Nashville Wraps employees are quick to roll up their sleeves and pitch in to help a neighbor. When Greg Nickell heard that his church was collecting donations to help Oklahoma tornado victims, he knew the rest of Nashville Wraps would want to get involved.
I talked to Greg (you can see him in the photo above, along with stacks of the many supplies that were donated) to find out how the idea got rolling. It started with Chris Callis of Life Center church in White House, Tenn. Chris drives for Beacon Transport, and when he heard about the storms in Oklahoma, he wondered if his boss might be willing to help out. Beacon Transport agreed to provide a 53′ semi truck and pay for the gas as well as the driver; all Life Center had to take care of was filling up the truck with donated items. The management team at Nashville Wraps was glad to give the OK to get involved, since 100 percent of the donations went directly to Oklahoma storm victims.
The community gave generously. Life Center and Beacon Transport both made good use of Facebook to spread the word, and one week later the truck left for Norman, Oklahoma, stuffed to the gills with bottled water, diapers, clothing, blankets, toothpaste, and much more.
As Greg pointed out, relief efforts in Oklahoma will be an ongoing process. Life Center is currently sending help to communities in Louisiana that are still rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina eight years ago, and the folks in Oklahoma will need help for a long time to come. But as this story shows, an idea that starts with just one person has the power to turn into something big. We’re hoping others will be inspired by this story – maybe you’ll get a similar idea.
One of our customers in Oklahoma City, Jubilee Market, shared this news story on their Facebook page. One of their own employees, Dena Clark, was one of 22 people who weathered the tornado inside a bank vault (thankfully, Dena was unharmed).
If you have stories to share, please do in the comments below.
