Several organizations in Newton County are running donation drives to help with the disaster relief response to Hurricane Harvey.
Schools
Newton County School District and the Union Public School District are collecting the following items beginning Thursday:
• First aid supplies
• Gallon-sized Ziploc bags, large plastic totes, trash bags
• Non-perishable food items and bottled water
• Powdered milk, diapers and baby food
• Travel size items such as mouthwash, shampoo and conditioner
• Wet wipes, toilet paper, toothpaste, toothbrushes, sanitary napkins and deodorant
• Cleaning supplies
• School supplies, and
• Animal food and supplies.
The boxes will be located in the main halls near the library entrance on the campus of Newton County Middle and High Schools.
Hickory Pick’N
Hickory Pick’N teamed up with Rebellion Ministries to collect non-perishable food, bottled water, toiletries, cleaning supplies and other general necessities.
U-Haul will be donating a truck to transport the items, and Cook Portable Storage Buildings agreed to let them store goods in their buildings until transport.
“They are planning on leaving Monday with the U-Haul we have,” said owner Eric Johannsen. “We plan and hope that the following week they can go back on a second run as long as donations keep coming in. So far we have had a great response.”
The U-Haul will be at the Hwy. 19 Wal-Mart from noon to 6 p.m. Thursday, and it will be at the flea market all day Saturday as well. They plan to take donations at the market during opening hours as long as needed.
Mississippi UMC
Newton United Methodist Church is collecting donations for flood buckets for victims of Hurricane Harvey. Donors may make their own flood buckets or make monetary contributions. Items are to be placed in a five-gallon bucket. Filled buckets and contributions will be picked up by United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) and delivered immediately to the flooded area.
Newton United Methodist Church is located at 600 Decatur St. and has been named as a receiving station for these flood buckets. For information about what to include in the buckets or on making a much needed contribution please call the church at 601-683-3756 or Bet Thames at 601-683-2157. Rev. Gary Howse is pastor.
In addition to that, the United Methodist Church Mississippi Annual Conference is also supporting the relief efforts.
In an email Wednesday, the conference asked everyone to
• Pray for first responders, local police departments, fire department personnel, government officials, National Guard and those who will provide supplies.
• Monetary donations can be made directly to the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) Domestic Disaster Response Advance #901670. One hundred percent of donations given to UMCOR goes to disaster response. You can also give through text message by texting the keyword, ‘RESPONSE’ to the number 80888 and a $10 donation to UMCOR will appear on your phone bill.
