It’s all about being proactive for the Carter County Community Advisory Board.
After seeing the success from a recent donation drive held to benefit firefighters assisting with wildfires in Sevier County, CAB kicked off another drive on Friday, Jan. 6, to help raise items for Stephen Wandell – who lost all his belongings in a house fire this week within the city.
“We were talking about people we knew who were in need,” CAB vice-chair Thomas Davis said. “(April Pierce) brought up during the meeting that he lost all his belongings in a fire. We just went around the table and thought about what we could do and we figured it out. We took the template from the last relief drive that we did for firemen in Gatlinburg and just ran with that and we’re hoping to have the same results.
“This is the purpose of CAB,” he continued. “It’s about bringing together all the community resources, whether it be government, nonprofit or other agencies and say, ‘here is an issue, we can we do, as a group, about it. Hopefully, we are able to always take this kind of action because that’s what we are here to do.”
CAB is hoping to see the same results from the public like their other donation drive, where an abundance of resources were obtained.
“The majority of the items were used, and we had excess,” Davis said. “They had so much water at one point, that had to send it back. All the extra resources we had, we dispersed it to different emergency responders. That way, in case of an emergency locally, we wouldn’t have to rely on just the hopes and good graces right after an event, and have the items available. It was a successful event and we’re hoping we can accomplish the same with this drive.”
The Elizabethton/Carter County Public Library will serve as a drop off point for the drive. CAB is asking individuals to donate items, including 32/30 jeans, large t-shirts, size 10 shoes, cookware, coats and other materials to help Mr. Wandell get back on his feet during this trying time.
“The library has been very instrumental in a lot of the things that CAB does,” Davis said. “They’re always available, whether it be as a drop off point, a place to hold meetings or be available for other events.”
Items will be taken at the library until Friday, Jan. 10 before the facility’s closing time. For more information, contact the library at (423) 547-6360 or visit the Carter County Community Advisory Board Facebook page for more information.