INDIAN ROCKS BEACH, Fla. — Neighbors in Indian Rocks Beach collected and delivered supplies to the Deep Creek community in Punta Gorda, just one of the areas in southwest Florida impacted by Hurricane Ian.

"I hope that people might see this and think, you know, 'We've got a locals only group. We've got a local group that could do something.' You can get a bunch of stuff and find a specific need and do your part to help, because the need is vast," said Rodney Baker, who started the drive.

Baker said the idea was sparked by his daughter, Kayla, a University of Florida student, after the family returned to Indian Rocks Beach following their mandatory evacuation ahead of what was expected to be Ian's direct hit on Tampa Bay.

"She said, 'Dad, we were so blessed, we have to help those who weren't, who were hit," Baker said.

So, he posted to a private community Facebook group, IRB Locals Only. He put out the call for donations and went door-to-door with his daughter, Cara, and a friend to spread the word. He said cars began lining up in his cul-de-sac to drop off water, diapers, canned goods, and other necessities. Baker said he had trouble contacting relief organizations for guidance on where to send the items, so he turned to social media. He connected with Toni Stacy, a resident in the Deep Creek community of Punta Gorda.

"They had no power, and they couldn't drink the water, and they're running out of food. They're running out of gas for their generators, those that had them," said Baker. "So, I thought, 'Well, here's this one community that we can make a difference for.'"

Baker said the group ended up collecting enough supplies to fill two vehicles and a trailer. He and neighbors Jamie Prior and Johnny Crane delivered the items themselves Sunday. Baker said Deep Creek didn't see the devastation places like North Port did, but the group caught a glimpse of the effort to get supplies to some of those harder hit areas.

"There were cars on the side of I-75 south with canoes and jon boats paddling water and supplies into the neighborhoods," Baker said.

When contacted by phone Monday, Stacy told Spectrum News that Deep Creek is on a higher elevation and wind damage, not flooding, is the main concern neighbors are dealing with there. She said many people were still without power. Stacy said the community was "beyond excited" and "elated" with the supplies from Indian Rocks Beach and that the items are a "huge help". 

"Thank you, IRB - thank you," said one man holding a tarp from the drive in a video taken by Baker in Deep Creek.

"Thank you, Indian Rocks. You're helping us tremendously. We're in bad need. I had no more gas. I was out," said a man in another video.

"If it was my relatives, it was my parents, my grandparents, my friends, I would want somebody to reach out because it's so important," said Prior.

Crane said one moment that stood out to him was what happened when Prior told one of the volunteers on site, who was a hurricane victim herself, that she liked the woman's hat that read "Blessed."

"The lady took it right off of her head, put it right on Jamie's head, and said, 'I want you to have this,' exposing herself to sun for the remainder of the day, and she would not take it back," Crane said. "It just felt good for her. She felt good giving something back in return."

Crane said he ended up giving the woman his Tampa Bay Buccaneers hat. 

Stacy called the group that collected and delivered the donations "wonderful people." She said Charlotte County is in need of even more help and resources. Baker said he'd like to see other neighborhoods unofficially adopt communities struggling in the wake of the storm and provide them with supplies.