During the holiday season, our minds are hyper-focused on creating and delivering thousands of goods all across the country. From production and fulfillment to our retail operations, it's a non-stop, round-the-clock logistical grind.
However, the devastation and disaster produced by tornados in our home state has caused our entire team to pause and grieve. The Clayton & Crume journey began a decade ago in a dorm room at our college, Western Kentucky University, in the beautiful town of Bowling Green - one of the areas hit hardest by the natural disaster.
With a box truck sitting idle in our production space parking lot, a bustling retail store in one of Louisville’s busiest areas, and all of the ties we still maintain to our alma mater and Bowling Green, the desire to give and provide others with opportunity to assist has been great.
In response, Clayton & Crume will be committing $5,000 towards relief, in addition to launching an effort to directly support those affected in Bowling Green at our Flagship retail store in Louisville.
Per the needs expressed by our friends in Bowling Green, along with the American Red Cross, we’ll be collecting the following items:
-Tarps
-Non-perishable food
-Cases and/or pallets of bottled water
-Generators
-Gas Cans
-Sleeping bags
-Duct tape
-Warm winter clothing-- coats, blankets, etc.
-Hygiene/Personal care items
-Pet food
-Diapers & baby wipes
Our mission is to fill our truck within the next couple of days and drive everything to Bowling Green as soon as possible.
Here’s our call-to-action….
If you’re local to Louisville: come to our store in NULU starting 12PM today (Sunday, December 12) and drop off items listed above (our truck will be parked outside our retail store). It’s our hope that the truck will be full within 48-72 hours. If our ability as a community to give continues to grow, we will make more trips to Bowling Green and will continue using our truck to collect donations.
And if you’re out of state: We would be very appreciative of your support. You can DONATE HERE and we will be directing 100% of those funds to people and organizations in Bowling Green that need assistance. We’ll work with locals and those from our university community to get dollars directly in the hands of families that need it most to provide immediate shelter and necessities such as food, generators, and hotel accomodations. Anything remaining will be donated to the American Red Cross in Bowling Green for continued relief. As of this morning, we have already sent $500 directly to friends to provide groceries and meals to other families staying in their house.
While we cannot erase the damage, grieving or loss caused by this natural disaster, we can coordinate an effort that emphasizes the generosity of our C&C community and the spirit of giving that the holidays bring.
During a time that our team is hyper-focused on fulfillment, we find it prudent to give focus to helping a community and town that still feels like home.
As Proud Kentuckians, we hope you’ll join us in making a difference.
