Tampa non-profit sends two rescue flights to Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa to get Americans home

Grey Bull Rescue helps hurricane victims

Danielle Zulkosky reports.

TAMPA, Fla. - Grey Bull Rescue rescued two groups of Americans stranded in Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa on Friday night. 

What we know:

The first plane came late Friday with about 170 people on board. The second plane is expected in the early morning hours on Saturday with 170 additional people on board.

READ: Polk County ministry gathering supplies to help Jamaica, looking for volunteers

This is a privately run and funded effort that depends on the donations of those in the community. The non-profit has done rescues like this before in Israel, Ukraine and Haiti.

They even helped to bus people to the airport in Kingston.

What they're saying:

Grey Bull understands that getting Americans home means more resources can go towards helping Jamaicans rebuild after this storm.

RELATED: Hurricane Melissa death toll climbs after massive storm rips through Caribbean

"What we like to do is get the Americans to safety first as quickly as possible, because we don't want them stuck there," said Crystal Casey, an operations specialist for Grey Bull Rescue. "They are already strained on resources, so we want to make sure they are safe and out of the way, and then we will go back and help people who are locals and live there with everything that they need."

What you can do:

They are not stopping at rescuing Americans. The group collected a trailer full of supplies that they are donating to those living in Jamaica. They got these supplies as donations from people across the Tampa Bay community.

Genesis of Tampa, a local dealership, is serving as a donation point.

"Anything to help the families from the disaster that the hurricane in Jamaica, so really just helping out the community right now," said Alphonse Polizzi, the sales manager for Genesis of Tampa.

The dealership is still taking supplies.