BUCKHANNON – The Buckhannon Kroger recently partnered with the Buckhannon Fire Department to provide drinking water and cleaning supplies to flood victims in Kentucky.

Lisa Brown, the manager of the Buckhannon Kroger, said the items donated were delivered to Kentucky in August.

“Sending supplies to Kentucky was part of our commitment to the communities that we serve, and Kroger strives to help whenever and wherever we can,” Brown said. “We donated two pallets of water, a pallet of cleaning supplies that had mops, brooms, Clorox wipes, toilet paper rolls, you name it.”

Brown said she was inspired by the community outreach the store received after the local Kroger suffered a fire that shut them down for almost a year.

“People in the community helped us, they helped the team,” she said. “I was the Elkins manager at the time, but they helped the team, they checked on us, so we’re just trying to show the community we’re paying that forward.”

Buckhannon Fire Chief JB Kimble said a local family used to live in the area affected by the flooding and put them in touch with another fire department in Kentucky, who told them what items were needed.

“A lot of times when something like that happens, areas get overwhelmed with stuff they don’t need, and we don’t want to send stuff that won’t be used,” Kimble said. “We linked up with them and they told us what they needed, and they made sure it got to the right areas.”

He said the vehicle was full of requested items to help in the immediate aftermath of the storms.

“People always think they need clothes, but if they have laundry detergent, they can clean their own clothes — stuff like that,” Kimble said. “People need things you don’t think about: toothpaste, toothbrushes, razors, female items and baby diapers. We wanted to help organize a list of things they needed and a place to put it so we could get it to the people that needed it.”