The Wellsville Volunteer Ambulance Corp has spearheaded the effort
Giant Food Mart, Dollar General, Tops, and Runnings all send large deliveries victims in both states
By Andrew Harris, pictured are the team at Giant Food Mart with WVAC Rescue Chief Chris Martelle
Just over a week from flash flooding that destroyed so much in places like Hickox, West Union, Canisteo, Westfield the massive relief effort continues.
The Wellsville Volunteer Ambulance Corp was in the rescue waters from the onset of the flash flooding and the minute they caught their breath, literally, they started with the relief effort. WVAC Rescue Chief Chris Martelle explained:
“We were right there when the water really hit Genesee and Hickox. When the dam burst and our water rescue people started going house to house and our amazing volunteers were already starting to gather relief supplies.”
Within a few hours of the flood volunteers like Mariah Mesler, Kevin Cook, Marshall Stebbins, Rebecca Stebbins, Jeff Culbertson, Kelvin Nickerson, Brenna Irish, Greg Taylor, Andrew Sweezy, and Martelle started a focus on relief efforts.
This simple post on Facebook by the WVAC(follow them here,) started a massive wave of donations.
“We’ve made over a dozen trips to the relief center in Ulysses, PA in the last week and several volunteers have personally made trips that no one even knows about”, said Jeff Culbertson a WVAC member and owner of Jeff’s Truck Repair. Culbertson wasn’t just part of the relief supply effort but also has been traveling all over Allegany, Steuben, Potter, and Tioga counties getting trucks back on the road.
Tops Market of Wellsville reached out and coordinated pallets of urgent supplies to be delivered by tractor trailer. The Erie county grocery chain issued this statement:
“While Hurricane Debby made landfall in the southernmost states, it left a trail of destruction as it moved along the East Coast. In its wake, dozens of confirmed tornadoes directly impacted the local communities Tops serves,” said Jim Gibson, regional vice president for Tops Friendly Markets. “In line with our Neighbors Helping Neighbors philosophy, Tops quickly responded by donating pallets of bleach, paper towels, and cleaning supplies—including mops, shovels, and gloves—to surrounding communities to assist in the recovery efforts.”
Dollar General in Wellsville started a special program which allowed customers to purchase supplies for flood victims. After four days of collection efforts, volunteers picked up ten cases of water and boxes of supplies.
After volunteers left the Dollar General they headed straight to Runnings at the Riverwalk Plaza to grab donations for the many pets also impacted. Runnings donated large load of dog food, cat food, and cat litter.
A final pickup was from Giant Food Mart who brought about fifty cases of baby food to the WVAC. Culbertson explained that baby food and formula have been at the top of the list. When the team and Giant heard that priority request, they literally cleared the shelves and sent all the baby food they had.
The packed pickup truck with Martelle at the helm and Culbertson riding shotgun took off again for the tri-county relief center. Once the supplies reach that central location they are distributed where they are needed most. It could be Jasper, or Westfield, or Hickox, or the Canisteo-Greenwood area with many residents without a home or with very serious challenges.
Ken Lampman, a resident of Westfield PA had this to say about Wellsville’s effort to help:
“I’m a resdent of Westfield Pa I would like to thank the Wellsville fire department for all you guys have done for this community well done thank you Wellsville community as well.”
Martelle was nothing short of in awe of the response from the community, from our major retailers, and from his own fellow volunteers:
“We have moved tons, hundreds of thousands of dollars, truckloads even, of relief to these people. Our units are still working 12 hours standby shifts at departments who need coverage and running a relief operation. Wellsville has given so generously to this disaster and everyone at the WVAC has been proud to be part of this.”
While the massive donations have helped with the enormous need, the situation is far from over for residents in the impacted areas. As the Dollar General store manager Nina Kurtz explained, her family hasn’t been able to even assess the damages yet because of a bridge washout. Many families will need basic assistance for the foreseeable future. All those impacted should call 211 for assistance.
To keep abreast of the needs you can follow the Wellsville Volunteer Ambulance Corp page or stay tuned for updates on our news sites. A donation bin is located at the Main Street headquarters, across the street from the Wellsville Fire Department and Wellsville Police Department. Retailers who have larger donations to make may contact the WVAC to arrange a pickup, (585) 593-1800.
