News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
The Clarkrange Lady Buffaloes adopted Hampton High School in east Tennessee, conducting a charitable drive to help support victims of Hurricane Helene.
Head coach Lamar Rogers said he felt for a rural community like Hampton fighting through such devastation. Rogers said he knew their head coach through years of coaching and decided to help put together a drive for supplies.
“We thought about it and we started talking to the players,” Rogers said. “And they started bringing stuff and then we got it on Facebook, we got it on the radio and in the newspapers and just a lot of people from Fentress County, Jamestown and Clarkrange started donating stuff.”
The team collected food, clothes, hygiene supplies, baby supplies and equipment for the long clean up process that Hampton will go through. Rogers said they received more than what they were expecting and noted how grateful he is to be in such a giving community.
“Fentress County is made up of different communities, but really it’s just the same types of people that would help in a situation like this,” Rogers said. “We felt really good about it, we felt real proud after it was over that we helped a little bit given how devastated they were over there.”
Hampton High School lost their football field, part of the school and the gym due to flooding. Rogers said that this season the basketball teams for Hampton would play in the elementary school’s gym.
The team took a covered trailer jam packed of supplies to the community, Rogers said people were donating items until the trailer left for Hampton. He said this has sparked an urge to continue in their charitable efforts.
“Clarkrange Lady Buffaloes has a platform that we need to use more for things like this,” Rogers said. “We’ve got name recognition and people want to help. The girls are really excited.”
