SAIPAN – Project Buddy Check 670 has logged more than 200 volunteer hours, installed 46 emergency roof tarps and delivered 53 warm meals through Operation No One Left Behind, the veterans-led group’s response to Super Typhoon Sinlaku, leaders said Wednesday on Good Morning Marianas.
The group has also completed 18 debris removal responses since the storm, Vice President Anthony Demapan said. Demapan, a 10-year Army veteran, credited fellow veterans Derek Cutting with initiating the operation and leading volunteer mobilization in the days after the storm to make sure no veteran on Saipan went without help during the recovery.
“We thought about who’s going to be there to help our veterans out, so we decided to come together,” Demapan said.
Karl Bier, a Marine Corps veteran and former teacher with the group, said volunteers initially worked out of pocket, using their own gas, equipment and time before partnerships with local and off-island nonprofits expanded what they could deliver.
The operation began as a veterans-focused effort, with members calling every veteran on the group’s contact list to check on their needs. The group is now in what Demapan described as phase two, opening services to the broader Saipan community and developing plans to extend support to Tinian.
Project Buddy Check 670 was founded in 2023 with a mission of keeping veterans connected and supporting each other. Members said Sinlaku refocused the organization toward direct recovery work.
The group operates out of a shared warehouse provided by the Ayuda Foundation. Members emphasized that the warehouse is not a public distribution point. Residents seeking assistance must contact the group by email at projectbuddycheck670.sinlaku@gmail.com.
“Our warehouse is really just for us to go gather our supplies that we need to go give to our community,” Bier said. “If you want to get something or you need assistance, we have an email that we can be contacted at.”
NGO partners supporting the operation include the Ayuda Foundation, Samaritan’s Purse, NMI Red Cross and Team Rubicon. Community sponsors include Paul Murphy, Sean Kaipat, Public School System Commissioner Lawrence Camacho and Latte Built 24hrs Fitness.
