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SALT LAKE CITY — Buying wood is a task James Elder will never again take for granted.
Elder is a volunteer firefighter with the Rockport Fire Department in Texas. He’s in Utah because he can’t buy a two-by-four anywhere in Texas right now — after Hurricane Harvey struck, no one can.
“I’ve been out on the street since the day of the hurricane and I would say at the very minimum at least half the buildings in town got damaged for sure,” Elder said.
Elder’s own home is gone. He’s been living at the Rockport fire station and is on duty every night. His family is living in a fifth-wheel camper at an RV park owned by some friends.
Elder could have traveled to a state closer to Texas, but Utah is where residents raised more than $1 million to help Harvey victims.
On Wednesday evening, KSL and Bonneville radio stations presented the million-dollar check to Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NVOAD).
“Not only am I proud, I’m just so happy to be a part of this state,” said Joava Good, deputy national director for the charity group.
The money was donated by KSL viewers and listeners during the station’s “Hope for Houston” telethon event after Hurricane Harvey’s destruction in parts of Texas. The funds will go toward building supplies so the town of Rockport can soon get back to normal.
“Utah is a special place. We have an amazing family. I don’t want to cry but I’m passionate about this. They’re generous, they’re giving and they know they can make a difference,” Good said.
The biggest difference in these efforts, Good said, was all of the people who donated $5, $10 and even $20 at a time to the cause.
“The big donations are nice, but those little donations, you have no idea how far that money stretches," Good said. "It’s amazing.”
Elder heads back home knowing what Utah did to help rebuild his community.
“The people of Utah, they’ll never meet me and I’ll never meet them, but this is what the United States is all about,” he said. “This is the reason we are one of the greatest nations in the world. Because we always take care of each other.”
Anyone still interested in donating can visit the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster’s official website.
