UVALDE, Texas (KXXV) — Monica Dawdy had never deployed with the Salvation Army before. When flooding hit Uvalde County, the Waco resident got the call, climbed into a mobile feeding truck and headed south to help fellow Texans recover.
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"This is my first deployment with Salvation Army... we got ready and hopped in the truck and went down there," Dawdy said.
She said she went in with an open mind and a willingness to work.
"Excited to go help take care of Texans... bring them some comfort, hot meals while they were trying to recover. I wasn't sure what to expect other than some hard work," Dawdy said.
Over the course of the deployment, Dawdy said watching residents push through the disaster left a lasting impression on her.
"We did see the same families day after day... they said their neighbors and families had already started cleaning up... that kind of made me happy to hear that they were just getting after it," Dawdy said.
The Waco Salvation Army Emergency Response Team spent 10 days serving communities hit hardest by the flooding. The team served about 16,000 meals during the response, with Dawdy alone serving more than 3,100 of them.
David Fesser, the Waco Salvation Army's director of development, said the mission came down to a simple principle.
"It's just about serving other people and bringing them hot meals at times when they're probably at their lowest... being the good Samaritan to people that we love and care about in our society, even though we may not know who they are," Fesser said.
For Dawdy, the experience reinforced that volunteering doesn't have to wait for a major disaster. She said people in Central Texas need help every day.
"I encourage people to volunteer... maybe you can't leave for 10 or 14 days, but here in Waco we need volunteers too... whether it's serving supper at the community kitchen or helping in your churches," Dawdy said.
The Salvation Army is always looking for new volunteers to help with disaster response missions and local outreach efforts.
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