Volunteers from 26 states helped recovery efforts in the Hill Country, driven by a desire to bring closure to families impacted by the devastating flooding.
KERR COUNTY, Texas — 26 states from across the country came to support search and recovery efforts in the Texas Hill Country. Thousands of volunteers also stepped up to help as well.
For Britt Godsey, a veteran from Alabama, it was a pull that drew him to give up his vacation to help.
“I believe when God like, gives you that tug, he’s giving it to you for a reason,” he said. ” I really didn’t even know what I was here to do other than help, but I felt immediate relief from the moment I got here. I’ve experienced the loss of a child myself, and. And I understand what the families are going through.”
He stated that he’s never seen devastation like when he did in the first few days after he arrived.
“I’ve deployed for our country to Bosnia,” Godsey explained “I’ve been in Kuwait, I’ve been in Afghanistan, I’ve been in Haiti, and I’ve seen a lot of tragedies. The area that I’m from, we’re no strangers to bad weather, like tornadoes, and I’ve never seen anything like this. Never.”
The true motivation is to bring families closure.
“There’s a lot of work and it’s frustrating because you want,” he said. “You want you want to bring the families closure. So we’re working through one pile at a time.”
A Kerr County Commissioner on Tuesday estimated that 20,000 volunteers assisted the Hill Country as they searched for those missing, wanting to provide closures for families.