Carolina Hurricanes send a truckload to Texas for Harvey relief

RALEIGH, North Carolina (WTVD) -- The Carolina Hurricanes teamed up with the community to help Hurricane Harvey victims in Texas.

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The relief drive started a few weeks ago and Friday they loaded up a big rig full of supplies to head west.

PNC Arena staffers were hard at work Friday, prepping and loading the trailer to the brim to go to Beaumont, Texas.

"We always do this," PNC Arena assistant general manager, Larry Perkins, said. "When Sandy came, we had some things to take to New York as well, but people wanted a place to give, and we became the perfect center location for people to give."

And give they did - collecting over 45 pallets of supplies and more than $1,600 in gift cards.

The arena plans to send the rest of the supplies that don't fit into the truck to Florida to help Hurricane Irma survivors.

"We're just thankful for everything that everybody participated in, and brought forward and has donated, and we'll continue to raise it until September 20th," Jerry Mosley, general manager of Capital Ford said.

Those collections will be at Carolina Automotive Group dealerships across the Triangle.

While the effort to gather supplies was a collective one between the automotive group, PNC Arena and Carolina Collision Center - the donations themselves come from people just like you - to remind hurricane survivors in Texas to "stay hopeful."

"The whole Triangle came together to give, because they look at those folks in Texas and their heart just goes out to them," Perkins said.