Volunteers spent the day clearing debris and gutting homes, including removing dry wall and wet insulation that was helping to spread dangerous amounts of black mold.

WINFIELD, Mo. - Standing in front of a crowd of volunteers clad in orange and white T-shirts, Steven's words rang clear.

"Today, it's not about sales, it's about doing the right thing," said Home Depot's district manager for St. Louis and Illinois. 

At 8:30 a.m. on a hot July morning, more than 120 Home Depot associates representing 28 stores stepped away from their cash registers, garden centers and lumber departments to gather in the parking lot of Winfield High School armed with shovels and tools to do the "right" thing – help families whose homes had been devastated by recent flooding from the Mississippi River.

"It's sobering. I couldn't imagine myself in this situation," said James, a first-time volunteer and 7-year associate with Home Depot.

The massive, one-day volunteer event also marked the first ever partnership between Home Depot, the world's largest home improvement retailer and Operation Blessing, one of the largest charities in America.

James, a first-time volunteer and 7-year associate with the Home Depot, helps gut Newton's home seen in the background.

OBI's director of U.S. disaster relief, Jody Herrington, handed out a tall order of house gutting and debris removal jobs to 10 teams and loaded each crew with a cooler of drinks, MRE's (meals-ready-to-eat), wheelbarrows, first aid kits and more.

By the end of the day, more than 20 properties in Winfield and Foley had been gutted and cleared of debris.

One of those homes belonged to Newton of Winfield, Missouri. The 63-year-old purchased his home in 1975 and has already gone through one major house makeover following the 1993 floods.

In just a few hours, volunteers gutted molding dry wall from his home and cleared his basement of mud and debris.

"This is why we're here," said Chris, wringing out a strip of soaking wet insulation to show the extent of the flood damage. "It just acts as a wick and the water goes straight up."    

Newton and other residents like him are grateful for the fast relief.

"What they're doing in 3-4 hours would have taken us weeks," Newton said. "If I get the electricity in, I can move back in. I don't need walls and stuff to live. I didn't the last time when I moved back in. I just want to get home."

An army of orange: More than 120 associates with Home Depot arrived for a massive, one-day volunteer event with OBI.

HOW YOU CAN HELP
You can help by making an online donation toward OBI's disaster relief efforts. With your support, we can continue to provide emergency relief and recovery. Please make an on-line donation today.

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