Joliet sends relief supplies to states hit by hurricanes

The Joliet area is sending nearly two semitrailers full of hurricane relief supplies to southern states.

The semitrailers were filled with donations from area residents who showed up Friday and Saturday with a large amounts of water, nonperishable items, and other supplies that should prove useful to those devastated by the impact of Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

“We had people coming through the line saying they were so glad the city did something,” said Joliet City Council member Joe Clement, who was instrumental in organizing the relief effort.

The city joined with Cadence Cares, a charitable offshoot of Joliet-based Cadence Premier Logistics, to organize the relief effort for victims of the hurricanes that wrought devastation in the southern U.S. in September.

“We filled a whole semitrailer and three-fourths of another semitrailer in 16 hours,” Clement said Monday. “The trucks are leaving tomorrow.”

The trucks will go to the Northeast Tennessee Disaster Relief Center at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee.

Clement said a long list of local businesses and organizations were involved in the relief effort, and the same group will prepare for another relief effort in November.

“There are so many people who helped out,” Clement said.

The next relief effort is tentatively planned for Nov. 8-9. Details will be announced at a later time.

Contributions on Saturday included blankets, water, and an assortment of items needed for people who lost their homes or are struggling to recover from the hurricanes.

The amount of donations provided in a short time was impressive, said Rocky Caylor, founder and president of Cadence Cares.

“The residents here in Joliet and Will County really stepped up,” Caylor said. “This has been without question the most successful collection I have been involved in.”