Clemson Police collecting donations for Hurricane Helene victims

CLEMSON, S.C. (WSPA) – The Clemson Police Department is collecting donations for victims of Hurricane Helene in North Carolina and Tennessee.

The supply drive is being led by Officer Daniel Winchester, who is from eastern Tennessee.

“The city I was born in is 20 to 30 miles from the western North Carolina line,” Winchester said. “I still have a lot of family in that area. They were affected by the floods and hurricane.”

The police department is asking for the following donations:

• Bee sting relief
• Solar showers
• Winter clothing
• Outdoor cooking stoves
• Hand/foot warmers
• Thermal and thick socks
• Gloves
• Scarves
• Tents
• Sleeping bags/blankets
• Solar power banks
• 20 amp + extension cords
• Chainsaw blades
• Sharpeners
• Oil lighters
• Lanterns
• Disposable plates and bowls
• Silverware
• Trash bags

“There are needs great and small – from being out of power to not having a house to live in,” Winchester said. “Some people have had their entire lives ripped out from under them. That’s where these donations are going to go.”

“Anytime people are at their worst when they’ve lost everything, it’s hard to even maintain hope,” Clemson Police Chief Jorge Campos said. “By receiving donations and coming out and people trying to volunteer, it helps bring that hope back.”

The police department began collecting donations on Tuesday and has already received many supplies.

Winchester plans to take the donations to the TLC Community Center in Elizabethton, Tennessee, which will distribute them to people in Tennessee and North Carolina.

“It’s definitely a scenario where we know exactly where those donations are going to go,” Campos said. “It’s going to go to people who truly do need the help.”

“My hope for the Clemson community is they keep bringing donation items giving them help for the future,” Winchester said.

Donations can be dropped off at Clemson’s City Hall chambers until October 31.

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