Two Portland High School teachers are loading up on supplies to deliver to East Tennessee families impacted by Hurricane Helene.
PORTLAND, Tenn. (WKRN)– Two Portland High School teachers are loading up on supplies to deliver to East Tennessee families impacted by Hurricane Helene.
Trey Pitt and Matthew Ellithorpe both teach “Career and Technical Education” (CTE) at PHS. The two men are hoping to gather a list of supplies to drop off to families impacted by the storm, with the goal of filling up Mr. Pitt’s cattle trailer.
According to Pitt, the idea suddenly came to him this past weekend, which led him to enlist Ellithorpe and their students for help.
“I wasn’t really expecting to take but a small, enclosed trailer,” said Pitt. “And that rapidly evolved into a substantially large operation.”
Pitt and Ellithorpe will be delivering the supplies themselves to the Newport area in Cocke County on Wednesday. When asked why they wouldn’t have an emergency services organization deliver their trailer, Pitt said “it really just cuts out the middleman. Just point A to point B, get it where it needs to go as soon as possible.”
One of the PHS students who is helping the cause, Maddox Spears, spoke with News 2 on the value of community and helping others. He praised Portland as being a small, tight-knit town always willing to lend a hand.
“We’re involved in getting all the stuff together, making sure that we have a lot of resources that we’ll be able to take. Getting the community involved,” Spears explained.
“Just people showing up is a lot different. You don’t have to bring anything, and people aren’t asking for something. But just showing up, showing that you care,” said an emotional Pitt.
“As soon as he reached out, I was like ‘yes, I’ll do it!’ detailed Ellithorpe. “I hated to pass it up. It’s a good thing to do. I’m just happy to help.”
Anybody who would like to donate to Pitt and Ellithorpe’s efforts are asked to drop off supplies at Portland High School’s main office before 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 1.
For those who can’t make that deadline, Pitt said another trailer will be set up at Halltown Church in Portland on Tuesday for the public to fill up with supplies. That trailer will then be delivered to storm victims either October 10 or 11, said Pitt.
“There’s a sense of pride in being able to help people,” said Pitt.
The full list of what Pitt and Ellithorpe are hoping to gather is:
Water
Toiletries
Canned Foods
Individual wrapped snacks (i.e. chips or peanuts)
Paper/plastic items
Personal/female hygiene products
Baby items (diapers/wipes)
Pet food
Hardware (safety glasses, shovels, gloves, etc.)
Bleach
Flashlights
Batteries (all sizes)
Drinks
No clothing items*
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