Out of the Way Café in Lakehills, Texas, has transformed into a donation center for flood victims, collecting clothes, food and essentials.
LAKEHILLS, Texas — In Lakheills, Texas, about 45 miles south of Kerrville, Out of the Way Café isn’t brewing coffee this week.
Instead, it’s serving up something far more powerful: compassion.
The locally owned café shut its doors to regular customers and reopened as a hub to collect donations for flood victims across the Hill Country.
Shane, Out of the Way’s owner, transformed the space into a relief center after historic flooding devastated communities across the region at the start of July Fourth weekend. Instead of lattes and pastries, tables inside are now stacked with clothes, bottled water, hygiene products and nonperishable food.
“We are taking clothes right now, clothes donations,” Shane said. “We’re separating it, sorting it – women’s, kids, whatever – making sure we have them whenever the families need them.”
Volunteers of all ages have stepped up to help, including children who are organizing donations and loading them onto trucks bound for families in need.
“Small hands are doing big work,” Shane said, as kids helped move packed bags into waiting vehicles.
For 14-year-old volunteer Elliora Groot, this mission is deeply personal.
“It really hit my heart… it could have been me,” she said, thinking of the young girls who died in the floods and the families displaced in the middle of the night. “Our lives may go on, but other people’s lives are changed forever.”
While aid has poured into Kerrville and other hard-hit towns, Shane is focusing efforts on smaller communities that may be overlooked.
“Comfort, Sandy Creek, Marble Falls areas… they might get overlooked. We’re here to help you,” he said. “We’re all neighbors. And when the time calls, we just all like to pitch in and help each other.”
The café will remain open for donations as long as the need continues. Shane and his volunteers are still accepting clothing, food, water, and hygiene items, especially for those in rural communities recovering quietly—often without the spotlight.
As Elliora puts it, “If we can take one hour or a couple hours out of our day to help or do something toward the better, that’s worth it.”