Logistics Plus (LP) Senior Vice President Gretchen Seth is an American Red Cross volunteer on their Disaster Assistance Team. For her latest Red Cross adventure, Gretchen was tasked with driving an Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV) from Lewistown, Pennsylvania, to Charlotte, North Carolina, to assist with the disaster relief efforts caused by Hurricane Helene. The story below is in Gretchen’s words.
*********
Hi all,
I thought you might be interested in my latest volunteer mission with the Red Cross. I am passionate about this organization’s work and grateful for the opportunity to tell people about it.
I responded to a request last Wednesday to move an emergency response vehicle (ERV) from central Pennsylvania down to North Carolina. After a lot of back-and-forth, I was finally released to go on Sunday.
I am currently deployed in Ashville, NC, providing meals and other support to those impacted by this tragedy. The news cycle has already moved on to Milton and other topics, but the damage in Ashville and MANY smaller communities is real and devastating.
We work out of the HQ office downtown and are staying in a staff shelter at a community college. There is NO running water in either location. There is no running water in many areas. Four separate water treatment plants have been completely destroyed. It will be weeks or even months before some people have service. The hospital down the street from our shelter has two tanker trucks at a time pumping water 24/7 just to keep them operational.
Even though there is electricity in growing amounts (there are power crews here from all over the country), very few things are open, so we have to hunt for fuel, food, and necessities in areas that are less affected.
We have been working very long days, but as time permits, I hope to give you a real picture of what is happening here.
Speaking of pictures, here is my ERV. 😊
-Gretchen (G)
