BLOUNT COUNTY, Tenn. — Community members in Blount County are looking out for Maryville College students who were unable to leave campus during the COVID-19 pandemic.
About two dozen students are still living on campus -- including international students who had no other place to go and couldn't go home due to travel restrictions.
To show support and appreciation for those students, Kirsten Sheppard, Director of International Education, said faculty and alumni came up with the 'Back Porch Project.'
They collect food and other supplies students might need and drop them off at the back porch of the campus international house.
"To some degree, what we’re doing is eliminating the need to go out and be exposed to the virus, and on the other hand providing them with things they might need because they don’t have transportation,” Sheppard said.
The college said it has been overwhelmed by the response from the community and that it no longer needs donations.
Besides food and such, people are Zooming and calling them so they won’t get lonely.