Organizations Asked To Put Donations on Hold as Needs Shift
Joselyn King Trending
WHEELING -- A Washington County, Pennsylvania fire department was quick to act last week when Ohio County communities affected by flash flooding needed assistance, but now the firefighters are being told the need is less and to stand down.
"The folks at the Valley Grove Volunteer Fire Department have put us on hold in terms of collections of materials," said Tim Solobay, chief of the Canonsburg, Pa. Volunteer Fire Department. "They have started to get themselves squared away but are still looking for manpower."
Canonsburg began sending trucks with items for donation to Ohio County a week ago, and these were delivered to the West Alexander Fair Ground for pick up and distribution.
Solobay noted he sent the 15th truckload on Tuesday, and that was the last one for the time being.
"We put the word out to the community now that we don't need any additional items brought in here," he said.
Valley Grove Fire Chief Andy Pierce confirmed the fire department has been blessed with donations, and is now inventorying the items received. They want to be able to provide for any specific requests from the public.
"We had such a wonderful influx of people outside the community who have been sending items," he said.
Many local businesses -- too many to name -- have been helping in a number of ways.
"We are continuing the effort to help," he said. "Some people are looking for specifics. Today, it was sun lotion with SPF, and we don't have it. If someone calls with sun lotion with SPF 40, absolutely we'll take it."
He added the fire department is not looking to shut people out from donating.
"People are just not grabbing as much stuff as they did," Pierce said. "Patrons are coming back for specific things. We are happy and ecstatic that people out of the goodness of their heart have done so much. The number of donations has been wonderful."
The one thing that is most needed right now is ice, he added.
"It's hot outside, and you can only keep things cool so long," Pierce said.
Samaritan's Purse, meanwhile, is continuing efforts to assist those affected by flooding in Ohio County. Its trucks and operations are headquartered in the parking lot at Newbridge Church, 647 Warden Run Road in Wheeling.
Samaritan's Purse assists residents affected by flooding with such services as home cleaning, drywall removal, drying and sanitizing.
Aaron Richards, project manager for Samaritan's Purse, said so far the group has received 103 requests for assistance in Ohio County. He reports 17 of these have been completed so far.
They have been in Wheeling since June 16.
"We'll stay until our work is complete. Whether we complete the work or someone else does, our work order log will show zero when we leave," Richards said.
The National Road Church of Christ welcomed a truck of supplies from the Churches of Christ Disaster Relief organization of Nashville. Among the items on board were food, cleaning supplies and even box fans.
The church hosted a distribution of the supplies on Saturday, June 21, and Sunday, June 22, along with throughout this week.
While distribution has been slower than expected, church elder Pat Cronin said there are plenty of supplies remaining -- food boxes, cleaning supplies and much more - to assist in the weeks to come.
"We still have a good amount left to distribute," he said. "We took some items out to different areas hit by the flood and distributed them as well."
The church still has items available and volunteers willing to assist. Those with need should call the church at 304-650-1175.