Hauling to Help Others

In 2017, Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas suffered from one of the worst fire seasons in decades. Thousands of miles of fencing, farmland and livestock were lost.

Brittany Hamlin (an event coordinator for the NEOMED Education and Wellness (NEW) Center) and her husband were inspired by the generosity of a local group from Portage County that traveled to Kansas to volunteer. They decided to join in, too.

The pair created the Ohio Relief Haulers and spread the word about their plans to travel to Kansas and Oklahoma with donated supplies for the farmers and ranchers devastated by the wild fires.

What the Hamlins anticipated being a small five- to 10-truck convoy quickly grew to 50-plus trucks from all over Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania (pictured below).

Fast forward two years and the couple is back at it. On Friday, April 5, the Hamlins, along with another convoy of 50-plus trucks, will set out on an 18-hour one-way haul to Nebraska to deliver supplies to its many agricultural communities.

You can help, too

If you would like to donate supplies for either the drivers of those affected in Nebraska, there is a small bin located near the NEW Center entrance for this purpose.