FLINT (WJRT) – (03/22/16) – Flint, MI continues to receive support during its water crisis from communities near and far.
Tuesday morning, 70,000 pounds of water was donated to Flint. It came from local churches and community members in Knoxville, Tennessee.
TLD Logistics from Knoxville, TN delivered two semi-truck loads of water to Bunche School on MLK Avenue. People with TLD Logistics heard about the pastor’s plan and lent a helping hand. The company, a branch of Toyota, donated two semi-trucks and volunteered to transport the water to Michigan.
“I think it’s very important. They need a lot of water up there. Right now, they’re going through a tough time, and we’re just glad to help,” said Chris Martin, Senior Operations Manager for TLD Logistics.
The crew initially planned on driving just one truck but had to reserve another due to the amount of water donated.
“We were hoping to fill one truck and had to bring another tractor trailer over Saturday because there was such a turn out, so it’s great. They should be excited, because we are,” said Vince Will, a truck driver for the company.
Pastor Chris Battle of Tabernacle Baptist Church in Knoxville said when they heard about the tragedy in Flint, hearts were moved and the community gathered.
“I went to my church and said, ‘We got to do something. We just can’t talk about it and pray about it. We need to do something.’ So we said, ‘We’re just going to start collecting water.’”
The Knoxville community, including TLD Logistics, wants to continue to help and has plans to bring more water to Flint in the future.