This morning at 9:30am, the Sheep Dog Impact Assistance (SDIA) Disaster Response Team (DRT) of 18 volunteers from Arkansas, Missouri and Wisconsin departed from the Center for Nonprofits in Rogers, AR. This team will meet up with 85+ volunteers from 17 states when they arrive in the Kerrville/Liberty Hill area this evening.
Prior to the mission briefing, Lance Nutt, Founder & CEO of SDIA, read an email that he received last night that drove home the meaning of this mission. In part, he read:
“I'm reaching out because I saw you have teams deploying to Texas tomorrow morning from Rogers. Last week on July 4th, I lost my parents and 11-year-old niece in a Hunt, Texas flood…they were just down river from Camp Mystic… I'm sure tomorrow morning is a bit hectic and I don't know if you have a moment of prayer or silence before deploying, but I just wanted to share how much it means to families like mine to know that heroes like yours will be down there helping. I never imagined disaster to this degree would ever impact me and my family, and I realized that's exactly how everyone you go to help feels, too. It’s unimaginable…I know wherever you're headed, they need you. I pray for protection over your team's deployment and for the men and women being a beacon of hope in the midst of pure devastation...
Thank you all for that you do.”
Three trucks & trailers and three vans are making the 8-10+ hour drive and will settle in for a long, hard week of primarily muck-out operations as soon as authorities allow volunteers in to help. Muck-out teams will remove water damaged belongings from homes, tear out flooring and wallboard if needed, and shovel/sweep out the remaining mud/debris.
We want to thank everyone who has donated to this DRM. Because of your generosity, the people affected by the horrific flooding, loss of life and utter devastation will feel a bit of hope in their darkest times.
If you’d like to donate, you can do so securely online at https://bit.ly/SDIA-TX-Flood-DRM or scan the QR code.
