Staff with Ambassador Health and Rehab and the Wadesboro Police Department teamed up to send hundreds of pounds of supplies to flood victims in South Carolina.
Barbara Ingram, a certified nursing assistant at Ambassador, coordinated the project after seeing information on the news about the devastating floods. A low-pressure system and rain bands from Hurricane Joaquin dumped nearly 2 feet of rain on portions of the Palmetto State in early October.
“I was online on my computer one day and saw they needed cleaning supplies and everything,” Ingram said.
Ingram called her brother-in-law, Wadesboro Police Chief Thedis Spencer, to ask for his help.
Together, Ambassador and the police department collected 776 pounds of supplies, including insect repellent, paper towels, dish detergent, blankets, washcloths, water and more.
The police brought their collection and added it to the pile Ambassador staff had collected. Hatcher called the Red Cross to see if it could deliver the supplies, but was told that the organization was only accepting money. A representative gave Ingram the name and address for Harvest Hope in Columbia.
After gathering all of the supplies, Ingram and her boyfriend, Gilbert Hatcher, made the drive down to Harvest Hope to deliver them Nov. 16.
Ingram felt she had a good response to her call to action. The nearly 800 pounds of supplies were gathered from after the floods hit until she made the delivery Nov. 16.
Wadesboro police Capt. Brandon Chewning said officers at his department were glad to help.
“This is an unfortunate situation the people of South Carolina have to deal with and we would like to show our support by sending them needed materials to help them overcome their loss,” Chewning said via email.
Ingram said Anson may be in a situation like Columbia’s one day.
“You never know when something is going to happen in Anson County,” Ingram said. “That’s one of the reasons I did this. We may need some help from surrounding counties. We never know.”
Ingram’s next project will be to collect socks for the homeless for Christmas this week. She is collecting all sizes for adults and children.
To donate, call Ingram at 704-694-4005 or call Ambassador at 704-694-4106 and ask for Barbara Ingram or Kelly Gaddy.
Reach reporter Imari Scarbrough at 704-994-5471 and follow her on Twitter @ImariScarbrough.