Anderson County Middle School students worked to collect supplies for Eastern Kentucky flood victims

LAWRENCEBURG, Ky. (FOX 56) — While flood victims in Eastern Kentucky are picking up what’s left, students at Anderson County Middle School have been hard at work collecting items to send.

Thursday was an exciting day for students and staff at Anderson County Middle School, as everyone worked together to load a truck full of supplies to send to Eastern Kentucky. Youth service center coordinator Nicole Hitchner said it was uplifting to see the students take such an interest in a project involving helping others.

“It was really honestly so amazing to see how much the kids brought in. This is just a small portion of it that they managed to get in two weeks,” Hitchner said.

This was part of a friendly competition to see who could collect the most, but in the end, students like 7^th grader Abby Sanders and 8^th grader Linkin Adkins said the true prize is the opportunity to help those in need.

“I think that when we can go and give to people in need when we have what we need, I thought it was amazing that we can go and help anybody that needed help,” Sanders said.

“It made me feel good because it’s going to place something in their heart, and they’re going to be excited. My mom helps a business down there with Appalachia. She works with Smile Faith, and I’m just happy that we get to help them, because we have what we need,” Adkins added.

The goods were taken to Appalachian Regional Healthcare in Lexington, where they’ll be sent where they need to go. Both Sanders and Adkins said this was an experience they’ll never forget.

“When I found out what my teacher told me, I was pretty excited, so I went home and told my parents, and we donated a bunch of stuff,” Adkins said.

“There’s so many people that we don’t really know, but they need something right now. We can all help them out,” Sanders added.

With a full truck and a full room of donations, the adults in these kids’ lives, like Hitchner, said there’s a bright future here.

“At this school, we’re a tiny community. Being able to get the kids to reach outside of this community and look out into the local communities for things they can assist with, helping where they can, every small amount goes a long way with stuff like this,” Hitchner said.