The City of Covington is initiating a gift card drive to benefit members of Apalachee High School and first responders from Barrow County following the shooting that took place at the school on Wednesday, Sept. 4.

Per a city of Covington Facebook post, the gift cards will be accepted from Thursday, Sept. 5 through Thursday, Sept. 12. The gift cards will then be delivered on Friday, Sept. 13.

People are encouraged to purchase the gift cards from either a restaurant, grocery store or other stores.

“Place the gift card in a sealed envelope along with a card or note of encouragement and support,” the Facebook post read. “If you are donating multiple gift cards, please put them in separate envelopes. Write on the outside of the envelope ‘Apalachee’ so it will be routed correctly.”

There are two seperate drop-off locations for the gift cards and envelopes.

The first is Covington City Hall, located at 2194 Emory Street NW (Open 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday through Friday). The second is the Covington Welcome Center, located at 1143 Oak Street SE (Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday or from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m on Saturdays).

“Covington is about community so let's love on the Winder/Barrow County community in the coming days as we demonstrate that community is not bound by geographical borders,” the Facebook post read.