Sugar Land Experiences Strength & Resiliency During Harvey
The strength of the human spirit comes through during times of need, and in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, heroes from all walks of life became pillars of strength and resiliency for their neighbors and community. Such was the case in the ‘Sweetest City in Texas,’ where Sugar Land Pizza Hut employees delivered food on kayaks to get food to people trapped in their homes, while neighbors with high water trucks volunteered to transport an evacuated neighbor’s respiratory machine. From this historic natural event, we remain Texas Strong, Houston Strong, Sugar Land Strong. As the waters began to recede, Sugar Land welcomed visitors to experience its community pride and all that makes Sugar Land a special place to experience the sweet moments in life.
DURING HARVEY
In Sugar Land, there was no shortage of compassion, elbow grease and creative ingenuity. Pictured above is a Sugar Land Pizza Hut manager that took it upon herself to aid her community by distributing hot food to those trapped in their homes.
The City of Sugar Land activated its Emergency Operations Center on Friday, August 25th with around-the-clock operations to serve Sugar Land’s residents and visitors alike. The City encouraged residents to monitor local newscasts for the latest weather information and created a dedicated website for Harvey-related news and real-time road conditions, including flooded intersections. The City of Sugar Land’s social media channels throughout all departments were dedicated to informing their residents and followers of the latest information on Hurricane Harvey and its effects during and after it hit the Sugar Land area. Information included general storm and flood information, street closures, business closures and live video feeds with the Mayor and City staff. While the vast majority of Sugar Land stayed dry during this historic rain-event, the full force of the City of Sugar Land sprung to action to help those in need.
AFTER HARVEY
Soon after flood waters drained in Sugar Land, all of the area businesses were open and ready serve the public, and most importantly, to begin to collect donations and raise funds to continue the extensive recovery efforts in the Houston region.
Sugar Land Town Square joined forces with American country singer, Coffey Anderson, on September 4th for a Hurricane Harvey benefit concert on the Plaza. Attendees gathered donations included toiletry items, baby food/formula, diapers/wipes, cleaning supplies, nonperishable food items, new towels and blankets, trash bags and feminine hygiene products that were delivered to nearby shelters.
The Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land teamed up with Rock and Roll Hall of Famers and Houston natives, ZZ Top during their September 10th concert to host a food and cleaning supplies drive to benefit the local community and donate $100,000 to local relief agencies. The new performance venue also partnered with Sammy Hagar and Bryan Adams to set up similar food and cleaning drives during their respective concerts.
Several Sugar Land businesses also contributed to those affected by Harvey by offering to give a portion of their proceeds through their own offers, accepting donations or by participating during Houston Restaurant Weeks. This includes Bacon Bros. Public House and Turquoise Grill & Bar.
The Sugar Refinery Grub & Grogs as well as Songkran Thai Grill both gave 10% of their proceeds to the JJ Watt Foundation Houston Flood Relief Fund. The Sugar Refinery also hosted a benefit concert on September 9.
Lastly, the City of Sugar Land held a community event called “Sugar Land Strong” on Sept. 23rd to honor residents, local businesses, community organizations, employees and others in the community who supported hurricane response and recovery efforts.
Make sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for all the latest news on things happening in Sugar Land. Our handle is @VisitSugarLand. Tag us in your posts and share your experience: #VisitSugarLandTX, #TravelSL. For more information, contact us at 281.275.2045 or tourism@sugarlandtx.gov.
