On Friday, Feb 19, the city of Pflugerville reached out from its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to its Rotary Club. FEMA would deliver 7000 cases of water to be distributed. Could the Club provide volunteers to assist with the distribution?
Yes we could. But how many? When will they be needed? How will they receive communication?
Originally we needed to be ready in hours with 30 volunteers. Throughout the day and into the evening the number of volunteers needed grew and the arrival time of the trucks became less apparent.
During this time the Club, at the City's request, reached out to our fellow service organizations. Lions, American Legion, knights of Columbus and a dozen others we contacted. In the end, nearly 100 people who were able to help signed up. The Club kept them apprised of the situation.
Saturday morning dawned and the City had found its trucks.wed. Need 50 volunteers minimum to show up within an hour. Approximately 90 did.
We - the City and the Club - believe this was the first ever coordinated volunteer response to a disaster with the City EOC. Our club was able to accomplish this on the fly. We are quite proud.
But we were not done. Our local food bank, Circle of Hope (COH), called to say they needed to be ready for elevated demand from those on the margin while simultaneously needing to take in more donations and deliveries.
With the water distribution over staffed, were pulled about a dozen Rotarians and friends over to COH. Over the course of Saturday and Sunday 40+ individuals worked to sort, package and store over 800 bags of food ready to be distributed. This represents about 5 tons of products.
The crew built, placed and secured 23 shelving units to facilitate the unprecedented amount of supplies.
On Monday COH served more than double the number of families (~400) it normally would while taking in even more supplies for the days to come. Rotarians and their friends were there to assist with elevated staffing needs.
We are not yet done. Through the week members of our club and their friends will return to COH to take in, inspect, sort, bag and store supplies. On Friday those in our community who may not have otherwise had food will again be able to get it.
What did we learn?
Our fellow groups in the City are not our competitors, they are us. They serve. They show up.
Our friends ask about out club. Some see themselves joining. Not because they attended a meeting. Rather because they met a need.
In the midst of all that need and all that stress, individual kindness is still an effort worth making. A homeless man, Michael, showed up freezing and starving. He was fed and given the shoes off someone's feet and told to return the next day for a shower.
He showed up the next day. He was given a backpack with clothing and a jacket. He showered. He ate. He rolled up his new sleeves and helped out the rest of the day.
Service is contagious. It is our privilege to hold the trust of our city, our local organizations and the individuals who make up Pflugerville.
We hope everyone here is safe and secure.