Cookeville Community Center began accepting donations this morning
Cookeville – Putnam County is collecting donations to aid those affected by the most recent round of destructive tornadoes that caused the death of six in Clarksville and extensive damage throughout the state.
“I think people in Putnam County automatically think, ‘how can we help’ when they hear that a tornado touched down in another Tennessee community,” according to Putnam County Mayor Randy Porter. “We can’t stand to do nothing, so we are going to do what we always do and find a way to help. We are going to start with collecting donations that we know were extremely helpful to us, and we’re staying in contact with those on the ground to determine what the next best steps are.”
The Cookeville Community Center began accepting donations this morning.
“Beginning at 8 a.m. Monday Dec. 11, the Cookeville Community Center will be open and receiving donations of new, unused items to be taken to impacted areas,” said Porter.
This is an “active and dynamic event,” according to Porter.
“We are starting with items we know were a big deal to us, but we may change what we are collecting as they learn more of what is needed in the damaged areas,” said Porter. “Averitt Express immediately jumped onboard to help us get the items there and we are very thankful for them. There will be plenty of things they will need in the coming weeks, especially with the holidays coming up, and we will continue to find ways to support them.”
Items being collected must be new, unused items to be helpful:
- Rakes, shovels, brooms
- Work gloves, masks, safety glasses
- Nitrile (latex-style) gloves
- Flashlights and batteries
- Tarps (large and small)
- Industrial trash bags
- 20-30 gallon storage totes w/lids
- Individual electrolyte packs (Gatorade or similar for bottled water)
- Protein bars
- Rolling outdoor trash cans w/lids disaster animal shelter (some items double for resident cleanup):
- Clorox Wipes
- Bleach
- Paper towels
- Food/water bowls
- Slip leads/leashes
Donations can be made to the Cookeville Community Center at 240 Carlen Drive in Cookeville Dec. 11 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Tuesday Dec. 12 to Thursday Dec. 14 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Parks & Recreation staff as well as volunteers from the Putnam County Volunteer Organization will be on hand to assist with unloading.
Image by Freepik.
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