Camrett Logistics from Wytheville, VA donated a tractor and trailer to come to Roanoke Moose Family Center 284 and we will be a collection point for water, non-perishable food items, pet food, diapers, toiletries and other supplies to be provided to Texas for the victims of Hurricane Harvey. The trailer is stationed at the lodge and we hope to get the word out as quickly and loudly as we possibly can. Let’s fill that thing to the brim and get help to those in need as soon as we can.
Call 540-384-7172 for more information about this relief drive.
Visit this event page on Facebook and invite all your friends to participate.
Please download and print this flyer to help spread the word.
Donations will be accepted at
Roanoke Moose Family Center 284 between 10am and 7pm daily.
Camrett Logistics is the employer of Roanoke Moose Lodge Treasurer Keith Garman. Once the trailer is filled, Keith will donate his time to drive the truck down to the great state of Texas. We thank Keith and Camrett Logistics very much for their generosity and allowing us to help with this relief effort.
Update:
Thank you to Buchanan, Dublin, Lynchburg, Manchester, Pearisburg, Powhatan, Pulaski, Vinton, Tazewell, and Wytheville Moose Lodges for stepping up as collection points or for your generous donations towards supplies and the cost of fuel. This was not just a Roanoke Moose Lodge effort, it was a Moose Family effort and we’re pleased to be seeing the support from the surrounding lodges.
Here’s an outstanding recap from Keith Garman regarding the Hurricane Harvey Relief efforts originating from the Roanoke Moose Lodge 284 and supported by a number of local and not-so-local lodges in Virginia. Thanks again to Camrett Logistics, Herc Rentals – Roanoke, and B & M Sheet Metal, Inc. for their loan of equipment and to all the volunteers and donors who made this possible.
Our Hurricane Harvey relief project is COMPLETE. We delivered our load of donations to Gateway Church in Hockley Texas where the distribution of these supplies was directed by Cindy Long, Outreach Pastor of the Church.
Thursday September 7th we completed the final sort of items and loading of the 53’ trailer around 8:00 PM. Once it was loaded we left the lodge to fuel the truck, get a total weight of the unit, and slide the axles to properly distribute the weight on each axle. I then met Cameron in Wytheville and we officially hit the road at midnight.
We drove through taking just 2 short nap breaks arriving in Hockley, Texas by 8 AM Saturday morning, Sept 9th. We were met by thirty Gateway Church volunteers who made short work of unloading the trailer, completing the task in less than 2 hours. All of the items with the exception of the water were placed into a building and the boxes were sorted by item type. Everyone was grateful for the orderly way the Virginia volunteers had sorted and packed the donations. Some of our donations were able to be distributed by as early as Saturday afternoon.
After unloading the trailer, the Gateway volunteers went into the local neighborhoods working to clean out houses that had been flooded. The number of homes lost is between 40,000 and 100,000. This process included removing all personal items from the homes, carpet, drywall, insulation, and anything else down to the bare studded walls. Cameron and I went out into some of the neighborhoods where the group was working. We were able to get a firsthand look at the devastation. As we walked down the streets there were piles on both sides of the street higher than our heads of items removed from homes. Throughout the area there was a smell in the air of musty items, mildew, and sewage.
We had a chance to talk to some of those affected. I was surprised at the attitude of everyone we met. Everyone talked about what they had to do to get back into their home but I did not hear any bitterness in their voices. One of the men we spoke with had to be removed from his home by boat at his front door as the water rushed in. He indicated that the water was over 6 feet deep in his yard as the city released water from the levee to try and control the flooding.
Walking down the street we saw many cars in the street or in garages that had been flooded. People were in the process of trying to get some of these cars started however there was a steady stream leaving the neighborhood on rollbacks and tow trucks. They estimate that over one million cars were damaged by Harvey. I was told that there was a huge staging area where the flooded cars were taken to be sorted by insurance companies for assessing.
I was amazed in the flooded areas was that there was no mud. My experience with flooding has mainly been in Virginia, there was always a lot of mud to deal with when the water receded.
We noticed garage doors were marked with a neon orange spray painted “C” or “H”. A “C” indicated that the residents had “cleared” their home and the “H” meant that residents had stayed (habitat). I saw more “C’s” however; there were quite a few “H’s”.
Our return home from Texas began around 11 am Sunday and after an overnight stop in Mississippi we were back on the road. We arrived in Wytheville around midnight Monday night.
Here are a few of the statistics:
- Gross weight of truck leaving the lodge: 85,760 lbs.
- Empty weight of truck: 30,520 lbs.
- Total weight of donations delivered: 55,240 lbs.
- Total distance driven: 2,442 miles
On our return trip we received word of the final distribution of our donations. Below is a quote from Cindy Long, who coordinated the distribution of the donations.
“Half of your load went to Refugio and Victoria- the other half and water is headed to West Columbia in the morning. West Columbia is desperate for help- they don’t even have water. Even the school district called asking for help. Seven churches are busy distributing all the supplies. They will send me pictures in the days ahead. They all say THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!! “
If you want to see where your donations helped, just look at a map of Texas and find Hockley, Refugio, Victoria, and West Columbia. I am convinced that every item we took to Texas ended up in the hands of someone that was really in need.
In less than 2 weeks after we started this project the trailer was fully loaded and delivered to Texas. Thanks to all for a job well done!! I want to personally say thank you to every individual, every Moose Lodge, every business, every church and every other organization that donated to this project I also would like to thank every volunteer that helped in any way with collections, organizing, packing, loading or any other way that made this project a success.
I would also like to thank Cindy and all the volunteers from Gateway Church who helped with the distribution of our donations and making sure that every item went into the hands of truly needy people. And a thank you to Camrett Logistics for donating the truck and trailer to take these donations to Texas.
We continue to receive donations at the lodge and our intention is to continue collecting donations as long as they come in. These donations will be treated in the same manner as the earlier donations. We will pack these items and make sure they are delivered directly to needy flood victims.
Thanks again all
Keith Garman
Roanoke Moose Family Center 284
Roanoke Moose Family Center 284 