Fort Wright will be taking donations for North Carolina residents affected by Hurricane Helene through Oct. 10.
“Mayor Hatter and I discussed it,” City Administrator Jill Cain Bailey said during a council meeting Wednesday. “City council was also interested in stepping up, and we feel for those individuals and first responders [in North Carolina]. It is truly a tragedy occurring down there and they need support.”
Fort Wright offered help to North Carolina through cooperation with state agencies. Bailey is a member of the Kentucky City/County Management Association. She reached out to equivalent groups in Tennessee and North Carolina.
Robert Shepherd, executive director of the North Carolina City and County Management Association, gave Fort Wright specifics on what they need and don’t need right now. Those boundaries helped shape the current donation drive. Fort Wright mostly needs non-perishable donations such as bottled water, diapers, toilet paper and more. The city’s website lists all the requested donation items.
Fort Wright officials said they are also mindful of how an overwhelming number of donations can make an emergency situation worse.
“In emergency response scenarios, there is often an influx of volunteers and donations,” Bailey said. “Managing these becomes an effort in and of itself.”
For that reason, the city is heeding Shepherd’s advice on what they don’t need in donations. During this drive, they do not need clothes, toys or pet supplies. Drive workers will turn those items away.
Those looking to donate should bring all items to the Fire Department at the Fort Wright Government Center by the end of the business day on Thursday, October 10. The next day, city staff and first responders will drive the supplies to North Carolina using a donated trailer.
The city is still working with emergency management teams in North Carolina to find the best place to drop these supplies off. If donations exceed the trailer capacity, they hope other local cities will help.
“We are very grateful for the citizens’ support on this effort,” Bailey said. “We’re proud of the community and the staff because we are able to participate in these kinds of programs.”