Simpsonville holding donation drive for hurricane relief

City asking for canned goods, hygiene items

Simpsonville, S.C. — The City of Simpsonville is holding a donation drive this week for canned goods, hygiene items and toiletries to benefit communities impacted by Hurricane Florence.

A tractor trailer to store the donations will be set up Wednesday, Thursday and Friday only in the overflow parking lot of Simpsonville First Baptist Church on East Curtis Street across from the Simpsonville Fire Department.

Donations of non-perishable food items, baby food, bottled water, hygiene products such as toothbrushes and deodorant, toiletries, diapers, baby wipes and paper towels can be dropped off at the tractor trailer from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day.

Fire crews will be accepting donations from the public at the tractor trailer.

Mayor Janice Curtis said the City of Simpsonville wants to do its part in helping the victims of Hurricane Florence recover from the storm.

“After natural disasters, it’s easy to feel helpless, but there are always things we can do to assist those in need,” Curtis said. “We take for granted the things that storm victims need, like food, water, deodorant and toilet paper. Collecting donations is the least that we can do to help our fellow citizens on the coast.”

Hurricane Florence swept up the coastlines of South Carolina and North Carolina earlier this month, causing billions of dollars of damage. The donated items will be taken to Horry County Fire Station No. 7 on Saturday for distribution to people impacted by the storm.

Simpsonville firefighters have been assisting local officials in Horry County with storm recovery efforts the past two weeks. Teaming with the Greenville County Emergency Response Team, Simpsonville firefighters were deployed in search and rescue teams to save residents from dangerous flood waters.

City Administrator Dianna Gracely said Simpsonville is proud of its firefighters and public safety officials who left their homes to lend support to the people who needed it the most.

“We are also proud of the people of Simpsonville and others who will step up, too, and donate what they can.”

All donated items must be new and unopened. The City asks that any monetary donations be made to the American Red Cross by visiting www.redcross.org.

Please direct any questions to Justin Lee Campbell, community relations specialist, at jcampbell@simpsonville.com.