PETERSBURG, Va. -- Following a successful relief effort in Western North Carolina last week, a group of small businesses and volunteers in the Tri-Cities is mobilizing again, this time to assist Damascus, Virginia.
“The donations never stop rolling in,” said Antrynet Elston, who donated water and paper towels.
“Just felt like I had to. Something we wanted to do, me and my wife," Ron Stanfield, who contributed 24 cases of water and other supplies, said.
Angela Mastrovito, who traveled from Varina with a car full of supplies, expressed gratitude for the volunteers.
“To take their time and resources to go down, not all of us can do that, so I’m so thankful that there’s people here who can,” she said.
After their previous convoy, the volunteers quickly formulated a second relief effort.
“To take as much as we can take to bless Damascus, that is our goal,” relief organizer and owner of Old Towne’s Alibi restaurant in Petersburg Kathleen McKay said.
The group witnessed firsthand the devastation in North Carolina and felt compelled to act again.
“The number of business leaders that have left their businesses for the last week to commit to this cause,” McKay said.
Volunteer Mark Palmer described the situation in North Carolina
“Everything you hold near and dear that you’ve worked for all of your life is gone, and it’s a staggering wake-up call when you see it firsthand," he said.
“There’s a lot of desperation; there are a lot of people that just need help," donor Randy Ahlgrim added.
Many donors understand the long road to recovery for those affected.
“They’re going to be a long time getting everything back to normal, if there is a normal for them again,” Stanfield said.
Brenda Carter emphasized the importance of community support.
“What do we do if we don’t help each other? It takes a whole community; it takes a village," she said.
This time, volunteers are implementing lessons learned from their previous efforts.
“You give them can openers in each box with canned food, that way all the can openers aren’t just in one box,” said volunteer Eva Bowman. “We’re trying our best to help the drop-off site with the most organized way they can get it to their people quicker.”
The volunteers will use two large tractor-trailers for this effort, with supplies organized on pallets for easier handling.
Those wishing to contribute can drop off donations until 8 p.m. on Monday outside Old Towne Mingle located at 16 W Bank Street in Petersburg.
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