VFW Post pitches in for relief effort

BELLINGHAM — Christine McClafferty only had to watch the scenes of flooding and devastation in the Houston area following the rains of Hurricane Harvey to know she had to do something to make a difference in the crisis.

“I was watching the news and I saw all the flooding and I saw all the people that needed help,” McClafferty, a Bellingham resident, recalled of the stunning images broadcast from the flood zone in the past week.

“They lost everything,” she said of the people shown being rescued from flooded homes throughout the Houston area.

Knowing she had to act,

McClafferty got in touch with a friend, Jillian Allsop, who she knew would be able to put a local relief plan in action.

As the Auxiliary President of VFW Post 7272 at 942 South Main St., Allsop has put on many other collection drives for worthy causes and also has the contacts to get things done, according to McClafferty.

“I got in touch with Jillian and asked her if we could use the VFW Post as a drop off station for donations and she stepped up and got the VFW for us,” McClafferty said.

After putting out a call for items needed by those affected by the flooding, McClafferty, Allsop, and their fellow volunteers such as Arlene Dwyer of the Millerville Men’s Club, and Kim Blais of the Woonsocket school department, began to see plenty of needed relief items begin to pile up on the tables in the Post activities room on Tuesday.

By the next day, there was enough to begin sending out through a trucking organization the group had made arrangements with to get the supplies into transportation going to Texas.

“We’ve already had two truckloads go out of North Smithfield,” Allsop said of the continuing effort.

Not long after that, the drive had the start on another truckload of goods, according to Allsop. “This is just what came in since 2 p.m.,” Allsop said of the donated items, from personal care products like children’s diapers and deodorant, to even big tools like a chainsaw, again filling the post tables.

“We need baby formula, diapers, canned goods, gloves, first aid, tools, everything they lost,” Allsop said.

The full list of items the group would like to see donated includes, rain gear, mud boots, rope, tarps, food, water, blankets, personal hygiene items, flashlights, batteries, solar lights, trash bags, water pumps, generators, hammers, screwdrivers, nails, wood, and sandbags.

The drive will also accept cash donations for Hurricane Harvey Relief made out to VFW Post 7272, McClafferty said.

“It is a way to give back to Americans in need right now and I hope somebody would do it for us if we were in need,” Allsop said.

Blais noted that the drive has also been listed on Facebook. “It makes you feel good even if you are just giving someone a bottle of water,” Blais said.

McClafferty and Allsop said the collection for victims of Hurricane Harvey at VFW Post 7272 will continue through Tuesday.