A faith-based charity is reeling from the loss of donated supplies in this week's flooding.
Dozens of pieces of furniture and thousands of clothing and linen items, waiting for placement in the homes of incoming refugees, were destroyed by floodwaters that struck a basement storage area used by Catholic Charities on Fourth Street.
The organization lost about a dozen beds, 45 sofas, 15 living-room chairs, eight vacuums, four baby cribs, four televisions, six computers, six to eight dressers and about 15 mirrors, according to Chris Clements of Catholic Charities' Migration and Refugee Services.
Also lost were thousands of sheets, blankets and clothing articles, many of them school uniforms being prepared for an upcoming school-supply giveaway for refugee children, he said.
The storage area is in the 2900 block of Fourth Street, between other hard-hit institutions such as Churchill Downs and the University of Louisville.
"The drains were coming up like geysers or fountains" during Tuesday's storm, Clements said. "We actually had to clog them rather than open them because they were causing more problems than good."
He said this is the "worst time to have stuff taken away from us" because summer is the busiest time for the arrival of refugees under federal programs bringing displaced persons from conflict zones. Many refugees are arriving from Myanmar, Iraq, Bhutan, Nepal, Cuba, East Africa and other lands.
Those wanting to help can call Clements at Catholic Charities at 636-9263.
"The community always steps up to our needs but it's going to be an almost impossible task to keep up in the next 2-3 weeks," he said.
Dozens of pieces of furniture and thousands of clothing and linen items, waiting for placement in the homes of incoming refugees, were destroyed by floodwaters that struck a basement storage area used by Catholic Charities on Fourth Street.
The organization lost about a dozen beds, 45 sofas, 15 living-room chairs, eight vacuums, four baby cribs, four televisions, six computers, six to eight dressers and about 15 mirrors, according to Chris Clements of Catholic Charities' Migration and Refugee Services.
Also lost were thousands of sheets, blankets and clothing articles, many of them school uniforms being prepared for an upcoming school-supply giveaway for refugee children, he said.
The storage area is in the 2900 block of Fourth Street, between other hard-hit institutions such as Churchill Downs and the University of Louisville.
"The drains were coming up like geysers or fountains" during Tuesday's storm, Clements said. "We actually had to clog them rather than open them because they were causing more problems than good."
He said this is the "worst time to have stuff taken away from us" because summer is the busiest time for the arrival of refugees under federal programs bringing displaced persons from conflict zones. Many refugees are arriving from Myanmar, Iraq, Bhutan, Nepal, Cuba, East Africa and other lands.
Those wanting to help can call Clements at Catholic Charities at 636-9263.
"The community always steps up to our needs but it's going to be an almost impossible task to keep up in the next 2-3 weeks," he said.
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