What would you do if thousands of people were relying on your supply of nearly 17,000 meals, but you’re hundreds of miles away with no one to drive them? Luckily for the United Way of Central West Virginia, Kevin T. was on the other end of the phone, waiting for a chance to go above and beyond.

It was a Friday afternoon when Kevin, Group Truck Manager for the West Virginia operating group, got a call from the United Way of Central West Virginia’s president. She needed to rent a truck to get supplies to rural parts of the state. As the conversation went on, and her tears poured, Kevin asked what was going on. She leveled with him: she had the food and could rent the truck…but had no one to drive it all. Their resources were tapped.

Without hesitation, Kevin stepped up.

Within days, he assembled a team to load the food onto a truck. Then at 6 a.m. on a Tuesday, he and Rob H., Director of Business Development, hit the road for their 250-mile journey across the state to deliver pallets of food to food banks and other emergency service providers.

As they arrived at the various locations, people were lined up waiting to get in, says Kevin. “It’s a part of the country where people often lean on these types of programs to get by, and given the current economic conditions, many are getting by on even less.”

Many of the meals were for people in quarantine who had no food at home. Ambulances and police cars would soon make the rounds to deliver to their houses.

The next day, Vehicle Service Agents Bob D. and Steve M. delivered another truckload of meals. In all, 22 pallets – with 768 meals per pallet – were distributed thanks to the driving spirit of the team.

“It was incredibly heartening to see our team come together and pitch in,” says Kevin. “It was a huge effort and hours of time to load the trucks, but there were still employees I had to turn away who wanted to volunteer.”

The West Virginia operating group Truck Rental team continues to support other essential service providers during the pandemic, including the West Virginia National Guard, hospitals, FedEx and other supply chain contractors.

Today – and every day – the safety and wellbeing of employees, customers and the communities we serve is our top priority. For the latest on our COVID-19 response, please click here.