By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Montgomery Township and Rocky Hill Borough residents are teaming up with the Montgomery Township public school district to help the hurricane victims in Houston, Texas.
A revitalized Operation Friends, which aided victims of Hurricane Katrina in Biloxi, Miss., in 2005, aims to collect clothing, toiletries and other items for the latest hurricane victims in Houston – between now and Oct. 7.
This time around, donors who want to help Hurricane Harvey victims can pick up a box for free at any one of the five Montgomery Township public schools.
Boxes are also available at the school district administration building next to Montgomery High School. They are available at the Montgomery True Value hardware store, which is a few doors away from the ShopRite grocery store on Route 206.
Donors can fill the boxes with new summer clothing (with the tags attached), plus toiletries, school supplies and a toy or stuffed animal or two for a specific grade-level child. The gender, clothing size and grade level should be written on the box.
Similar boxes for adults also can be prepared. Those boxes should include clothing, toiletries, small tools and towels. Kitchen utensils or small appliances also may be included. The gender and size of the clothing should be written on the box.
The boxes do not need to be sealed. Operation Friends volunteers will seal the boxes. A note to the recipient, personalizing the gifts, would be appropriate.
The filled boxes can be dropped off at the five public schools, the school district administration building or at the barn at the Daube Farm on Sunset Road.
During the first Operation Friends effort, which helped Hurricane Katrina victims, volunteers gathered boxes filled with donated goods. They drove two truckloads of boxes directly to a designated school for distribution to the children and their families.
The same approach will also be used for the Hurricane Harvey victims. Volunteers will drive a truck to a designated distribution site so the boxes will not languish in a warehouse for months to await distribution.
