NCCU students collect donations for displaced McDougald Terrace residents

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Tuesday, January 14, 2020
Donations accepted for displaced McDougald Terrace residents
Advocates are helping gather supplies for families living in hotels while living conditions at McDougald Terrace are improved.

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- The latest organized donation drive for people displaced from their McDougald Terrace homes brought much needed supplies to a collection point outside the Food Lion on Fayetteville Street.

Kimberley Pierce Cartwright from the North Carolina Central University-based jazz radio station WNCU told us she spoke with some of the residents and advocates about donations they hope to collect.

"They need non-perishable food items, things that you can whip up really quickly because they don't have stoves to be able to cook full meals for their family. They need detergent, they need paper towels, things like toilet paper," Pierce Cartwright said.

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Those items and more were collected outside the Food Lion between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Tuesday as WNCU broadcast live updates over the radio.

"I watched the news this morning and saw where y'all were doing the food drive, so I packed my stuff, came on and brought it," said Winnie Scott, the day's first donor.

SEE MORE | A look inside Durham public housing amid failing federal scores

While tests for carbon monoxide continue at McDougald Terrace, the Salvation Army in Durham's still accepting donations as organizers prepare to move those donations to a centralized location. On Monday they reviewed a larger space at the former University Ford dealership near the American Tobacco campus; they hope to convert that space into a center for donations and pick ups for the displaced residents.

RELATED | How to help families forced to leave McDougald Terrace amid carbon monoxide scare