According to the National Weather Service , Hurricane Helene made landfall in the Florida Gulf Coast as a Category 4 storm on the evening of September 26th, 2024. This left many without power and water, but one Calallen couple is doing what they can to help out.
The Quilting Touch, a quilt and fabric store, has been owned and operated for the last 11 years by Bryan and Robin Sykora. Robin is also a retired Banquete ISD teacher who taught for 21 years. They’ve been married for over 46 years and attribute their customers to why they started this hurricane supply drive.
“We have a group of ladies who come in and sew on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and the idea just kind of came up, and next thing we knew, we had a whole carload of stuff,” said Bryan Sykora
The couple originally planned to have Robin’s sister drive the supplies they had collected so far from customers, but unfortunately, because the roads were closed, she was asked to return them. But they didn’t give up. Luckily, Robin got in touch with Shana Brader at Sun Kissed Graphics in Rockport. Shana had already gotten a driver to take four truckloads of supplies to North Carolina for those in need. Now, the Sykoras are planning to gather more supplies to send to four different churches in the area.