Mankato sisters collect blankets for Hurricane Helene survivors

MANKATO, Minn. (KEYC) - “Within an hour I called my mom and I was like ‘I don’t know what to do mom,” Rhonda Milbertt said.

Rhonda Milbertt and Robyn James have become quite the team after a single Facebook post brought in an overwhelming amount of donations from the Mankato community.

“I don’t think I can ship all these blankets,” Milbert said.

Rhonda and Robyn’s aunt, who lives in west North Carolina shared what her community was in need of: blankets. Their aunt explained many are still without electricity and heat. A cold front is making its way to the state. So now, time is of the essence.

“How am I going to get them there? There’s so many donations coming in,” Milbertt said.

Within two hours of the post, a backup plan had to be made, and her sister Robyn was on it.

“Luckily my sister came in -we’ve got a truck, we’re driving it. So, we’ve got an 18-foot trailer now and we’re going to get it down there,” Milbertt said.

With 50 shares in an hour, this Facebook post was gaining attention. It didn’t take long for Robyn to decide what to do with her free weekend: use her and her husband’s trailer to personally deliver all the donations.

“Instantly. It wasn’t a question for me to donate my time, my trailer, my resources. Um, there was just no question,” James said.

Robyn, who works at Kato Roofing Inc., was able to use the business as a local drop-off location.

The sisters have received 100 blankets, over a dozen cases of water, winter coats and gloves and $1,000 in cash donations for additional items and to help with the cost of travel to North Carolina.

“Fill the trailer. Don’t let any unspace -unused space go down there, so that’s our goal, is to fill the trailer,” James said.

A handful of businesses have also chipped in to donate more blankets, water, baby items, and even pet food. Although the sisters said they are not surprised at how supportive the Mankato community is, they are thankful for those who quickly got involved.

“So, just continuous thanks and prayers for everybody who is down there and going through things,” Milbertt said.

“Like my sister said, I want to thank the community for stepping up and fulfilling this mission for us. We couldn’t do it without the community,” James said.

The sisters are taking donations until Thursday.

You can drop off items at Kato Roofing Inc. from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Indulge Salon & Tanning fom 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Click here to download the KEYC News Now app or our KEYC First Alert weather app.