PYLESVILLE, Md. —
Two young brothers from Harford County are doing their part to help hurricane victims down south.
With the help of their mother, Jackson, 10, and Nicholas Watkins, 8, organized a donation drive and collected a trailer full of supplies that will head to North Carolina to help victims of Hurricane Helene.
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The boys wanted to do something to help after their father, Brandon Watkins -- a fire captain in Baltimore County and past chief of the Norrisville Volunteer Fire Co. -- was deployed to the area to assist with recovery efforts by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
"They wanted to go to North Carolina with chainsaws, ready to cut some trees and help help daddy," the boys' mother, Kaitlyn Watkins, told 11 News.
Instead, the boys organized a donation drive, got a 53-foot trailer and brought the community together to fill it with much-needed supplies that Nicholas said included water, pillows, clothes, food, diapers, wipes and toiletries.
"So, we were taking stuff out of people's trunks and we just got all the stuff out and we put it in the trailer," Nicholas told 11 News.
"It was really humbling to see them working together and helping the community come together to fill this huge truck," Kaitlyn Watkins told 11 News.
WBAL
Two young boys from Harford County -- Jackson, 10, and Nicholas Watkins, 8 -- accomplished a big task in their efforts to help those affected by hurricanes.
Giving back is in their blood: Kaitlyn Watkins is a firefighter-paramedic with Norrisville, and both of the boys' grandfathers also volunteer there. Their grandmother, Holly Testerman, is the president of the fire company.
"It was wonderful. I'm very proud of them," Testerman told 11 News. "It runs in our family, we're just that kind of people ... It's a great community. That's what we do up here in Norrisville."
In addition to donations, the boys also helped to collect almost $2,000 for hurricane victims. Now, instead of returning home, their dad will head to Florida to help even more people -- which is exactly what inspired the boys to do something.
"Because our dad is helping and we wanted to help, too," Jackson told 11 News.
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