ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Dr. Lantz Mills is the pastor at Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church. He and his congregation want to help the communities they feel may have been overlooked.
Next week, they plan to start giving monetary donations to individuals who live in Orlo Vista or Richmond Heights as a form of hurricane relief.
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Orlo Vista is no stranger to devastating floods.
“This has been a problem for years, and although the county has tried to correct it, they didn’t do quite such a good job correcting it from what I see,” Mills said.
Mills said it was his congregation who first alerted him about the significant damage to homes in Orlo Vista.
“Their homes were damaged, furniture damaged, appliances damaged,” Mills said. “Some people literally don’t have anything.”
Pastor mills knew something had to be done.
His church plans to give monetary donations to residents impacted in both Orlo Vista and Richmond heights.
“God placed it upon our hearts to be a blessing because I believe if you bless somebody else, you’ll also be blessed,” Mills said.
The church plans to donate upwards of $10,000.
When others learned of the church’s plans, the phone rang off the hook with many hoping to help.
“We’ve been getting calls from Michigan, from Texas, from Atlanta, from Kansas City, from New York of people who want to help us and partner with us,” Mills said.
Carol Burleson has lived in Orlo Vista for 45 years now.
She said any financial assistance would be appreciated.
She was in the process of upgrading her home before the storm hit, and the storm damage is a major setback.
“The water pipes are busted in, so I have no water. I can’t stay here, my son is worried about black mold, which — it’s got mold going in it,” Burleson said.
She is still waiting to hear back from FEMA. Until then, she said she plans to reach out to the church for help.
Until then, she said anything helps and plans to reach out to the church for help.
The church will begin providing this need-based assistance starting Monday. It is first-come, first-served.
If you live in Orlo Vista or Richmond Heights and need help, you can call 407-299-8820.
You will be required to fill out a form with your personal information and proof of residence.
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