Virginia company providing tools Saturday

Published 1:49 pm Friday, September 8, 2017

Port Arthur residents looking to rebuild after Hurricane Harvey will find it just a little bit easier to do so if they make a stop by their local museum Saturday. After all, one needs the right tools for the job; and one out-of-state company plans to provide residents with those tools.

Virginia-based Cortina Productions is teaming up with the Museum of the Gulf Coast to give out free carpentry tools and supplies on a first-come first-serve basis at noon Saturday in the museum parking lot.

Even though the company is based out of McLean, Va., it has Port Arthur ties.

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“I grew up here in Port Arthur,” Amy Maddox, creative director at Cortina Productions, said. “And we were really affected by all the devastation we saw going on.

“‘We can do something,’ we said, and we put out the word on social media and asked people to donate specific supplies and tools aimed at cleanup and rebuilding.”

Maddox said she and her coworkers rented a cargo van to transport all the donated tools they collected to make the trip to Port Arthur and the Museum of the Gulf Coast.

“I’ve been to the Museum (of the Gulf Coast), and I thought they’d be interested in helping us give out donations,” Maddox said.

Among the items to be given out are contractor bags, particle masks, vinegar, spray bottles, box fans and worker gloves.

“We’ve got saws used to cut away dry wall and we’ve got pry bars to remove things like boards and nails,” Maddox said.

“We really focused on rebuilding. We’ve some folks in our company who assisted after Katrina; so, we really wanted to focus on a need that people have.”

Maddox estimated their supply numbers to include 3,000 particle masks, 100 screwdrivers and 40 pry bars. In addition, there would be a note included on some tools to remind users to be charitable with them.

“I think we’ve got a unique twist,” Maddox said of the donated tools. “We hope people will use it and pass it on. We’re hoping these tools will keep circulating through the community. And that when (people) are finished with them, they’ll pass them on.”

The donation spot will be in the rear parking lot of the museum on 700 Procter St. in Port Arthur.