Hearts of Hope has been working to help those affected by Hurricane Florence in the Carolinas and is now stepping up efforts to help those who were ravaged by Hurricane Michael in Florida.
On Oct. 23 a nationally shared “Facebook-a-thon” helped raise money and supplies for the efforts. Hearts of Hope Founder Carlton Thornhill also announced that the group was working with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office to help collect socks, T-shirts and underwear for first responders, who often cannot get home to change or in some cases have no home to go back to. Tuesday night’s effort was a continuation of an event that took place in front of the Marion County Courthouse. Tuesday’s event was held at Second Street Bean and featured a variety of local talent performing and interviews with local officials and contributors.
“We had another hurricane and as we speak, another one is hitting Mexico in the resort areas,” Thornhill said. “It’s a rare hit point like this last one that hit Florida. Like we’ve done in the past, there will be an 18-wheeler going. It’s all the necessary things we need. Cleaning supplies are important, but it’s also personal needs – things like toothbrushes. If you’re displaced from your home, you might have nothing to bring. It’s those items we’re looking for. We also want gift cards. They are the easiest thing because we don’t have to spend money transporting gift cards and cash.”
Thornhill said he was also glad to partner with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office on its efforts.
“They are collecting for first responders and we have some donations to give them,” he said. “That’s a great thing. The Drug Court here did some wonderful things and they have gotten so many items. We’ll be collecting items for the next two or three weeks. We still can’t get in and we would be in the way now.”
Thornhill said a local 8-year-old collected children’s items and so he added those to the collection.
“If you don’t think one person can make a difference, she filled my Yukon with items,” he said.
Thornhill said the items for the MCSO drive could be dropped off at the Sheriff’s Office. and that for other items he could be contacted at (601) 408-5165.
Chief Deputy Jamie Singley from the MCSO spoke about the need for items for first responders.
“We’re collecting socks, underwear, T-shirts and things you might not necessarily think of for first responders,” he said. “During Katrina it worked for the Sheriff’s Office here. We wearing our vests and fighting crime and we realized we had been wearing our T-shirts for about four days. It was something that we could have used. We want to show love to the first responders. It’s firefighters, EMS and law enforcement. People don’t think about that. We know they’re out there cutting trees and trying to help people and that is where our heart is at because they’ve given so much out there.”
Mayor Justin McKenzie spoke about assisting with efforts to help communities after all of the help that flooded Columbia after the Dec. 23, 2014 EF-3 tornado that killed three people and destroyed many homes and businesses.
“Hopefully, we never have to go through that again,” McKenzie said. “We want to reach out and let Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina and just about anybody who has dealt with storms or flooding know we care and we want to help. We helped in Houston, we responded when flooding hit Baton Rouge. We want them to know that they are loved and they are cared about and that we are here for them. In turn, I know they have and would respond again to help us.”
Katherine Fleming Bruce of Columbia, S.C., brought aid to Columbia, Miss. after the tornado in 2014, coordinating with her college classmate, Danon Vest, who is from here. In return, when Columbia, S.C. faced flooding several years ago, truckloads of items from here went to help.
“Today I went to Conway (S.C.), which is one of the worst hit areas,” she said by phone. “There was a lot of flooding here. A lot of the rivers overflowed so many people here are just getting back in their homes to see the damage.”
Bruce said there are 14 counties declared as disaster areas by FEMA.
“I went and visited several areas with state legislators,” she said. “They took a helicopter to view the areas. The worst is in Marlboro, Chesterfield and Horry counties. They are northeast of us in Columbia.”
Bruce said she shared the Columbia, Miss., Columbia S.C. story with those she’s taken aid to.
“I told them of our partnership, friendship, sisterhood and brotherhood,” she said. “I’ve told them that story of how we have had all kinds of support for each other. We’re working to identify people who have been directly affected by the storm for the distribution.”
Pictured Above: Mark Carithers, left, shows off an auction item as Carlton Thornhill does his live broadcast to fundraise for hurricane victims for Hearts of Hope Oct. 23. | Photo by Mark Rogers
