OCHLOCKNEE- Oil Dri Corporation came together for a common cause this holiday season: a donation drive aimed at helping those still recovering from Hurricane Helene and children in the Thomas County community.

The company began accepting donations from various departments, before closing the acceptance period on Thursday at noon. In total, the employees at Oil Dri collected 1,866 canned and boxed food items, 150 toys, 23 sweaters and hats, and 22 blankets.

As a corporation, employees gather once a month for various activities from hotdogs on July 4th to candy and sweets for Valentine’s Day. To spread that idea of camaraderie, Georgia Human Resources Business Partner Katie Bates suggested a donation drive for November and December.

Bates said she thought the drive would pull different sectors of the business together for one shared goal.

The drive soon became a competition between the North and South plant warehouses, the processing department, the packaging department, and the maintenance departments, along with supervisors and HR.

“They would hide their cans and donations until the very end, so no one could see how much they were bringing,” Bates said.

The competition has added a fun flair to the annual giving. Bates said the employees often come together, combining Christmas gift cards to purchase hundreds of canned goods and toys, expecting nothing in return.

When collecting donations, Oil Dri partners with the Halcyon Home to provide toys for women and children.

“In the past, our supervisors have also known of men’s shelters that we divide the food between, but the toys always go to a women’s and children’s shelter,” Bates said.

While the company doesn’t receive a wishlist typically, Bates said last year the drive was aimed at two families who had lost everything in a house fire. Beyond their specific needs, most employees buy toys or plushies for children that their grandchildren and children have been pointing out as popular items.

However, Oil Dri is also partnering with Carrie Collier of Cares for Cairo this year to reach different parts of the community, and Georgia’s neighbors in North Carolina.

Collier works as an EMS paramedic full-time but periodically drives a trailer, parking in areas of Cairo to distribute canned food and other needed items. She is now taking her trailer on the road to North Carolina to visit victims of Helene as the holidays are near.

“She had posted on her Facebook that she was doing the North Carolina run, so I thought that would be a really good way for us to help give back to our sister state,” said HR Specialist Jessica Sellars.

Bates and Sellars had recommended employees donate toys such as stuffed animals and electronics to those in North Carolina, as the plushies would provide comfort to the children and all electronics were likely destroyed from water damage during the hurricane.

“She’s going to take everything she can fit in her trailer, but we will hold some stuff back to give out locally,” Sellars said. “All of the blankets and jackets will be distributed in North Carolina though.”

Sellars explained there are still men, women, and children still living in tents in North Carolina and the company was looking to provide a way to keep them warm as the chilly air continues to roll in.

Knowing the devastation in North Carolina, employees went above and beyond.

“This is our most successful toy drive to date, but our canned food drive has remained steady with about 2,000 cans each year,” Sellars said.

Unfortunately, Oil Dri employees never get to meet the children or families they impact, but Bates knows the donations make a difference, regardless of whether it is ever seen.

“We are just really proud of our guys every year and the outpouring,” Bates concluded. “Groceries are expensive, so it means a lot for our guys to spend their own money to bring happiness to people they probably will never meet. They are a really great group.”