A group of friends in Cheatham County have gotten together to collect donations for flood victims in East Tennessee.
ASHLAND CITY, Tenn. (WKRN) — A group of friends in Cheatham County have gotten together to collect donations for flood victims in East Tennessee.
After seeing the destruction carved out by Hurricane Helene, Chasity Shortt, Alisha Dozier, Torrie Thomas, Mason Nicholson and Dustin Nicholson were determined to help out their neighbors in need. The five of them came up with the idea of a donation drive.
“I’m from Gordonsville, Tennessee, so East Tennessee, even though it’s a little bit further than where I’m from, it’s always been on my heart,” Shortt said. “The devastation that they’re going through right now is just unbelievable, and they really need help.”
On Sunday, they put their plan into action. They set up shop at Tractor Supply in Ashland City, located at 356 Frey Street, as a donation drop-off site. Their goal is to collect enough items to be distributed to Carter County on Wednesday.
“We have a 53-foot trailer here that we want to fill to the brim and send out,” Shortt said.
Dillon Transportation contributed the large trailer as well as a truck driver to deliver the goods collected to a port in East Tennessee.
Donations are also being accepted at 24 Realty in Pleasant View (2521 Hwy 49E). They will be at the two sites to collect items Monday and Tuesday from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
“They’ve never experienced anything like this before,” Shortt said. “It’s not like something that they have to deal with every year and are used to. They’re still trying to find areas for people to go and everybody has just left their homes with just the clothes on their backs.”
The group has been constantly communicating with officials and residents in Elizabethton to see what they’re most in need of. They’ve compiled the requests and are asking their community to contribute the following items:
Cases of bottled water
Canned food
Dog food
Toiletries
Personal hygiene items
Laundry detergent
Batteries
Blankets
New clothing with tags
Diapers
Wipes
Gloves
Shortt said Tennessee is the Volunteer State for a reason, and now is the time to step up and give back.
“Nothing like this has ever happened out there, so it’s on our hearts to help them and get them the supplies they need,” Shortt said. “Anybody around us that feels it in their heart to help, please come and donate.”