A Middletown church has expanded its donation collection for Hurricane Harvey victims to assist Hurricane Irma victims as well.
This isn’t the first time the Westminster Presbyterian Church has gathered supplies for disaster victims.
“What a better thing to do to give back to the community after we had a lot of our community devastated after Hurricane Sandy,” says relief organizer Jim Davis.
The church has filled a 54-foot-long trailer with supplies for Harvey victims. Pastor Joe Hien says that he believes his community will be just as generous, if not more so, for Hurricane Irma victims.
“As one campaign for Harvey…ends today, the campaign for Irma begins today,” he says.
But the donation drive organizers say that there is some fear of complacency among the community. Those who have been generous are now running out of money and energy to keep helping, otherwise known as “donor fatigue.”
“There is a concern…that people are going to get wiped out, washed out and energy will start decreasing,” Davis says. “People say ‘How much can I give?’”
But Davis and Hien say that there has been a tremendous outpouring of support and compassion from their community and they say that people aren’t tired of helping others just yet.
The Red Cross of New Jersey reports that 60 of their volunteers are already in or headed to Florida. Some have just returned from post-Harvey Texas.
More information about how to donate to the cause can be found
HERE.