Help from Hampton Roads

The community response to WAVY’s 3-day hurricane relief fundraiser at Harbor Park was nothing short of amazing.

The drive was held Oct. 8-10, from 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. each day.

In that short time frame, thanks to the community’s generosity, 10 On Your Side:

Filled an 18-wheeler with much-needed donated goods
Filled a charter bus. Among the items on board are 14 generators.
Filled a 26-foot truck with donations.
Filled four box trucks.

In addition to the tangible donations, the effort also collected more than $6,600 as of Thursday evening. Please keep those donations coming to help Mercy Chefs. Click here to make a donation.

Wednesday afternoon, 10 On Your Side put out an urgent appeal looking for a forklift and a certified operator to load all the donated goods seen in the image below. Within four minutes, we had two volunteers and people continued to stop by wanting to help after that.

Thank you!

These are the goods that need to be lifted into the truck for transport.

“It could have been us.” Those were the words of a Hampton Roads woman as she shared her motivation for sending supplies to the victims of Hurricane Helene with a WAVY/WVBT crew.

WAVY-TV 10, FOX43 and the CW Hampton Roads was proud to partner with Mercy Chefs and Smiley’s Heating & Cooling to launch “Help from Hampton Roads,” aimed to support victims in need of assistance after Hurricane Helene by raising donations and supplies needed.

Servpro also stepped in to help when we needed another forklift on Thursday. A big thank you also to Oasis Social Ministry which helped move a ton of overflow donations to the Mercy Chef’s hanger.

And a big thank you to Chick-fil-A on Frederick Boulevard which provided sandwiches for all of the hard working volunteers!

Related Coverage:

Mercy Chefs Fundraiser

Tuesday, Oct. 8 – 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 9 – 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 10 – 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Location: Harbor Park Parking Lot B

Parking lot instructions

Harbor Park allowed the use of Parking Lot B for the drive. Meanwhile, Mercy Chefs donated a semi-truck and Smiley’s Heating & Cooling is donating a bus and two box trucks to fill up with everything that is collected.

The U.S. Navy is joining in to help pack up the trucks — making this an all-hands-on-deck event!

Some of the supplies most needed includes: hygiene products, baby formula, diapers, wipes, adult diapers, dog food, paper products, etc.

See the full list of needed supplies:

Baby formula (ready to feed)
Adult and baby diapers
Socks
Unopened, non-perishable food items (peanut butter, crackers, nutrition bars)
Sunscreen
Bug spray
Baby wipes
Feminine hygiene items
Powdered drink mix
Toothbrushes
Toothpaste
Trash bags
Toiletries
Hand sanitizer
Cleaning supplies
Hygiene products
Dog food

They will not be accepting clothing.

For those unable to drop off supplies, fear not! You can still participate in helping the hurricane victims by giving a monetary donation by clicking here.

“We are honored to harness the power of 10 On Your Side on-air, online, and with our community partners to raise awareness and gather much-needed aid for hurricane victims,” said Carol Ward, Vice President and General Manager of WAVY-TV 10, FOX43 and CW Hampton Roads. “After seeing the devastation, we knew immediate action was necessary. Teaming up with Mercy Chefs and Smiley’s Heating & Cooling will allow us to make a significant impact.”

Businesses and organizations interested in contributing can email helpfromhamptonroads@wavy.com/

Meanwhile, WAVY’s parent company, Nexstar, has partnered with the American Red Cross to collect donations for those impacted by both Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton. Click here to donate now.

Continue to check WAVY.com for updates.