SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — A small business in Scranton is collecting donations to help Hurricane Helene victims in North Carolina stay warm as the weather grows cold.
This store owner felt compelled to help the victims of Hurricane Helene in any way she could.
We've seen many drives of supplies across the region but this one focuses on necessities needed to keep warm as the weather turns cold.
Inside the curiosity shop at Green Ridge Corners is a sign of the community's generosity. Piles of boxes taped up and ready to ship. Filled with items to keep hurricane victims warm.
"One of the requests that I keep seeing is, blankets, hats, mittens, socks, so I thought those are easy to ship," said Petraitis.
Owner Michelle Petraitis has been collecting the items for just over a week. The drive has collected seven boxes full of items so far.
Most of the donated items are new purchases but one woman went beyond the ask using her talents to crochet 20 hats.
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"They'll be going out in this shipment," says Petraitis
Petraitis tells 28/22 News, that seeing the destruction online urged her to do something herself to help those who lost everything on September 28.
"The videos that were coming out of the flooding and the mass destruction and seeing the homes destroyed but it's not just people's homes it's their entire communities," stated Petraitis.
If you're looking to donate you can simply drop off the items inside the gift shop on East Market Street in Scranton.
"We were asking for new merchandise, but if you have very gently used clean merchandise, I don't want to have to shuffle through anything. I would like to be able to send it right off to them and not have to wash anything," noted Petraitis.
You can drop off items inside The Curiosity Shop, during business hours Tuesday through Saturday.
