Rotary clubs help Royal Arms Villas community in Naples recover from Ian

Reporter: Tiffany Rizzo Writer: Matthew Seaver
Published: Updated:

A community tossed around and left unlivable by Hurricane Ian is now getting a helping hand. The Royal Arms Villas in Naples was in terrible condition, but now three Collier County clubs are getting together to help the community.

The Rotary Club of Naples Bay, Rotary of Gulf Shores, and Pelican Bay Rotary joined forces to help the Royal Arms Villas.

Beverly Dahlstrom and her husband survived Hurricane Ian, but their house took quite a hit, and they lost most of their prized possessions.

“Everybody has a rhythm to their lives; it’s like music. And suddenly, you don’t have that anymore,” said Dahlstrom.

It is the same story for most of her neighbors in Royal Arms Villas in East Naples. For months, it’s been nothing but clean-up and frustration because of supply chain issues and costs.

Dahlstrom and her neighbors are struggling to rebuild. “You just want to get this done and move on. Because it’s overwhelming, it’s overwhelming.”

Knowing that, and knowing Dahlstrom, the Pelican Bay Rotary joined with the Naples Bay Rotary and the Rotary of Gulf Shores to help the people of Royal Arms Villas.

They got a grant that allowed them to provide 1,480 sheets of mold-resistant drywall for 37 homes.

“They’ve all been very, very appreciative of the fact that we were here and doing this, and we hope to be able to do some more of this. Let’s put rotary does, you know, service above self. That’s our motto,” said Nicholas Bazan, president-elect of the Pelican Bay Rotary Club.

They’re even getting help from a group called GEM, which stands for Global Empowerment Mission.

“We’re here for them, providing hope and, you know, give them a little something until the next step. And this drywall distribution will hopefully sustain them until you know other efforts come in. And we’ll be here for the long term. This is our backyard,” said Kimberly Bentley, with GEM.

Dahlstrom got the attention of the rotary clubs because she is a former president of the Naples Bay Rotary.

She and 36 neighbors each got 40 sheets of drywall on Thursday, giving everyone a chance to start rebuilding.

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