Restaurateur starts recovery fundraiser

Terrebonne residents trying to get hurricane recovery assistance from the government or relief organizations can find the process time-consuming.

Little Caillou native Mike Duplantis believes he can cut through the red tape and get needed help to storm victims quicker.

Duplantis began his own hurricane relief organization, Windstrong, on Sept. 15, two days after Hurricane Ike’s storm surge flooded communities in the lower half of the parish.

The non-profit is loosely based on Lance Armstrong’s Live Strong cancer awareness campaign.

“We’re selling bracelets to raise money and try to get it in the hands of as many people as possible,” Duplantis said.

There are three different bracelets styles – a $3 solid white, $5 red and white and $10 red with “Windstrong” and “Gustav/Ike ’08” set in white.

The bracelets can be purchased at Mike’s Steakhouse, 1023 West Tunnel Blvd., at the office of Dr. Mark Peters, 181 Corporate Dr. or at any Cannata’s location.

What makes Windstrong different, according to Duplantis, is that all the money donated to the effort goes directly into the hands of those affected by the storms.

“We try and give 100 percent of what people are donating to the recipients without all the overhead and expenses that other organizations have to deal with,” the restaurateur said.

In the beginning, Windstrong was focused on handing out industrial strength cleaning supplies – heavy-duty brooms and mops, two gallon bottles of Clorox, disinfectant wipes, concentrated cleaners and mold killers.

As people began returning to their homes again, Wind-strong branched out into donating money and other needed items.

“We have delivered a couple of appliances. We had a terminally ill patient who needed a refrigerator to keep her medications cool, so we brought her one,” Duplantis said. “We purchased uniforms for Houma Junior High.”

He added, “While we’re focused on cleaning, we know people are also hurting for other life necessities and can’t get help anywhere else.”

Duplantis credits the early success of Windstrong to going house-to-house and finding out what victims needed and getting the supplies to them.

Gulfsouth Homes donated a van and Duplantis’ cousin, Timmy Duplantis, and his wife Stephanie donated 1,500 hot meals prepared by Jackie Clement of Jackie Jambalaya Inc. of Houma.

“People don’t want to stop cleaning their home to stand in line for hours to get supplies or get a hot meal,” he said. “Some don’t have transportation to go to a community center and wait in the hot sun for stuff.”

Windstrong has been in Dularge, Chauvin, Little Caillou, Montegut, Pointe-aux-Chenes and Dulac. Often, Duplantis said, it has been the only presence in the smaller areas.

“We’re a four-person operation with one truck trying to get to all the different communities,” he explained. “I think we’ve touched as many people in a short period of time as the rest of them have.”

Running Windstrong’s day-to-day are Duplantis, his wife Teresa, Mike’s Steakhouse employee Philip Picou and his daughter Ashley Turner. But they have had plenty of help from volunteers donating their time to keeping the bayou communities back functioning.

Those who suffered during hurricanes Gustav and Ike, Duplantis said, are doing the real recovery work.

“People down here don’t ask for handouts and don’t take more than they need,” he said. “They need everything and most of them won’t ask you for it. They’re not waiting on anybody. They’re doing it themselves.”

Duplantis wants Windstrong to become a permanent foundation that will provide urgent help when hurricanes strike.

“Hopefully, we won’t have another storm this year. I hope we don’t have another storm for 10 years,” he said. “But in the event we do, we need to be ready for immediate assistance.”

While he does not envision Windstrong replacing the Red Cross or FEMA, Duplantis feels this group can play a pivotal role in speeding the recovery process.

“No organization can touch every single person,” he said. “This is going to be a long, drawn-out operation.”

The Windstrong bracelet sells for $3 to $10. Proceeds go to storm victim aid.