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Three-day supply drive brings much needed relief

Wed, 09/06/2017 - 12:44 pm

In the aftermath of category 5 Hurricane Harvey, citizens from throughout Stephens County came together to help those in the Gulf Coast affected by what many consider one of the worst storms to ever strike the United States.

Misty McAlmond, Cassie Boggess and Carissa Berkley led a three-day supply drive to assist those facing complete devastation in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.

“Truthfully, when I very first started, I wanted to help my family,” McAlmond said.

McAlmond’s family was hit by Harvey in Houston, which originally led her to collaborating with Boggess and Berkley to mount a relief effort for not only their families, but anyone affected by the storm.

“When I was at work one day, I was thinking about how I could help?” Boggess said. “So, I was going to donate all of my commission from my personal business, but the more I thought about it, I decided that it wasn’t enough.”

Boggess and McAlmond said they were connected via social media, but that was the most of their interaction with each other. After seeing both McAlmond and Boggess’ posts, Berkley joined them and partnered with The Shirt Shop to sell t-shirts.

“Misty’s goal was to sell 500 shirts, and if we met that goal, that would give $5,000 to a donation organization. We’re pretty sure we’ve already sold that amount,” Boggess said.

The Shirt Shop, owned by Ashley Duran, donated their time and operation hours to helping their cause by giving $10 for every $15 shirt sold. 

“I expected to sell less than one hundred, and we sold that in less than an hour,” McAlmond said.

After seeing the rapid pace in shirt sales, the three decided to take it to a larger scale and accept donations at Stephens County Courthouse over the weekend.

Buckets, bins and trailers were filled with donations from the community while the three and their families sold baked goods, hot dogs and offered $5 pony rides to children.

This group of volunteers will be headed to their first stop after they collect the remaining donations in Lumberton with the intent of helping eight shelters that have not received any outside assistance.

They will be leaving 5 a.m. Saturday and are currently seeking volunteers for legwork, transportation, and equipment such as horse trailers and trucks to help transport animals to safety.

For more information on how to help, contact Cassie Boggess at (254) 246-5102, Carissa Berkley at (254) 246-0817 or Misty McAlmond at (254) 477-3352.