Wal Mart Stores : The Delivery That Saved the Day for One Florence-Affected Community

Fielding phone calls. Answering emails. Organizing an airlift. Just a typical day for your average Walmart market assistant.

On Sept. 18, Misty Amos, who works as an assistant for Walmart stores in the Eastern region, received a call from Walmart's Emergency Operations Center.

Days before, Hurricane Florence had ripped through North Carolina's coast. With flood waters rising, over a hundred people had evacuated their homes and found refuge in a shelter in Fairmont, North Carolina. One problem: The surrounding roads were flooded, leaving the shelter completely cut off from food and supplies.

The 145^th Airlift Wing of North Carolina's Air National Guard had decided to deliver much-needed goods to the shelter via Blackhawk helicopter, but they needed supplies. They called Walmart for help, and that's where Misty came in.

Misty's Market Manager was out of the office leading a team of associates who were helping a local store return to normal so when the National Guard request came her way, it was up to Misty to help mobilize associates to help on the ground. She worked with a local store manager to collect supplies for 130 men, women, and children - including a 4-week-old infant who was refusing formula but would accept whole milk.

First, the associates at store 2058 in Raleigh loaded up carts with food, toiletries, underwear and baby supplies. They were even able to find shelf-stable whole milk for the baby. The team boxed the items, grouped the merchandise into pallets, and loaded it all into a U-Haul, which they then delivered to the Air National Guard at Raleigh-Durham Airport.

Meanwhile, a local Sam's Club was also on the case. Club associates moved with speed to load a Red Cross vehicle with donations for the shelter.

Wait, were the Walmart store and Sam's Club duplicating efforts? Was there going to be more merchandise than the helicopter could handle?

No problem, said the Guard unit. We'll just organize a second drop.

It's a good thing they did. Right before the second chopper took off to make the delivery, the Red Cross reached out to say that not too far from the shelter, a medical facility was in desperate need of blood donations. The Red Cross was able to add blood supplies to store and club donations, and the helicopter made a slight detour to deliver blood, too.

Maybe the most surprising part of this story? This whole mission - from the time the call came into the Emergency Operations Center to the time the helicopter touched down in Fairmont - took four hours.

Yes, you read that right. Four hours.

This is just one example of partnership during this multi-state disaster. Misty set her coworkers into action, and by working cross-functionally with the public sector and NGOs such as the American Red Cross, Walmart associates were able to make a meaningful difference to neighbors who had suffered unimaginable loss.

Misty and her team were able to deliver a bit of dignity to the families at the shelter. When asked about the airlift, the 23-year associate downplays her efforts. Having worked for the company during Hurricanes Katrina, Harvey, and Maria, she knows disaster recovery has become an integral part to the way we do business.

'We're Walmart,' she says, 'It's just what we do.'