The severe floods that hit Houston in May left countless residents with home damage and the need for items to help store their belongings.
U-Haul Company of West Houston stepped in to donate over 2,000 boxes for anyone in the area who needed assistance. U-Haul did not accomplish its task of helping the community alone. The American Red Cross and the Disaster Recovery Center were front and center in meeting the area’s needs.
Melissa Darragh, director of social media for the Houston mayor’s office, said this was the first major disaster in Houston since 2001.
“About 14 to 15 years had gone by since the last major flooding and I was just glad I got to help out this time,” Darragh said.
U-Haul, the Red Cross and the Disaster Recovery Center placed the boxes for people to pick up in a local gymnasium with the help of U-Haul Team Members and Carol Greenslate of the Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.
Darragh and Matt Merrill, marketing company president for U-Haul Company of West Houston, said the community was very grateful for the help.
“Houston and its people were grateful for the variety of sizes and the amount of boxes we sent to the Recovery Center,” Merrill said. “They did not expect that many boxes when we showed up with a whole trailer full.”
Merrill noted the people of Houston were offered 30 days of free self-storage in order to protect the items they were able to recover after the floods. He added that the donation was another way U-Haul can say thanks to all of its customers who have supported them over the past 70 years.
Read about U-Haul’s new partnership with the American Red Cross here.
