Friday 6/24/16 we were informed of 160 displaced residents of Rainelle had been taken to Ansted Baptist Church in Ansted, WV. They were in need of cots blankets and towels.   Needless to say, our staff jumped into action.  After coordinating with the Supply Division at The Summit Bechtel Reserve 100 Cots, 62 Blankets, and 72 Towels were supplied.

Upon arrival the church it was noticed they were in need of additional staffing and someone to coordinate the arrival and distribution of the mass outpouring of supplies from the community so our Special Events Director Jim Campbell stayed and assisted in a lead position. As the day wore on he donated the use of his 24’ enclosed trailer and positioned it to hold the supplies being delivered. Over the course of the day it was completely filled.  That evening, with a full cargo, they reached out to a pastor in Richwood to determine need and devised a plan to deliver them supplies on Saturday morning.  A request for volunteer assistance and trucks to come in the morning to sort and deliver was then put out and the community responded. Early Saturday a group of 14 trucks showed up and were filled with the contents of the trailer.  Supplies were organized based on need and contents (adult clothing, children’s clothing, food, toiletries, cleaning supplies, etc.) The bags were then loaded into ten trucks and taken via caravan to Richwood to an in need Fire Department, City Hall and Moose Lodge  that were serving as distribution centers.

In addition 3 trucks and a half full 24’ trailer was dispatched to Rainelle with additional supplies.  On Sunday, Campbell returned Ansted Baptist and coordinated the packing up of 5 rooms full of clothes and loaded his trailer again and took it to Nutall Middle school which was in the process of becoming a new distribution center.

Nutall Middle School / Distribution Center

If you are interested in volunteering, please make sure you have filled out the volunteer form at www.volunteerwv.org.