Local residents continue to send flood victims aid
It’s no secret that the people in our area have generous hearts.
That humanity was on display recently when residents rallied to help our neighbors to the south in West Virginia, following last month’s devastating floods that decimated entire towns and killed 23 people.
Numerous groups locally collected supplies and shipped them in large box trucks to the places hardest hit by the June 23 disaster. Others volunteered their time going to the flood zones to help with the cleanup.
Over the weekend, a veterinarian at Braden Run Animal Hospital near Waynesburg organized a fundraiser to help animals displaced by the flooding. Anita McMillen, who is originally from West Virginia, said she wanted to help Kanawha-Charleston Humane Association because that organization is absorbing the skyrocketing cost from rounding up orphaned animals and offering them medical treatment.
Her fundraiser shed light on thousands of displaced dogs and cats that also need help while trying to be reunited with their owners.
It was also a good reminder the disaster isn’t over for West Virginia, even as it’s fallen out of the national spotlight as other tragedies transpired in the month since the flooding.
The lives affected and damage inflicted on neighborhoods and towns in West Virginia shouldn’t be forgotten. It could take years to rebuild.
There is still a need for donations, and there are many other ways to help.
It’s heartening to see what the people in Washington and Greene counties have already done to assist those in need, and we’re sure they’ll continue to heed the call whenever help is needed.