Fayetteville family, Red Cross collecting items for south Georgia storm victims

A local family with ties to south Georgia is doing what they can to help residents who were left with nothing after severe storms ripped through over the weekend.

“I got to a point where I just had to quit reading and start doing because it was so devastating,” said Allison McGriff who is organizing the collection.

McGriff and her parents are from South Georgia. She got to work after hearing about the tornadoes that destroyed their hometowns.

“It just made me so sad and thought we got to do something. We are from a community where we work together and we’ve got to do this,” said McGriff.

McGriff said after posting about the collection on social media, the donations began coming in. The family is collecting clothes, baby items, non-perishable items, personal hygiene items food and more.

“Collecting what we can and of course we have trailers, whatever we need to take it down south and give it to the places,” said McGriff’s father David Brannon.

McGriff said people have been dropping off items at her parent’s Fayetteville business and even on the porch of her southeast Atlanta home.

“We are a tight knit community,” said McGriff. “You can say you need one thing and you got 10, 20 people coming saying here take it, take it.”

With help from the community the family plans to fill as many trailers and trucks as possible and get the much needed items to residents.

“Even though we are from South Georgia people all over the state are willing to help and that is such a comfort to know that at a time like this, everybody is willing to help,” said McGriff’s mother, Faye Brannon.

The family plans to drive the items south on Thursday. If you would like to help you can drop off items at Tifton Building Systems, 555 Marksmen Court in Fayetteville. To make arrangements for another drop off location or pickup call 770.461.6116.

In addition, the Red Cross has established the following shelters for those in need:

Cook County:

First Baptist Church of Adel
200 E FIFTH ST
Adel, GA 31620

Dougherty County:

Albany Civic Center
100 W. Oglethorpe Blvd.
Albany, GA 31701

Along with a safe place to stay, the Red Cross shelter is also accepting non-food donations at any Goodwill location or at the First Assembly of God Church, located at 601 Massee Post Road, Adel, Ga. 31701.

Visit the Red Cross website for more information.

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