Kevin Yackly was drenched in sweat as he unloaded bottles of water at the Houston Astrodome.
Then the call came from back home. The Red Cross was opening another shelter in Galveston County, this time at First Baptist Church in Texas City.
People would soon be there, and many would be hungry.
The restaurant owner wasted little time and told his staff to create 150 meals for the evacuees.
He later showed up and fed volunteers as well as evacuees who had come in for medical services.
He stayed until almost midnight Friday.
Yackly is among the thousands of Galveston County residents who in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina have taken in refugees, donated goods and money and at times provided a needed hug to those who are homeless, jobless and facing an uncertain future.
“It was a simple decision really — we are about helping people,” said the Rev. Bert Bagley, senior pastor of Moody Memorial First United Methodist Church in Galveston.
His church was the first to open a Red Cross shelter in the county for those escaping Katrina’s wrath.
“It will be a challenge, but when you see the support this church gives to those in need, it is so special.”
Even before Katrina had made landfall on the upper Gulf Coast, members of Dick Daugaurd’s Friendswood-based Lighthouse Cooking Team were springing into action.
The charity cooking team is no stranger to helping those in need. The crew fed searchers who were cutting through the brush following the Shuttle Columbia disaster. They also served meals for emergency workers following Tropical Storm Allison in 2003.
During the weekend, the team was serving meals not only for those sheltered at Moody Methodist, but also the Texas City shelter.
Chief Cook Chris Delesandri said the team would serve meals for both shelters through Monday and then every weekend through September.
Even before the Red Cross shelters opened, the congregation of Crossroads Church in Texas City had taken in 60 people.
Across town, José Boix and his wife were sheltering 15 of her family members at their home and a motel.
Car dealer Tomy Hamon was in his office Saturday trying to find portable toilets for the Texas City shelter when a family from Kenner, La., arrived at the lot.
While fleeing the storm, family members filled up with gasoline, but somehow got water in their tanks. Hamon, who said the dealership does not normally have the auto shop open on the weekends, called in three mechanics to replace the gas tanks free of charge.
Then there was Jayme Carter of Crockett. The student at the University of Texas Medical Branch said she had never volunteered for “much of anything” before.
But when word came that volunteers were needed at the Red Cross Shelter in Galveston, she made the trek to Moody Methodist and asked what she could do.
“Every time I hear these people’s stories, I want to cry,” she said. “I can’t imagine what these people are facing.”
For those who just wanted a few moments under running water and a chance to clean up for the first time in days, Alison Barker was the friendly face they met while signing up to use showers at Galveston College’s Fort Crockett Campus.
The retired teacher said she showed up because “I have an obligation to help people.”
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Assisting others
There are thousands of stories of Galveston County residents stepping up and providing assistance to those in need as a result of Hurricane Katrina. If you have a story to tell, contact The Daily News at newsroom(at)galvnews.com.
