Eight Things I Learned While Helping Tennessee Flood Victims

On Tuesday, May 4th, forty-eight hours after the worst natural disaster hit our area, our company meeting seemed less important – we paused. Our company’s president, Rob Metcalf, stopped the meeting and redirected our conversation. In that moment we simply could not go about business as usual.

Each of us in the room had been affected directly or indirectly by the floods in Middle Tennessee. We knew we had to do something, we just weren’t sure what. But, rather than form a committee we empowered our employees to do what they thought would make the biggest difference. For some, it meant giving money to various charities like the Red Cross or Hands on Nashville, for others it meant supporting our community by buying “I Love Nashville” flood t-shirts, but for me it meant a trip to the country.

So, on Wednesday, May 12th, my wife, two children, and I travelled to Centerville, Tenn., which is located in Hickman County, one of the counties placed on the federal disaster relief list. My wife and I pulled our son, Carter, out of school for the day. We did so, because we sincerely believe that, in addition to his classroom instruction, we must cultivate civic responsibility and give him opportunities to show compassion.

It wasn’t long before that we encountered to the first lesson of the day: rely on your Granny’s instructions (who actually lives in Hickman County) rather than TomTom’s GPS directions. Apparently, TomTom didn’t realize that many of the backroads had been washed out and away.

After about two and a half hours on the road, we arrived at Fairfield Baptist Church, which is a recognized relief center.

My wife, Jen, and I were immediately impressed with how well-organized all of the food items and other things were there. At some level, we were disappointed, which I know is a weird emotion – I think we were hoping that we could be more helpful. However, it wasn’t long before one of the volunteers told us about the “clothing store” that had been set up a few miles down the road in a vacated store. Apparently, the owner simply let the church use the store rent free.

Hoping that we could, in fact, help, we loaded up and headed down the road. When we arrived a few moments later, we weren’t immediately sure that we were in the right place. There appeared to be little or no indication of any activity. But, as we got closer to the front door, we saw what we hoped to see – an unmet need. At that moment, we knew we were in the right place and felt a surge of energy.

When we went inside we met the two ladies who were trying to make sense of it all. With over a hundred large bags and boxes of clothing and other items, a few tables, and no hangers, it was a challenge.

Over the course of the next four or five hours, we worked non-stop to unpack and organize all of the items there.

What follows are a few of my observations and thoughts about volunteering:

1. Lead with a broad smile: You can have a warehouse full of items from bleach to peanut butter, but you need to show concern and love to those hurting it . At the end of the day, people simply want to know that someone cares about them, is willing to listen, and meet a need. So, be sure to smile.

2. A little marketing goes a long way: You can have a warehouse full of items, but if no one knows where you are then it is useless. When we first arrived to the “clothing store”, we realized there were no signs. The first thing Carter and I did was to run across the road to Dollar General and buy poster board, markers and tape. Sometimes just a simple sign is enough. We also told a couple of other local churches and merchants. Word of mouth is king.

3. Dream Big and Think Small: At first, my family and I had really big hopes of making a huge difference. Sometimes I think we can be overwhelmed by the size of the need here in Tennessee but, we realized that we simply had to focus on helping people one person at a time. If anyone doubts that you can make a difference that way, ask the man that simply needed a pair of shoes or the woman that needed a bar of soap and a few bottles of water to wash her child.

4. When giving, consider your intentions: After sorting through thousands of shoes, clothes and other items I realize something: some people give to meet a need and others are cleaning out their attic – it is just not enough to check the box. We found a wide range of things. One person had taken the time to pack a new towel, washcloth, toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo and conditioner into individual 5-gallon ziplock bags. That is thoughtful. On the other end of the spectrum, here are some of the weirdest things that people donated yesterday:

a. A mink coat. At what point do you say to yourself “yeah, I think someone ravaged by a flood could use a mink jacket”?

b. A headless, armless, legless Power Ranger action figure. This was my son’s favorite. In fact, after a good laugh, he asked me “who would donate an amputated Power Ranger?”; I, of course, had no idea.

c. Three empty wine racks. Just to be clear, I am not making a moral judgment here, I’m simply asking…what do you do with wine racks when you may not even have a home?

d. An antique Victorian folding rocking chair with tapestry upholstery. It isn’t weird or gross, I just thought it was odd yet beautiful.

5. You don’t know what you have until you don’t have it anymore. Water and ice. You really don’t think about how important water is and what a luxury ice is until you don’t have it anymore. Even while deployed to the hinterlands of Iraq, I always had plenty of water. Yesterday, when Carter took a few moments to go to a nearby fast-food restaurant to get lunch, we couldn’t use the sinks, because of the lack of water, and they served us canned drinks. It wasn’t that it was a burden, it just made you realize how devastating it would be not to have regular, clean water. All I could think of was Samuel Coleridge’s poem in which it writes “water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink”. Fortunately, groups like the Red Cross brought in large supplies of water and Gatorade.

6. Tip O’Neill was right, all politics is local. I was pleasantly surprised when the Hickman County Mayor arrived with tables, hangers and clothes racks. There wasn’t a film crew, local reporter or the promise of recognition. He simply wanted to help his community get back on its feet. For once, I saw the brighter side of politics.

7. Uncle Earl is more likely to help than Uncle Sam. Immediately after the floods, Patten Fuqua wrote a blog that has both inspired us here in Tennessee and come to represent the spirit of Tennesseans. We help each other. Though I’m not completely trying to be inflammatory, the reality is you are far more likely to see your neighbors helping you than the federal government. I saw both young and old alike come together in the few hours I was there to simply show kindness, concern and give what they could. Many of the folks that brought items were themselves flood victims – that says everything.

8. Hand Sanitizer is Good Stuff. No explanation needed…

I suppose, to conclude in some clumsy way, I learned that it has less to do with what you give (although some things are clearly better than others) and more to do with how and why you give it. For me and my family, as it often happens, we received much more than we gave. In the end, I really think Carter learned more in those few hours of selfless service to others than he would have learned at school.

So, what are you going to do to help those in need?

For pictures from throughout our day in Hickman County, go to our Twitterpic page.