10/06/2024
Our supply drop in WNC was a success! Wanted to thank you all once again for your outpouring of support, and share an update on the trip:
We left on Thursday after school let out and stayed the night at a hotel north of Greenville that was fully operational and housing tree and line workers. We left bright and early Friday morning to head up to Avery county. The night before we left the route was clear to Newland but that morning there were road closures popping up on our route on Google Maps. We decided to head that direction and see how far we could make it but kept our eye out for alternate donation centers in case we needed to re-route. Just before heading up the mountain there was a traffic stop (local police, not FEMA) and were told a trailer of our size could not make it up the mountain at that time due to road closures. We believe they were working on the power lines and we certainly did not want to interfere with that!
Just before the road closure we had noticed a similar operation at the Baxter Healthcare warehouse, so we thought we’d check that out. We pulled in right at 9 am, just before they opened the gate. Volunteers of all ages in yellow vests were ready to go. We asked about their operation and learned they are a company that manufactures medical supplies (including IV bags) and employ 5,000 people in Marion and the surrounding areas (including Avery county where we were headed). They had a very well organized operation including mobile shower and restroom facilities set up for anyone who needed them. The team there had been working day and night to support their employees as well as the greater community and happily accepted our contribution! They had been running low on supplies so it was perfect timing when we showed up. While we were there we saw many locals come through and pick things up that they needed — we feel confident the donations will be well used!
On a personal note, was a bit of a full circle moment because Lucas (our youngest Dutchman) receives IV infusions regularly for his bone disorder - we looked through some old hospital photos and sure enough the bags are made by Baxter! We sure hope they are able to resume operations there soon so they can continue to produce these critical medical supplies that so many rely on.
Here are a few photos from our journey. Thank you Dutchman friends & family, as well as IHG Marketing and NASA Marietta Academy for your contributions to this haul. It is absolutely devastating what happened there and we’re thrilled we were able to get our contribution right into the hands of those who needed it.
