TALBOTTON, Ga. — Dozens of families had Channel 2 Action News viewers to thank Saturday after your donations from Convoy of Care reached victims of a deadly tornado earlier this month.
After a weeklong donation drive for tornado victims, three trucks loaded with food, water and supplies arrived in Talbot County Saturday afternoon.
The EF-4 tornado killed 23 people in Alabama before moving into Georgia on March 3 as an EF-3 and leaving several communities devastated.
Channel 2's Christian Jennings traveled along with the convoy to Talbotton, where our partners helped pass out much-needed supplies to Georgia victims of the storms.
Eslene Shockley is the founder of Caring for Others, one of the organizations WSB-TV partners with for Convoy of Care.
"We have three tractor-trailer loads here of a mixture of products," Shockley said. "It's a good thing because when we came to Talbotton a week ago and saw the devastation, we knew we had to get involved."
Shockley even bought $4,000 worth of gift cards and handed them out to everyone who came by, giving them a much-needed head start on moving forward.
Willie Epps was one of hundreds of people who came out to the Piggly Wiggly in Talbotton to collect free food, clothes and everyday items.
Epps' home on Highway 41 was destroyed in the tornado, but luckily, he and his wife were not in town when the tornado destroyed his house and car.
"It's totally different when you see it on a picture or video than seeing it in person," Epps said. "It was unbelievable."
Time to get these trucks unloaded! The Convoy of Care has arrived in Talbot County with your donations to help tornado victims: https://t.co/8jWnWVWKA3 pic.twitter.com/FpbTHlH1Az
— WSB-TV (@wsbtv) March 16, 2019
I had no service earlier. But this was what we saw when we first pulled into Talbotton. Horrible. People were so happy to see the #ConvoyofCare. I’ll post videos soon and look for my story at 6 on @wsbtv pic.twitter.com/lMGjhqjqYK
— Christian Jennings (@CJenningsWSB) March 16, 2019
Convoy of Care Heading to Talbot CountyCONVOY OF CARE: Supplies that YOU donated are heading down to help tornado victims. Channel 2's Christian Jennings is riding along with them and will have live reports on Channel 2 Action News at Noon. https://2wsb.tv/2EwAKtq
Posted by WSB-TV on Saturday, March 16, 2019
Henrietta Howard and her niece, Mardene Willis, were blown away by the generosity of Channel 2 Action News viewers.
"You realize people really care," Howard said. "We're just a small county, poor county, but we've never had anything like this, and it's really brought people together."
Howard said she was just glad no one in her community was killed and said she knew Talbotton could get through the storm.
"We're very appreciative that people are coming here and giving us support," Epps said.
Just like you did for Hurricane Michael victims in October, you stepped up to help your neighbors, and now those donations are in the hands of people who need them.
Cox Media Group
