a day, the school’s cafeteria filled up and was turned into a relief “shopping center” where residents could pick up what they needed and share news about their neighbors.

“On Saturday (following Irma), people just started showing up. We had a traffic jam as lines of cars, trucks and trailers started dropping off supplies,” said Ragusa.

As they helped families gather supplies, Ragusa and his volunteers greeted every one of his students with a hug and thanked people who dropped off donations. A truly selfless leader, Ragusa was quick to point out his team members that were on site every day to support the relief efforts at the school.

"Principal Jim Ragusa has been there day and night, leading the relief effort to help countless families in their extreme time of need. His heart and dedication to the Everglades City community are unmatched," said Kamela Patton, Collier County Schools superintendent.

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Power was restored to Everglades City School on Sept. 19. Even as the school prepares to return to a “school,” Ragusa made plans to continue serving and delivering meals to families in need through Sept. 24. He is concerned that as the media coverage slows, the people of Everglades City will be forgotten — including one of his kindergarten teachers who lost her home to the floodwaters.

Moving forward, donations for the residents of Everglades City can be delivered to Everglades City Hall relief station at 102 Copeland Ave N.