FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2022
STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Tarleton State University’s Student Government Association is sponsoring a bottled water and sports drink drive through Friday to benefit emergency personnel fighting wildfires in the area.
“Like everyone else, we wanted to help the situation in some way,” said Tarleton Student Body President Walker Kirk. “But we knew we couldn’t exactly be on the front lines.
“The first responders have done an outstanding job, so we realized that we could collect resources for them and the families affected by all of this. We want them to know that Tarleton State stands with them!”
Water and drink donations may be brought to the Jones Street turnaround on the Stephenville campus from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The drive is part of a larger effort to gather items needed not only by first responders but by victims of the fire.
Crews in Central Texas are working to contain massive, windswept wildfires that have burned homes and destroyed a church. Strengthened by drought conditions, the fires merged to form a “complex” centered near Eastland. Hundreds of homes have been evacuated in smaller communities as the fire has consumed more than 45,000 acres.
Erath County Emergency Management is working with affected counties and state agencies to assist.
Items being sought include baby wipes, water, sports drinks, new cotton socks, new cotton T-shirts, lip balm, individual portioned snacks, hand sanitizer and personal toiletries like travel-sized toothpaste, toothbrushes, toilet paper and deodorant.
Drop off items at the Erath County Sheriff’s Office, 1043 Glen Rose Highway, and Walker Insurance Agency, 155 N. Graham St. #102 in Stephenville. The Dublin Chamber of Commerce is taking donations at the old school gym in the 400 block of North Post Oak in Dublin.
For more information, contact the numbers listed at the donation sites or Erath County Emergency Management at 254-965-1326.
A founding member of The Texas A&M System, Tarleton State is breaking records — in enrollment, research, scholarship, athletics, philanthropy and engagement — while transforming the lives of nearly 17,000 students in Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Bryan and online. True to Tarleton’s values of excellence, integrity and respect, academic programs emphasize real world learning and address regional, state and national needs.