Sheffield Lake college student set to take thousands of supplies to Superstorm Sandy victims

AVON, Ohio - For the past month, 23-year-old Karl Guenther has spent most of his Friday nights in a nearly empty warehouse in Avon, organizing and packaging thousands of bottles of hand sanitizer, disposable toothbrushes and toothpaste to take to Superstorm Sandy victims.

“It’s just something that’s near and dear to my heart to be able to help people,” said Guenther, who attends Lorain Community College full-time.

Prompted by watching the "12-12-12 Concert for Sandy Relief" on TV last month, the Sheffield Lake resident decided to start his own local donation drive to help people in the Northeast affected by Hurricane Sandy.

“My goal is try to fill a whole semi up,” explained Guenther, who plans to drive his donations to Toms River, N.J., on Saturday, one of the hardest hit areas.

As of Monday, he had collected enough non-perishable foods, bottled water and cleaning supplies to fill half of a semi-truck.

“The need, the demand is still there,” said Tim Guenther, Karl's cousin who’s pitched in to help him with his efforts.

The Guenther’s family business, Chemtron Corp., an environmental services company located in Avon Lake, donated some of the items. Others anonymously donated supplies at various drop-off locations on the Cleveland’s west side.

“We know this is a drop in the bucket, but if people can come and bring anything, we’re more than thankful for what people can do,” said Tim.

The two-man team is in need of water, non-perishable foods, baby formula and diapers, toiletries, cleaning supplies and hand tools. They’re also collecting brooms, shovels and rakes.

"There’s still a lot of cleanup efforts that need to be done physically," said Tim.

The Guenthers are accepting donations until Feb. 1 at any of their three drop-off locations: Joe Firment Chevrolet (37995 Chester Rd. in Avon), Pat O’Brien Chevrolet West (25100 Detroit Rd. in Westlake) or Spitzer Chevrolet Amherst (200 North Leavitt Rd. in Amherst).