Local Volunteers Head West to Help CA Evacuees

October 23, 2007

By Rebecca Gannon

by Rebecca Gannon

You can hear them from outside the door. "okay," said Bill Hayes to his wife, "let's grab these suitcases right here."

The front door opens, and two suitcases come out, followed by a retired truck driver and his wife, a retired bus driver, carries her purse and a briefcase. They walk to their car parked on the curb and put their bags in.

It's the last night Bill and Sandy Hayes will spend in Southwest Wichita for a while. By noon on Wednesday, they'll be on an airplane, bound for Southern California.

"Normally we can watch TV," said Bill, "and we can tell about what kind of disaster and whether it's something that we're going to get called on."

Those images say a lot.

"The people are out of their homes, period," Bill continued. "Whether it be a flood, a tornado, a fire -- they're out of their homes, they need the three basic things in life -- food, lodging, and clothing."

So Bill, his wife Sandy, and five other volunteers will try and provide it. They're leaving Wichita on Wednesday to help victims of the California wildfires. They say they'll be feeding the masses of evacuees in the San Diego area.

"Give them a hot meal," Bill explained, "and the next thing you know, they're some close friends."

This isn't the first time the husband and wife team have gone to a disaster site; Bill's gone to 8 disaster locations, Sandy's gone to 15, including floods in Texas and Pennsylvania, and hurricanes in Florida.

"And they also had a hurricane down there (in Texas)," said Sandy. "So I went there three times."

And it probably won't be the last.

"It's just that inner feeling," said Bill, "of knowing that I helped somebody, hoping that maybe, if one of these times I need some help, that maybe they'll help me."

The Red Cross will also be sending both of it's Emergency Response Vehicles to Southern California. Those will be leaving Wichita early Wednesday morning.

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