DECATUR, Ala. – Industrial-sized circular fans pushed humid air down the warehouse alleys, lightening the mid-90s afternoon temperatures for the workers. The group removed lids from plastic buckets, organized cleaning supplies and restacked the buckets on pallets to be placed on the multilevel warehouse shelving.
Most of the 10 volunteers at the United Methodist Committee on Relief’s Disaster Response Warehouse in Decatur on Friday were members of Burks United Methodist Church on Hixson Pike. The church has sent a group of volunteers to the warehouse, making the two-hour drive south, every few months, said Neil Carriker, a volunteer with the group.
On Friday, the group did a variety of tasks, including filling buckets with cleaning and hygiene supplies to hand out after a disaster. The buckets include the essentials for someone whose home has been damaged by a tornado or flood, or someone who has been relocated because of a disaster and did not have time to pack household necessities. The volunteers also checked buckets that had been made by other groups and sent to the warehouse to be distributed.
Jan Ivey said the warehouse offers a variety of volunteer opportunities with the many relief efforts it runs, so there is something of interest for everyone. The ability to do hands-on work helping others is important, she said.
“I feel like I’m blessed with everything I have and it’s a responsibility to help any way I can,” Ivey said.