Portland SHOWED UP! In less than a day's notice, we were able to collect a 11.5 tons, or 23,000 lbs, of food and other supplies for the victims of Hurricane Harvey in Houston and Southeast Texas!
The truck was full before 9am... but luckily, we got another one! Thanks to the employees of Enterprise Truck Rental & Enterprise Rent-a-car, who chipped in with their own money to provide a truck for the drive to Houston to deliver the much-needed food and supplies to those affected by the devastating storm and flood. Goldie's BBQ in Vancouver generously offered to pay for the gas. Special thanks to Einstein's Bagels, who showed up with bagels, cream cheese and coffee for our staff collecting donations, and Pietro's Pizza brought us lunch! Plus, our good friends at Car Toys stopped by with a donation and even more pizza for our hungry staff and volunteers.
HUGE thanks to the guys who own Austin Strong Construction Company - Joseph Cooper and Michael Youngs - who started this whole thing in the first place! They are now driving the 26 foot Enterprise truck to Houston!
After a grueling road trip with unexpected twists and turns, the supplies arrived at Braes Interfaith Ministry in Houston to be distributed directly to those in need.
The original Enterprise truck had some difficulty coming down the backside of the Grapevine in California when the brakes overheated and caught fire. Quick thinking on the part of the crew put it out with the help of police and fire departments to the town of Rialto. Nobody was hurt, the vehicles were swapped out and they were back on the road for the next 3 days!
Thank you, Portland, the 23,000 pounds of supplies we collected are most appreciated and will be put to very good use immediately!
Check out video of our goods arriving in Houston below.