Mayor Martin Walsh announced on Aug. 28 a city-wide “Help for Houston” collection drive to aid those in Texas impacted by Hurricane Harvey.
The drive, originally set to take place from Aug. 29 to Aug. 31, was extended until noon on Sept. 1 due to the overwhelming amount of donations, according to an announcement from the mayor’s office.
Audrey Coulter, the associate press secretary for the mayor’s office, wrote in an email that in addition to Boston city employees and residents, religious organizations such as the Archdioceses of Boston and private enterprises including Stop & Shop and W.B. Mason also contributed to the donation effort.
Donation centers were set up within City Hall, at various other government buildings and at several of the Boston Centers for Youth and Families sites. Items requested for the drive included clothing, toiletries, diapers and non-perishable food items, according to a release from the mayor’s office.
On the first day alone, over 75 boxes were collected, according to Coulter. Overall, Coulter wrote the drive collected enough items to fill seven trucks, weighing a total of 280 tons.
Rene Fielding, Boston’s director of emergency management, volunteered at the City Hall location of the drive along with several other city employees, volunteers from around the area, and even Miss Commonwealth.
“I’m the city’s emergency management director, so I know how important these supplies are,” Fielding said. “I know a lot of the emergency management staff down [in Houston]. It’s important to show them support and help them out.”
More than 30 volunteers in Government Center worked to pack similar items together and help people as they arrived with donations.
“We’ve filled three or four of those box trucks and were hoping to send down two 18-wheelers,” Fielding said. “All the other collection locations are sending their boxes here and we’re putting them in the trucks. A lot of towns and corporations have been bringing us goods too.”
Steve Coachman, a city employee in the department of property management, helped dozens of donors as they arrived with items to drop off.
“It’s overwhelming,” said Coachman, with a smile. “It’s good we’re all coming together. Everyone is divided with the violence from police, politics and the president. I want to be part of the solution. It’s a good thing the mayor did [too].”
Coachman said a lot of the volunteers at the donation sites were signing up with any free time they had.
“People are coming by [to volunteer] for an hour, 15 minutes, coming out on their lunch break,” Coachman said as he taped closed a full box.
Several Massachusetts residents came to Boston to donate items in support of those affected by the hurricane.
Annette Comer, 56, of Waltham, said she was contributing to the donation effort in order to show support for her company’s headquarters in Houston.
Comer said in these situations it’s important that people work together and aid those suffering no matter their differences.
“In times of need, people have to come together, no matter the race or color,” Comer said. “We hope this never happens here.”
One of her co-workers was able to pick up donations from three local stores, Comer said.
“People in the stores were donating items for her to bring here,” Comer said. “People here have really come together. Boston strong.”
Jill Hedderson, 30, of Lowell, said she was emotional after seeing the tragedy in Houston, and imagined herself in their shoes.
“The pictures, the videos, it was so sad,” Hedderson said. “It could happen here, and if it did, I would hope people would help out the same way.”
Paul Hedderson, 31, of Lowell, said he is donating to give back to a community that showed similar support for him and his family.
“Our family was affected in Sandy, and lost their entire home,” Hedderson said. “We’re just trying to pay it forward.”
