NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Orange Home Depot buckets were filled with household items Wednesday morning, at the Newport News Home Depot store, ready to provide relief to people anywhere in the United States disaster strikes.
"It’s really indescribable what it means to those people, immediate relief is something that someone needs in a disaster,” Greg Hyatt, the store’s manager, said.
They are called “Disaster Relief Kits.” The kits are set up through cooperation between The Home Depot and the non-profit organization Operation Blessing.
“They’ve gone to Texas with the winter weather they had,” Hyatt explained, “they’ve gone to hurricane relief in New Orleans and Louisiana."
Home depot staffers, mainly managers, came from several Home Depot stores in Hampton Roads. One manager came from Kitty Hawk in the Outer Banks.
They sorted, packed, and sealed kits. The kits were wrapped with plastic and sent to a warehouse where the kits would wait and be deployed when disaster hits.
“The kits are full of emergency supplies, trash bags, paper towels,” Hyatt explained, “cleaning supplies, disinfectant, N95 masks, scrub pads, and sanitizers.
Hyatt added the kits can reach the disaster zone in one day and can eliminate the delays of getting much-needed items in people's hands.
“They can’t get to a store, or the stores closed, or the store is out of supplies, It helps them get back on their feet right then, right there,” Hyatt said. “Not have to wait days or weeks for some kind of supplies or any kind of emergency relief."
This is the second time the Newport News Home Depot assembled the kits since September when they assembled kits.
“This is our way of giving back to the community,” Hyatt said. “It makes us feel good, it helps out the community and everybody is better for it."
