Donations for Texas accepted at Ted’s Bar in Roseville

By TESHA M. CHRISTESEN

Val Garza (photo right) is planning to drive down a trailer of donated items to Texas on Monday night. , Sept. 4. The waitress at Ted’s Bar and Key’s Restaurant is asking community members to help her fill an enclosed trailer with clothes, diapers, wipes, baby formula, water, and more for those displaced by Hurricane Harvey.

The trailer is parked in the lot at Ted’s Bar, 1084 Larpenteur Ave. W. in Roseville.  Donations will be accepted until 9 p.m. on Monday night.

Donations will be dropped off at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) location in Dallas, Texas.

After Hurricane Harvey made landfall and dropped more than 2 feet of rain, thousands of people in Houston and along the Gulf Coast have been displaced. Estimates are that more than 30,000 people may need shelter and some 450,000 may qualify for federal flood victim assistance.

Tony Anderson of the Happy Gnome has donated the use of his trailer. Others are helping publicize the effort, and fellow staff at Ted’s donated gas money.

Fellow Keys waitress JoVan Paulsky has also cleared her schedule to drive down with Garza, and they will be accompanied by Garza’s teenage son. They plan to drive straight down and return on Friday.

Garza, a native of San Antonio, Texas, was watching the news one night and heard about a man from Wisconsin who collected an entire trailer of diapers for those affected by Hurricane Harvey. She was inspired to do something similar. Since announcing her plans, she’s heard from many others who are grateful for what she’s doing and glad to find a way that they can help.