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BUCKHANNON — The countywide flood donation center at West Virginia Wesleyan College is no longer accepting donations of many items that have reached maximum storage capacity.
One week after floodwaters tore through Upshur County, so much has come through the door at the Auxiliary Gymnasium that officials are asking the public to stop donating items such as water, diapers and cleaning supplies. A joint release from the City of Buckhannon, the Upshur County Commission and the Upshur County Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management said an on-site inventory review Tuesday found more than a dozen categories of supplies fully stocked, with no space left to store more.
Officials have since released an updated list of what the site still needs, and they are cutting its daily hours to 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
These items are urgently needed to support flood-impacted households, according to officials:
- Mailboxes
- Shop vacs
- Dehumidifiers
- Dog and cat food
- Hoses and nozzles
- Floor scrapers
- Shovels
- Mops and brooms
- Fans
- Extension cords
- Laundry detergent
- Vinegar
- Diapers (sizes 5 and 6)
Shop vacs, fans and dehumidifiers “remain in high demand for ongoing cleanup and drying operations in affected homes,” officials said Tuesday.
Donations go to the Auxiliary Gymnasium at West Virginia Wesleyan College. The public drop-off is in the parking lot at 151 Cebe Ross Drive, near the gym.
The following are fully stocked and should not be donated until further notice, according to the release:
- Bottled water
- Small diapers
- Paper towels
- Toilet paper
- Bleach
- All-purpose cleaners
- Potato chips
- Hand sanitizer
- Paper plates
- Paper bowls
- Plastic cutlery
- Wipes
- Brooms
- Pet bowls
The center does not accept clothing.
“These items have reached maximum storage capacity, and additional quantities cannot be accommodated,” the release said.
The gym remains the county’s central pickup point, and residents who need supplies can walk in and take what they need. It will be open Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., a change from the 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. schedule it had been keeping.
Officials are evaluating operational needs and will announce a closing date and a final donation deadline once those assessments are finished. Residents are encouraged to use the site this week while supplies last.
Local agencies designated the auxiliary gym as the county’s central drop-off and pickup point within days of the July 21 flood, and at the time the requests were urgent and basic.
“Probably the most urgent needs we have, as the governor said, are water and cleaning supplies,” West Virginia Wesleyan College President James Moore said July 24.
By Saturday, water was no longer needed, and cleanup supplies were sought instead.
“At the Auxiliary Gym at West Virginia Wesleyan College, we have so much drinking water,” mayor Robbie Skinner said Saturday.
Wesleyan is not the only site that has reached capacity. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 179 South Kanawha St., which is distributing clothing, bedding, food and household goods, said in a social media post Tuesday that it could no longer take donations for the time being because of the overwhelming response from the community.
Residents who want to pitch in can still give time instead of goods. Volunteers age 13 and older are needed at the distribution center from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to help move supplies to families.
Anyone who needs help cleaning out a home, or who wants to organize a volunteer group, should call the Upshur County Office of Emergency Management at 304-472-4983 so crews can be sent where they are needed.
