Rows and rows of pallets, some stacked up 15 feet, filled the United Way donation hub at the Truitt Receiving Center just north of Salem.
On Saturday morning, the center was a flurry of activity. People backed in their cars to drop off donations — everything from water bottles, clothes, diapers and pet food to camping supplies and jewelry — before a crew of volunteers swiftly whisked away the items to be organized and readied to be sent to the thousands evacuated from the Oregon wildfires.
When a call comes in, like a request for diapers, from the United Way Resource Hub on Silverton Road NE, the items are loaded onto a truck and sent out.
On Saturday, a volunteer operator on a donated forklift wove back and forth among the pallets, loading up a truck set to deliver groceries and items destined for Glide, about 15 miles east of Roseburg.
Jordan Truitt, manager of Truitt properties, said the company donated the use of the 33,000-square-foot facility at 1330 Front St. NE starting the night of Sept. 12. By the next day, the warehouse was filling up.
"We're happy to help," Truitt said. "We had a resource that was perfect for this."
MORE: United Way opens hub near fairgrounds to distribute items to wildfire evacuees
Elizabeth Schrader, chief development officer of the United Way of the Mid-Willamette Valley, said she grew up in the area and worked for decades in the nonprofit field.
"I have never seen this kind of community response," Schrader said.
She said it was "profoundly moving" to see businesses, residents and service providers come together to take action, donate their time, buy needed items and donate services.
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Every day, the United Way posts lists of needed items, and every day the community comes through, she said.
Truitt said they are using all the floor space in the receiving center but are at about half-capacity. More can be added to the towering pallets, and donations are constantly being sent out.
Schrader, Truitt and Salem City Councilor Vanessa Nordyke toured the facility Saturday morning.
MORE: A snapshot of the wildfires that have burned nearly 1 million acres
Nordyke said seeing the communities hit by the wildfire be destroyed and razed to the ground has been devastating.
"One of the reasons it's been such a strong community response is a lot of us have connections to the Santiam Canyon," Salem City Councilor Vanessa Nordyke said. "A lot of us have families up there. We spend our summers camping up there. We watch the fireworks at Detroit Lake. We hiked Opal Creek. We have done all those things and it really ties us to that community.
"These aren't strangers to people. They are members of the community."
Nordyke said the already horrific year had left many feeling helpless.
"How do you fight a pandemic?" she said. "Well, this is something we can fight with compassion and love and kindness."
MORE: COVID-19 left some businesses gasping for air. Then came the smoke.
Truitt said volunteers sometimes work for 10 to 12 hours at the site. Truitt said they plan to keep the hub open as long as the need is there in the community.
"It's given me a lot of hope for the future of the community in Salem," Truitt said, pointing to the teenagers and people in their 20s to 30s stepping up to volunteer their time. "They are really finding their foothold now in Salem."
Want to volunteer? Sign up at the United Way of the Mid-Willamette Valley website, https://ift.tt/2ZSUXXS.
Want to donate? A list of needed items and donation locations and times are located on Facebook at the United Way website.
For questions, comments and news tips, email reporter Whitney Woodworth at wmwoodworth@statesmanjournal.com, call 503-910-6616 or follow on Twitter @wmwoodworth.
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September 20, 2020 at 08:09AM
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Donations for wildfire evacuees fill United Way hub in Salem - Statesman Journal
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