More than week after Hurricane Harvey hit the Texas Gulf Coast, organizations in Knoxville are still working to bring necessities to victims.
New Life Ministries on Fairmont Avenue in North Knoxville is collecting donations. On Wednesday, they will take two trucks full of food, water and other essentials to churches in the Houston area.
Jayme Tharp, pastor of the church, has friends with churches in the Houston area.
“We are taking loads of sheet rock screws, sheet rock, diapers, water, items like this to them because their Home Depot is not open. Their Lowe’s is not open. Their Walmart is not open. They have nothing,” Tharp said.
He and his wife will make the 17-hour trek with two others from the church.
"We're kind of anxious, I guess a little apprehensive and scared at this point because they said a lot of the gas stations are closed, and so we're going to load up some five gallon jugs of gas in the back of the truck," he said.
Tharp is no stranger to natural disasters.
"We went down to Katrina right after it happened. We saw the devastation there, and it was horrific," he said.
Deirdre Marsh, a member at New Life Ministries, also understands the aftermath of a hurricane. She moved to Knoxville 12 years ago after losing everything she had in Hurricane Katrina.
"I know those people's pain. I know their hearts. I know exactly where they are because I've been there," Marsh said.
"I'm glad I'm part of a church that decided to do something," she added.
The church will be accepting drop-off donations until they leave for Texas on Monday. They hope to bring a little bit of the volunteer spirit to the Lone Star State when it needs it most.