Pearl River County hosts giant garage sale to help storm victims - WLOX.com - The News for South Mississippi

Pearl River County hosts giant garage sale to help storm victims

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PEARL RIVER COUNTY, MS (WLOX) -

The gymnasium at Pearl River Upper Elementary School is filled with clothing, household goods and a variety of donated merchandise. It's the site of a countywide "garage sale" to help the victims of the Christmas Day tornadoes. And it's just the latest example of community support for those who lost everything.

Shoppers browse through the bargains in a gymnasium filled with donations.

"Countywide garage sale. It's fill a bag for five dollars. And all the donations go to the tornado victims," said volunteer Nicole Speir.

"People are pitching in. We've had volunteers that are just amazing people. I've met some great people. And we've just been blessed around here," she said.

Jim and Betty Glydewell of Picayune are happy to help. They bought some toys for their grandson Jonah, while also reaching out to neighbors in need.

"We just thought we'd come by for a donation and see what they had," said Mrs. Glydewell.

"Fire station got so many donations they had to start turning people away. And a lot of people are really kind hearted," added her husband.

Principal Darlene Hall sees the evidence of those kind hearted neighbors.

"Unreal the amount of outpouring. Monetary and physical donations," she said.

Less than a mile from this school, the storm scars are still fresh.

"If you ride down the road, it's really scary to see the devastation that happened to our community.  Many, many of our residents lost their homes.  And we're trying to do what we can to help 'em," said the principal.

Toys and clothes and goods covering the gym floor offer the latest opportunity to reach out and help. Shoppers buy and donate, while an abundant supply of volunteers help organize.

"Lots of people have come in and donated an hour or two hours. And helped sort clothes. As you can see, there's quite a bit of donations here, so it's been a great outpouring," said Amy Esslinger.

The sale and fund raising continues Friday morning. Volunteers in Pearl River County say along with helping their immediate neighbors, they've also been able to assist some of the tornado victims in Stone County as well.

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