150 Weather Radios Donated to Highlands Residential

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Cookeville donated 150 NOAA weather radios to Highlands Residential Services on August 6th.

Highlands Residential Services is the public housing authority for Putnam, Jackson and Clay counties serving the towns of Cookeville, Monterey, Algood, Baxter, Gainesboro and Celina. With 609 homes providing low-income, affordable housing to approximately 1,100 people ranging in age from birth to 93.

“After the terrible tornadoes that ravaged the Upper Cumberland this spring, we found that many of us and many of our neighbors had a lot of anxiety about the storms that continued to roll through our area,” Minister Deanna Lack of Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Cookeville said. “We wanted to do something to help our neighbors, but as a small congregation we couldn’t raise the funds to help in a big way… When we heard about Stonecom’s project to sell weather radios, we thought it might be a good partnership, and our member Rochelle Turner put us in touch with Highlands Residential Services to help us find people who needed the radios. Everything fell into place.”

These 150 radios are being dispersed across their many housing complexes to those who need them most. Ranging from single moms to elderly residents who may not have a smart phone or a different way of knowing about severe weather.

“I am so grateful for this opportunity to help others in this manner,” Kathy Smith of Highlands Residential Services said.

Wilson Bank and the stations of Stonecom Radio joined together on The Bank On Warnings Program to promote storm awareness in the region. The need for a second alert system in your home remains critical during severe weather.

Thanks to Wilson Bank and the family at Stonecom Radio, more than half the price of each radio was subsidized to keep the costs of each radio low for families across the region.