DALLAS TWP. — As the amount of supplies grew larger and larger, one thing became clear to the workers at Pulverman: They were going to need another truck.
What was anticipated to be a relatively small supply drive for the victims of the tornadoes that struck parts of the Midwest this past week grew into a huge community event, as a line of vehicles carrying supplies stretched all the way out of Pulverman’s parking lot back to the roadway.
“I can’t believe this. It’s amazing,” said Pulverman’s human resource manager Wally Pilger as he watched the scene unfold in front of him Sunday morning.
A team of about 40 volunteers consisting of employees of Pulverman, a manufacturing plant located off Lower Demunds Road, and their friends and family gathered on Sunday to help collect and sort through donated supplies to be shipped to Kentucky.
The idea came about after Pulverman manufacturing manager Corey Barnum and some of the other employees had seen the devastation left in the wake of a string of tornadoes that ripped through several states last week.
“We thought initially we could just send down a pallet of bottled water,” Barnum said. “The more we talked about it, the bigger it became. … We’ve got a whole lot more than just a pallet of water here.”
Barnum may have even undersold the amount of supplies onsite at that point; by about noon on Sunday, the Pulverman team had just about filled an entire truck with things such as water, nonperishable food items, clothes, toys and more.
“Folks were lining up even before we officially got started,” Pilger said. “We haven’t had very many lulls in activity.”
Donations came in from all over the valley and even further out; one gated complex in Tobyhanna had held their own mini supply drive and had delivered all the gathered items to Pulverman earlier in the day.
Pulverman’s team of volunteers worked swiftly and smoothly to make the drive quick and easy for donors as they passed through the lot.
As each car passed through, they would pop the trunk and a group of volunteers would unload the supplies inside, loading them onto pallets to be brought inside the warehouse.
Inside, another team of volunteers separated the items and categorized them. The items were wrapped and loaded onto the truck, which is expected to arrive in Mayfield, Kent., in two to three days.
Pilger commended the Pulverman volunteers for their effort, especially on relatively short notice.
“We wouldn’t be able to do any of this without our staff,” Pilger said. “They came out and they’re ready to help any way they can.”
Much like Pilger and Barnum, many of the staffers didn’t anticipate such a huge turnout.
“I thought this would be a few carloads, at most,” said Stephanie Oldziejewski, an employee of three years at Pulverman who could be seen helping sort and categorize the supplies. “It’s great to see how much community support we have.”
The drive featured at least one celebrity guest — Santa Claus arrived shortly after 11 a.m. on the back of a Back Mountain Regional truck, greeting the volunteers as they worked.
A second truck was brought in as the amount of supplies coming in from the community outweighed the amount of weight one truck could hold.
It was a remarkable sight, and one that will undoubtedly resonate with those suffering from the effects of the tornadoes.
“People are hurting, every little bit helps. … It all adds up,” Pilger said.
