SOMERSET COUNTY, Pa. (WJAC) — Wednesday afternoon at Ideal Market, Johnstown native Karen purchased something other than just groceries.
"I donated three cases of water for the hurricane folks, because I used to live in Florida, so I know what it's like," she told 6 News.
The donations are being taken by volunteers from 3C's Church in Central City, home of the Machine Gun Preacher.
The items will soon be delivered to Florida to help the victims devastated by the impacts of Hurricane Ian.
David Shaffer was one of the volunteers accepting donations outside of the grocery store along Walnut Street this week.
"It feels really good, because until a catastrophe happens to you, you never know how that feels," he told 6 News.
Organizers are asking for non-perishable foods, cases of water, baby products, sanitary items, gift cards, and even generators.
Donations are being accepted for the next week or so -- at the following locations -- before their truck leaves in about ten days:
"The hope is we fill the trailer, so hopefully we have a full tractor trailer load to go down," Shaffer told 6 News.
Five members of 3C's Church currently have their boots on the ground in Florida helping to clean up debris.
Five more volunteers will join them once these donations are brought down.
"People are bathing in the ocean right now. There's no water. There's no cell service. It's pretty rough. The people are definitely devastated right now."
That's what Michael Ragozzino, the Lead Pastor at 3C's Church and leader of Angels of East Africa, told 6 News on Wednesday.
"Houses are just demolished. They don't even know where to start. There's just really no hope right now. So, that's what we're trying to do. We're trying to show everybody -- we can all chip in -- and really make a difference," he said.
Organizers say that no donation is insignificant and anything helps.
"I don't want anybody to think, man, what could I do with one case of water? Well, if I get 100 people that think that, and all of the sudden I got 100 cases of water, and that helps out," Ragozzino told 6 News.
He says volunteers with the church will be on site in Florida for months to carry out their mission of teaching the 3C's: character, confidence, and compassion.
"It's better to show people that we're better together. If we're united, we're strong. If we're divided, we fall. That's what we were built on. It's just showing that each one of us can do a little something to make a big difference," Ragozzino said.
"You take so much out of the world. This is just something you can do to give back, which is what we're supposed to do as Americans, I believe. We believe," Ragozzino said.
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