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The scenes of destruction in south Texas brought on by Hurricane Harvey had a personal impact on LRS Architects job captain Sean Bolden, a Houston native.

鈥淢y younger brother lost his apartment in Galveston,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 left my vehicle with my mom when I moved up here and my car got flooded.鈥�

Bolden responded by helping organize an effort to collect donations for victims. It’s scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 16, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., in the parking lot behind LRS Architects’ offices at 720 N.W. Davis St. Meanwhile, ZGF Architects has joined the collection effort, setting up two bins in its second-floor mail room to receive donations.

Bolden’s family was relatively lucky. Although his family’s street flooded, he said, their house stayed dry.

鈥淚 won’t be able to go back until about Christmastime,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat is the reason I wanted to get something down there.鈥�

Bolden contacted the Awakenings Movement, a nondenominational 501c3 church he attended while in Houston, to learn what items were needed. He said he chose a local organization instead of a national group like the Red Cross because of its connections within the community.

鈥淭his organization is actually on the ground in the neighborhoods,鈥� Bolden said. 鈥淭hese people are in the streets every day. The organization sent us specifics as to what they are looking for.鈥�

Those items include bottled water, new toiletries and baby products such as nonperishable baby food, wipes and new socks.

The church, according to its Facebook page, started operating in 2005 and serves more than 800 people.

鈥淭hey are very Portland for a Houston church,鈥� Bolden said.

While the primary focus is on collecting essential items, people can also give tax-deductible cash donations through the