Sarasota Sheriff donates to Hurricane Harvey relief

While Hurricane Irma sets its sights on Florida, the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office has not lost sight of the recovery needs in Houston in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.

In the past week, Sheriff’s Office members purchased medicine, first aid items, clothes, towels and other necessities for members of the Houston Police Department.  

“Unfortunately, while these first responders are helping people who lost everything, they too, are experiencing the same loss,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post on Thursday.

Sheriff’s Office members packed eight boxes of supplies, weighing a combined 340 pounds and shipped them to the Houston Police Officers’ Union on Thursday.

Each box contained supplies and a handwritten note from Sheriff Knight as well as thank you cards from Pine View and Venice Elementary School students.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Irma is slated to make landfall in Florida over the weekend. The latest forecasts have Irma making landfall in south Florida, then pushing up the middle of the state. A hurricane watch extends from Anna Maria Island around the tip of Florida and through the Keys back up the east coast to Sebastian Inlet. A hurricane warning extends from Bonita Beach to Jupiter Inlet — all the more reason, the Sheriff's office said, to give back.

“While our efforts are focused here at home, we know that if Sarasota County suffered a similar loss, our brothers and sisters in law enforcement would do the exact same thing for us,” the Sheriff's Office said on its Facebook. “After all - we’re in this together.”