I went to graduate school in Auburn, Alabama, and I loved every second of it. I loved all things Alabama (except maybe the heat and mosquitoes), and two weeks ago, as I watched the devastation in north Alabama caused by massive tornadoes, I felt heartbroken. So many killed, injured and homeless - it was awful. My dear friend Shannon felt the same way, and wondered on Facebook one night if maybe we could help somehow. If she could get a truck donated, could we get enough donations to fill it up and send it to Alabama?
The answer to that question was a resounding yes. Shannon secured a semi truck from her husband's grocery company as well as a driver, and we started calling everyone we knew in London to help out. She called our efforts "From London with Love." We plastered the town with flyers,
went on the local news and
pestered the newspaper until they ran an article about it. The response from our community was overwhelming. Within about a week, we had enough donations to fill a 53 foot truck.
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| Prepping donations at my house the day before loading the truck |
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| Shannon and I at the Laurel Grocery Warehouse |
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| We sorted all the donated items into boxes by type, then labeled and sealed them. |
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| Once sealed, the boxes were stacked on pallets and wrapped for transport. |
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| Our truck, generously donated by Laurel Grocery |
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| Loading one of many pallets on the truck. By the end, the truck was full with two boxes in the cab. |
Shannon's husband Winston accompanied the driver to Harvest, Alabama, where he dropped our donations off at the United Way warehouse and viewed some of the damage. You can see coverage of his trip
here, on the Huntsville news.
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| This was a grocery store. |
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| Most of a neighborhood, gone. |
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| An American flag on what's left of the roof. |
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We were grateful to be able to help in some small way. It will be years before Tuscaloosa, Huntsville, and all the small towns like Harvest recover from these storms. While the media has moved on to other, bigger, stories, please remember the people of Alabama and keep them in your thoughts.
War Eagle and Roll Tide.
1 comment:
We were so impressed with your efforts to help the folks in Alabama. This was all the more significant since you sandwiched it in between giving and grading your final American History exams and coordinating the March of Dimes Walk for Babies yesterday that raised $30,000! Needless so say, your father and I are very proud of you!
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