LUMBERTON — There was a steady flow on Friday at a warehouse where people are dropping off items that will be taken to Texas to help victims of Hurricane Harvey.
Those working the warehouse at 2300 Cedar St. are ready for longer lines.
“We just started yesterday but they’re gradually coming in,” Sharon Hunt, administrative assistant to Lumberton’s city manager, said Friday. Hunt has spent a lot of time at the warehouse since last year, when it was used as a drop-off point for donated supplies to assist Hurricane Matthew victims. The warehouse is still collecting funishings for that storm’s victims.
But the focus now is also on Texas, and especially Houston, where as many as 50 inches of rain fell in just a few days.
The National Association of Christian Churches launched a collection effort this week, using a West Fifth Street warehouse that is still in use, and then adding the Cedar Street location.
Hunt said the goal is to fill a tractor-trailer rig and have it rolling toward Houston by Sept. 9.
“People around the world were good to us. It’s our time to give back,” Nahaven Lowery said.
Lowery, a Pembroke resident and nurse who works in Pinehurst, came with her daughter Kiley Locklear to donate food, water and other necessities. Lowery and her daughter volunteered during Hurricane Matthew and being part of that assistance effort helped her see that the people of Houston need help, too.
“It’s nice to see people from Pembroke helping out,” Hunt said as Lowery made her donations.
Marshall Hammonds, of Lumberton, also came by the warehouse and donated multiple bags of clothes.
“I was looking at people on TV and what they went through and I see what we went through and it just gets to me,” Hammonds said.
So far donated items have included water, flashlights, toiletries, clothes and food.
Hunt said a list of needed items was made based on what was needed locally after Hurricane Matthew and it includes: diapers, baby products, formula, toilet tissue, paper towels, Lysol wipes, new underwear, hygiene items, soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, non-perishable food, water, cleaning supplies, trash bags, first-aid material, bleach, laundry detergent, blankets, towels, wash cloths, pillows, new clothing, and pet food. Gift cards also are accepted.
People donating clothes are asked to wash and sort the clothing by size and gender. Warehouse No. 4 at 2130 W. Fifth St. and the Cedar Street location are open Mondays through Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day.
“It’s just an opportunity to pay it forward. It’s just what we’re suppose to do,” Hunt said.
Robeson County residents still are coming by to pick up items needed for their storm recovery, and furniture is the biggest need.
“We’re still running the Matthew effort while starting the Harvey effort,” Hunt said.
Veronica McCloud, a volunteer and donation coordinator, said she hopes people will focus their relief donations, like food, water and clothing, on Houston but meet the local need for furniture.
“There are people who are back in their apartments or houses but are sleeping on the floor or on air mattresses,” she said.
Jillian Bingham, a resident of Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, donated a truck full of furniture to Hurricane Matthew victims in the county. She said she’s a hoarder and just wanted to do something with the all of the stuff she accumulated. She was able to fill an entire 18-wheeler’s trailer.
McCloud said that all of the items in the truck will go to recipients quickly. There is a waiting list with more than 60 names of people who need furniture.
“We tell people, ‘Please don’t forget Lumberton,’” McCloud said. “We desperately need furniture in Lumberton.”
