BRISTOL, Tenn. — Relief efforts for Northeast Tennessee continue at Bristol Motor Speedway. The popular track has turned from hosting races to distributing donations. After two weeks of operations leaders say they are full of certain donation needs.
Amanda Delp, the director of the Northeast Tennessee Disaster Relief Center, said the donation need has shifted from food and water to generators and warmer clothes. The reason for the shift in donation is due to cooler temperatures approaching the mountain towns of east Tennessee.
Delp said she and her team are thankful for all the donations they've gotten from the community. The center no longer needs water, food, cleaning supplies, paper goods (paper towels, toilet paper), dog and cat food, rakes, shovels and diapers (baby and adult).
Donations are coming locally and across the country.
"We have trucks coming in as far as Maine, California. We have trucks from Texas, Louisiana and basically all over the country," Delp said. "We also have a lot of support from Tennessee and our surrounding counties."
Delp said they are seeing a demand for other items.
Some of the things the center needs are small propane heaters (heater buddies), large propane tanks and small canisters, generators, chain saws, dehumidifiers, new blankets, Hot Hands and new winter clothing (men and women size 3XL to 4XL).
The center is also changing its hours of operation as they're now focusing its manpower on distribution.
BMS is also serving as a call center. They have seven active phone lines to help survivors with resources and direct donors.
According to Delp, trucks are traveling to at least 13 counties with loads of donations. That includes counties in East Tennessee and western North Carolina.