Bondcote donates fabrics to Haiti

By CODY DALTON
cody@southwesttimes.com



DUBLIN – The Bondcote Corporation helped the relief effort in Haiti on Wednesday by donating much needed fabric for shelters.

The opportunity to donate came up after the company had made an inquiry a few years ago to help with another disaster relief effort.

"When the earthquakes first happened in China in 2008, we went to the government and asked if we could help," said Bondcote President & CEO Ted Anderson. "They didn't need our help at the time, but they put our name on a list for future relief efforts. Then we just got an email from America's Development Foundation asking for our help with the Haiti relief."

In total, eight football fields or 68,000 linear feet worth of fabric were donated to the effort. An official ceremony was held on Wednesday beginning at 8 a.m. The container holding the fabrics was closed at 9 a.m.

The truck loaded with the fabric then left, heading for the Port of Norfolk. After leaving Norfolk, the shipment will travel to Portauprice in Haiti and should arrive by the end of the month.

Among the many in attendance at the donation were Bondcote President/CEO Ted Anderson, Plant Manager Donald Kemp, Shipping Manger June Flinchum, Shipping Supervisor Jeff Foutz, and Administrative Assistant Sue Ramsey.

The fabrics being sent will help to make shelter for those estimated one million who are homeless and want to stay dry.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), only one quarter of all Haiti survivors (approximately 250,000) are receiving any kind of shelter. That leaves 750,000 without a shelter of any kind.

The fabric donated should help those who will experience the rough Caribbean storm season, which occurs in June and July. It was estimated that over 800 temporary shelters could be built with the fabric being sent.

BondCote is located at 4090 Pepperell Way in Dublin. They have been manfacturing since 1949 and currently have 110 employees. They cote fabric for industrial and governmental applications.