Ellicottville to Kentucky
Ellicottville to Kentucky
Local family spearheads efforts to provide household items and Christmas gifts to victims of Kentucky tornadoes
It started with a Facebook post. J.P. O’Connell saw a photo of a man whose family lost everything in the recent tornadoes that ripped through Kentucky. The man is thankful that he and his wife and two kids survived, although one daughter still remains in the hospital.
They have no home to go back to.
O’Connell reached out to this man on FB Messenger, asking what he could send them to help. “It all just spawned from there,” O’Connell said. “I put a post up on FB asking for some donations, and they started pouring in from the community.”
… Because that’s what our community does. It doesn’t matter if we know these victims or not, Ellicottville has the reputation to band together and help out anyone in need. And right now, Kentucky needs all the help they can get.
Efforts have been organized by O’Connell and his wife, Jenna, to gather as many items as possible - houseware items, linens, toiletries, and even toys. “With it being the holiday season, and all these families losing everything, we want to do what we can to make sure that some of these kids at least have some new toys to open up on Christmas morning,” said O’Connell.
O’Connell initially planned on driving everything collected down to Kentucky himself, however, he explained that they are receiving more donations than anticipated, and they may need more trucks to do the job. “We actually had a trucking company out of Chicago reach out to us; they had been made aware of what we’re doing, and said that if they can, they would transport everything for us,” said O’Connell. “We’re just waiting to hear back from them. If they’re unable to make the trip, then we’ll look into renting a U-haul to get everything down there.”
Where is “down there?” O’Connell has connected with the Elks Lodge Donation Center which has a distribution location set up at the Marshall County Library in Benton, Kentucky. They are anticipating Ellicottville’s delivery.
If you would like to donate, please drop off new or gently used items (still in their package) to Finnerty’s Tap Room, Ava Grace Fashions, or Madigan’s in Ellicottville, or at the law office of Heather A. Tomes in Franklinville. Examples of items include coffee makers, silverware, can openers, paper products (toilet paper, paper towels, diapers), bedding, cleaning supplies, and toys for babies to teens, just to name a few. NO CLOTHES ARE NEEDED AT THIS TIME.
The last day to donate is Wednesday, Dec. 22nd. Trucks will depart Ellicottville that night. For more information or if you have any questions, search the group “Ellicottville to Kentucky” on Facebook.
