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Young County drive to aid Harvey victims is underway

Wed, 08/30/2017 - 11:41 am
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    Sheriff Travis Babcock stands next to donations given by businesses and members of the community in Young County for flood victims of Hurricane Harvey. The stack of 62 cartons of water bottles behind Babcock was donated by United Supermarkets in Graham. (Leader photo by Thomas Wallner)
editor@grahamleader.com
The Young County Sheriff’s Department is taking donations of clothing, toiletries, first-aid supplies and non-perishable food items for Hurricane Harvey flood victims, Young County Sheriff Travis Babcock said. “We are taking donations for the flood victims and I have asked the public to bring clothes and non-perishable items to the sheriff’s office and we are going to get them on pallets,” Babcock said. You may also drop off donations at the back door of The Graham Leader, behind 620 Oak Street. Babcock is currently in contact with the Red Cross and trying to establish a plan for transportation. “I am trying to see the best way to get it down there, so until then, we are going to keep taking donations until we it get it shipped off,” Babcock said. “They are already asking for clothes and food and I have friends I know down there who got rescued yesterday and all they have is the clothes they had on their backs.” The Young County Sheriff’s Department is located at 315 Cliff Dr., Graham and can be contacted by phone at 940-549-1555. Babcock said he may take a load of donations down this weekend but is encouraging continuous donations from those in the community. For clothing donations the sheriff’s department is asking that each set of clothes be individually packaged and labeled with size and gender. Red Cross is also asking for baby diapers, baby food and bedding for those affected by the disaster which can also be donated at the sheriff’s office. For an updated list of required items by the sheriff's department visit the sheriff's Facebook page. For more ways to help those affected by the natural disaster, donate to or volunteer with these proven assistance organizations: • The American Red Cross at redcross.org, or text HARVEY to 90999 to donate $10 • The Salvation Army at salarmyomaha.org • Samaritan’s Purse at samaritanspurse.org • Save The Children at https://secure.savethechildren.org • The Southern Baptist Disaster Relief at https://www.namb.net • Heart to Heart International at hearttoheart.org. • Portlight is a 501(c)(3) organization providing relief for people with disabilities at portlight.org. • Food banks throughout Texas are also accepting donations for people affected by the storm. You can donate money to Feeding Texas, a network of the state’s food banks, at https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/feeding-texas. • The local Texas Diaper Bank is putting together disaster relief kits for families with young children. You can donate at texasdiaperbank.org. • The Rockport-Fulton Chamber of Commerce is also raising funds to assist in recovery efforts in the Rockport and Fulton communities. You can donate at https://www.gofundme.com/Hurricane-Harvey-Fund-for-Rockport-Fulton. • Crowdfunding site GlobalGiving has launched a hurricane relief fund (https://www.globalgiving.org) aimed at gathering funds for local nonprofits in the storm-stricken region. • Animal shelters and rescue groups are taking in numerous pets displaced by the storm. Those groups include the SPCA of Texas (https://spca.org/give), Austin Pets Alive! (https://www.austinpetsalive.org), Dallas Animal Services (http://dallascityhall.com/departments/dallas-animal-services/Pages/Donate.aspx) and the San Antonio Humane Society (https://sahumane.org/donate/wishlist). • A number of online fundraising sites have also been set up through GoFundMe, with donations benefiting everything from hurricane and disaster relief groups to animals and families in need. The full list of fundraisers can be viewed on GoFundMe’s Hurricane Harvey Relief page, https://www.gofundme.com/hurricaneharvey. • Carter BloodCare will send blood donations to its partners affected by Hurricane Harvey. The center will also deal with an increase in demand for blood and platelets as intensive care patients arrive in North Texas, spokeswoman Linda Goelzer said. Donations of all blood types are needed, especially O types, she said. North Texas donors can text DONATE4LIFE to 444-999 and a Carter BloodCare employee can tell you times and places to donate or call 1-877-571-1000.