The BWB-Texas Alliance is in the middle of their second work trip to support Hurricane Laura recovery in Vinton, Louisiana. The BWB Texas Alliance is lead by the Houston, Corpus Christi, Galveston County, San Antonio, and Austin chapters. The group has sourced more than 5 tons of shingles and continue to fundraise for other critical materials, and will be working on site for two weeks through mid October, 2020.

Captain Shae writes:
BWB Galveston County Chapter donated 1,600 lbs of shingles, and $750 in supplies. These essentials include plumbing vent pipes, synthetic underlayment, vent jacks, and boxes of nails for repairing roofing. We have some cheerful givers who are happy to make a difference for our neighbors in these devastated Louisiana towns.

BWB Texas Alliance volunteers working in Vinton, Louisiana (Oct 2020)

BWB Houston representative Lauren writes about their first work weekend:
In response to the devastation of Hurricane Laura, a Category-4 storm that leveled Southwest Louisiana, the BWB Texas Alliance lead by the Houston, Corpus Christi, Galveston County, San Antonio, and Austin chapters descended upon the town of Vinton, Louisiana to offer aid over Labor Day, aka 2020 Burn Weekend.

Upon arrival, we were warmly welcomed by Christian Life Church.  Before the storm, Pastors Don Schneider, and David Pierce, opened their sanctuary to all members unable to otherwise evacuate the area.  It was a very rough night for the church.  As Laura barreled through, they lost power, sprung leaks in the roof, and battled the winds that tried unsuccessfully to rip the doors off their frames.

After the storm passed it was clear that their displaced congregation members would not be able to return back to their destroyed homes.  That’s when Christian Life Church immediately activated a community response effort.

The congregation banded together and worked tirelessly to prepare thousands of hot meals each day, and also created a drive through distribution center offering bottled water, household items, hygiene products, baby food, diapers, and pet food to the community.   In the weeks following the storm, all residents of Vinton were welcome to drive through their distribution center and collect basic necessities needed to live in the assaulting 95+ degree temperatures – all the while not having basic public services, potable water, or power.  Their grassroots response was immediate, impressive, and undeniably beneficial to their community.

BWB Houston collected hundreds of dollars worth of in-kind relief supplies in addition to raising $1,800 worth of cash donations.  All funds raised were used to purchase two top-of-the-line Stihl chainsaws (registered to the church), extra chainsaw blades, fuel, lubricants, and safety glasses needed to safely utilize the chainsaws.  Additionally, we were able to purchase baby formula, diapers, pull-ups, baby wipes, PPE, gloves, masks, solar powered lights, knee pads, crowbars, hammers, utility belts, mold & mildew eliminators, batteries, and bleach.

After arriving on location Friday, September 4th, our volunteers were dispatched to deliver sacked lunches to hungry families in the area.  Roughly 20 meals were hand delivered, and the other 180 were promptly delivered to the Starks, LA Fire Department.  While the meal delivery task was being completed, another BWB volunteer secured and personally delivered two pallets of bottled water hauled in from Neederland, TX.

Saturday morning came early, and that’s when the real fun began.  We received a list of addresses that needed tree and debris removal, roof tarping, and general manual labor.  Throughout the day, our volunteers worked tirelessly to assist an elderly couple to regain access to their home.  Their flawless efforts made a huge difference, and were undoubtedly appreciated.

Other volunteers assisted the Habibi Shriners to set up a distribution center.  We sorted clothing, food, cleaning supplies, and performed other tasks needed to prepare the organization to begin servicing the Lake Charles community.  We were also tasked with the responsibility finding interested parties to take delivery of frozen meats that were donated to the Louisiana State Troopers.  We successfully found two organizations that were able to partially offload an 18-wheeler of assorted frozen meats salvaged from restaurant freezers in the area without backup generators.

Upon arriving back at camp, we were able to arrange for a North Texas BWBer volunteering with the Cajun Navy to come through with additional supplies.  We restocked pet food, toilet paper, femine hygiene products, diapers, sports drinks, and cleaning products for the Vinton community.

Although we were unable to celebrate our efforts with a customary effigy burn, we were able to establish a friendly rapport with the Vinton, LA community.  We promised to return to Vinton, and we’re making good on that promise with an upcoming trip beginning October 1st.  Our goal is to bring heavy machinery and stay for a longer duration to assist the fine folks of Vinton to get back to their normal lives.

**Update**

We have been officially recognized by Paypal as a non-profit organization and therefore have been granted the privileges of their Paypal Giving Fund program.   We have added this information to the www.houstonburners.org website.   Donations made to the above referenced account are tax deductible, as they’re being made to an officially recognized non-profit organization.

At this time, we are still fundraising, although no longer for heavy machinery, for helpful items such as shingles, extension ladders, hedge trimmers, work gloves, and PPE.

If you’d like to help, we’d love to have you.  Please join the BWB Texas Alliance facebook group for more details.  If you’d like to make a monetary donation, please do so by sending funds to papyal.me/bwbhtx.  These donations are tax deductible, and will be converted into supplies that the community requests upon our return.

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