WEARE, N.H., Sept. 30, 2008 – Danconia Media and Acclinet Corp. today announced the launching of a campaign dedicated to assisting relief efforts for Hurricane Ike victims living on Grand Turk Island, British West Indies.
As part of the campaign, William Sweeney, vice president of Acclinet and Danconia, and Matt Stillwagon, the companies’ creative director, traveled to Grand Turk Island last week to provide direct assistance to Hurricane Ike victims. They brought with them donated items, including more than 20 electricity generators purchased by Acclinet, a reseller of Sun servers, Sun workstations and related Sun hardware. They returned to New Hampshire this week.
“The island was hit hard by the hurricane,” Stillwagon said. “There are many people working hard to rebuild and get their lives back to normal.”
The Concord, N.H., area companies have begun a drive to collect donations, including clothing, linen, non-perishable food and toiletries, to assist Turks and Caicos Islands Hurricane Ike survivors. The companies are also organizing volunteer teams to assist with further recovery efforts in the Grand Turk Island and Caicos region. Donations can be mailed to or dropped off at the companies’ shared Weare, N.H., location.
The campaign was the brainchild of Catherine and William Sweeney, co-owners of Danconia and Acclinet who own property on Grand Turk Island. Mr. Sweeney said his property was damaged, but full-time residents who live nearby have it much worse off.
Sweeney said he was impressed with the generosity of the Perri Ellis clothing company, which shipped thousands of pieces of clothing to Grand Turk Island after being contacted by Acclinet salesman Thomas Downing about the relief effort. The clothing reached Grand Turk Island last week, and is being distributed by the Red Cross to Hurricane Ike victims who’ve been without clean clothing since the storm hit.
Acclinet and Danconia have also launched a Web site www.grandturkhurricanerelief.org that will be a frequently updated resource for anyone interested in assisting Grand Turk Island and Caicos Islands Hurricane Ike survivors. The site was designed by Stillwagon.
Hurricane Ike plowed through Grand Turk Island and the Caicos Islands on Sept. 7, damaging an estimated 95 percent of Grand Turk’s homes and leaving roughly 750 of the British territory’s under 4,000 residents homeless. Since Hurricane Ike hit, Grand Turk Islanders have been forced to survive on limited food and water rations as they start the rebuilding process.
Aside from causing massive destruction, Hurricane Ike also crippled Grand Turk Island’s tourism industry, a devastating economic blow to a region that counts on tourist dollars to drive commerce. The entire Turks and Caicos Islands region was declared a disaster area shortly after Hurricane Ike.
Anyone interested in donating items to Hurricane Ike survivors on Grand Turk Island and the Caicos Islands can mail donations to: Acclinet, ATTN: Grand Turk Island Hurricane Relief, 425 South Stark Highway, Weare, NH 03281. Donors living in the Concord, N.H., region can drop items off at the same address between 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Clothing and linen must be clean, food must be non-perishable and toiletries must be new and sealed.
About Danconia Media
Danconia Media is a NH marketing and design firm that specializes in both traditional and online marketing strategies. Founded by salespeople, Danconia, the home of www.metroinfo.com, takes a unique approach to marketing techniques. For more information, visit www.danconia.com.
About Acclinet Corp.
Acclinet is a New Hampshire-based independent reseller of Sun Microsystems equipment. Acclinet sells Sun products ranging from entry-level to enterprise-class Sun servers, Sun workstations, Sun storage solutions and related hardware at prices up to 80 percent off the listing value. For more information, visit www.acclinet.com.
