Man Drives 900 Miles to Help With Local Winter Storm Relief

Terrence Hood, like many people across the country, watched as millions in Texas lost their power and water during the historic winter storm. He wanted to help but didn’t know how he could.

At the same time, Fort Worth ISD teacher Sarah Russell was already hard at work. She and several volunteers went into action helping people in the Meadowbrook area of Fort Worth.

“We just started working with the unhoused population. Trying to find people who needed help. We were able to get some to a warm place to stay. We took more than a dozen people to the hospital who had frostbite and checked on so many others,” Russell said.

Once the storm passed, there was so much more to be done. People needed necessities like food and water.

Sarah Russell

“Someone posted about what we were doing on Facebook. That’s how Terrence found out about us. I heard that he was coming, but I just didn’t believe that someone all the way from Indiana would come down to little old Fort Worth and help us,” Russell said.

But that’s exactly what happened.

“Yea, I saw it and knew I had to do something. I didn’t focus on the drive. I focused on the need for water. We could have driven to Alaska. I was just focusing on kids not being able to drink running water and it was like, not even their fault that the situation was going on,” Hood said.

He and his volunteers started collecting supplies that they loaded in a U-Haul and a 15-passenger van and started making their way to Fort Worth.

“All of a sudden, out of nowhere, I looked, and it was the 15-passenger van. They were here. I couldn’t believe that it was happening” Russell said. “They came and helped all these strangers. Now I have a friend for life.”

Russell said she has been so inspired by the kindness of others that she has now started a community group called The Community Love Foundation, where they hope to continue to good things in their neighborhood.