A mammoth of rain grips the Lone Star state, snarling to the tune of fireworks; red, white and blue. In its devastating wake, the 29 foot surge swept away 135 lives and at least 38,600 residential areas.
Hundreds of families across Texas were stunned on the night of the Fourth of July by the deadliest flood in the state’s recent history, with $22 billion in damage and at least 135 lives lost. Through the lunacy, one woman shone through as a beacon of hope – Felicia Whaley, a Leander bus driver with a passion for helping those in need, and the support of a growing Amazon donation box.
“That’s where my heart is — with the kids,” Whaley said. “To think of them going to school, without a backpack and maybe getting bullied for it– I didn’t want that to happen to them. I wanted the kids to at least come to school on the first day and have a new backpack.”
On vacation during the flood, the news of the disaster hit Whaley like a freight train. Upon her return, Whaley put on her “boots and work gloves” and dove straight into volunteering.
But she wasn’t content with her work. Through social media, Whaley proposed the idea of a backpack donation, in tandem, opening an Amazon wishlist for additional supplies. Whaley set a goal of 200 backpacks, but by Aug. 9, 300 had been donated and accumulated in Nameless Saloon to be distributed during the drive.
“It was a good surprise,” Whaley said. “It was overwhelming, of course, but the joy I got from seeing how many people really wanted to help [made it all worth it].”
Despite her honest and kind effort to help, Whaley received backlash online regarding the drive.
“People on social media said that I should stop doing what I was doing– that I should let the district take care of it,” Whaley said. “It didn’t deter me at all.”
Whaley doesn’t plan on stopping here. With her sights now set on helping her community, she plans to continue her work to better the world.
“We’re here on this planet to help each other,” Whaley said. “It’s always important to be kind, no matter if it’s as small as giving someone a pencil. It takes just a minute to be kind to somebody.”
