DAPHNE, Ala.— Since Daphne has been situated in the path of many hurricanes throughout the years, post-disaster assistance is something citizens are accustomed to.

Daphne is usually on the receiving end of the outpouring of support and donations after a disaster, but thanks to prodding from a resident, the city has made plans to give back. Councilwoman Cathy Barnette said the city has been working out plans to support a community affected by the deadly storms that destroyed communities and lives in the Southeast last week since Friday.

“Basically, last Friday I got a call from Daphne resident Lee Yokel, and she said, ‘Oh, what are you guys doing for the storm?’ and I said, ‘We haven’t figured out exactly what we are doing,’” Barnette said. 

Yokel suggested the city adopt a community impacted by the storm.

“We started talking and the community of Eclectic came up because one of our firefighters and Derek Boulware have a connection to that community,” Barnette said.

Eclectic is a small community of 1,000 in Elmore County, Ala. The storms last week resulted in five deaths in the community, property damage, and the loss of 12 mobile homes from one mobile home park.

The city is still working out the extent of the aid that will come from Daphne to help Eclectic picks up the pieces. Barnette said the first wave of support will be loaded up early Thursday morning and delivered by around half a dozen Daphne residents.

“The idea was that Daphne, with our population of 20,000, could actually make a real difference to a community of 1,000 as they start to rebuild their lives and homes from the loss that they have suffered,” Barnette said.

Barnette also said the city’s plans are still being made, but the goal is to stay with Eclectic until it has recovered from the storms.

“We are making it all up as we go along,” she said. “That is the whole goal. The idea is that we will stay with them. The purpose isn’t just to go and drop off supplies and wash our hands. Instead we are going to stay with Eclectic. As they get past the initial disaster, that Daphne residents will be able to help them rebuild their lives in their new homes.”

The city is currently collecting donations at City Hall and Fire Station 2 on north Main Street. Barnette said Eclectic’s immediate needs include mostly personal products, including toothpaste, deodorant, shaving cream, razors, diapers, baby supplies, pet food and kids’ games. She said Eclectic’s mayor, Helen Reese, said the town had enough water, clothing and food.

“We are asking people to bring up what they can to City Hall for us to deliver a first load on Thursday,” Barnette said.

Donations can be dropped off at City Hall between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. and at the fire station anytime. Barnette said if dropping off at the fire station, indicate the donations are for Eclectic because the fire station is collecting for multiple locations. The caravan of donations will leave the city early Thursday morning, and donations must be received late Wednesday or early Thursday to be delivered this week.

The city also plans to encourage citizens to “adopt” Eclectic families and donate items off of their wish lists at a later date.

“We will probably model it off the way the angel trees are done at Christmastime. We will have needs from different families and residents will see what is on that list and try to fill those supplies. We want to make regular deliveries to Eclectic,” Barnette said.

The city has not made any financial commitments to Eclectic yet, but Barnette said more details would be available after the city council meeting Monday night.