Godโs Pit Crew taking time to thank its volunteers amidst its busiest year ever
DANVILLE, Va. โ Saying thank you in a year unlike any other. Godโs Pit Crew is hosting its annual volunteer banquet on Friday night to thank the men and women who give their time to help those in need. Not only has the Danville based nonprofit responded to the coronavirus, but also 19 major disasters this year from wildfires to hurricanes. Founder Randy Johnson said volunteers have managed to meet the needs of the public and follow pandemic protocols. Godโs Pit Crew is streaming the event live on its Facebook page.
Godโs Pit Crew logo featured on NASCAR driverโs car
MARTINSVILLE, Va. โ All eyes are on Martinsville for NASCAR, and if youโre paying close enough attention during the race on Saturday, you might recognize a familiar logo on one of the cars. NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Jeb Burton will be sporting something new on the track today: a Godโs Pit Crew logo. The organizationโs founder and director, Randy Johnson, tells 10 News that heโs excited to โride-alongโ with him. โSo itโs just been great to see Jeb use his gifts and talents to make a difference as well as to drive the wheels off that race car,โ said Johnson. The race starts at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Martinsville Speedway and you can catch it on WSLS 10.
Local organizations send more than 100,000 pounds of relief items to Hurricane Zeta victims
LYNCHBURG, Va. โ Two local organizations are stepping up to send truckloads of relief to those affected by Hurricane Zeta. Godโs Pit Crew and Gleaning for the World are helping people in Mississippi and Louisiana, respectively. Theyโre shipping more than 100,000 pounds of items including personal care products, water, blankets and snacks. โWe had the supplies in our warehouse to be able to send our first truckload down there, and also we had a partner come out and say they wanted to supply the funds for the shipping,โ said Teresa Davis, communications director with Gleaning for the World. โAll of the trucks have a variety of product on them,โ said Randy Johnson, founder and director of Godโs Pit Crew, โBut one of the key ingredients is our โblessing bucket,โ which is a five-gallon bucket filled with a variety of personal hygiene supplies: soap, shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste.โBoth organizations already sent multiple truckloads to the Gulf this year to help with hurricane relief.
Godโs Pit Crew has already responded to more disasters than ever in 2020
DANVILLE, Va. โ It may seem like 2020 is just one bad thing after another and for Godโs Pit Crew, that statement is true. The Danville nonprofit has responded to more major disasters in 2020 than any year in its history. โWhen people are devastated in these communities and they see those red trucks roll in, they know that hope is rolling in there on wheels,โ said Godโs Pit Crew founder Randy Johnson. In 2020, Godโs Pit Crew has met a lot of people in need. This week, Godโs Pit Crew volunteers will head to Tennessee to build a tornado victim a new home.
Godโs Pit Crew sends supplies to wildfire victims
DANVILLE, Va. โ Godโs Pit Crew is shipping three tractor-trailers full of water, Gatorade and hygiene products to help people whoโve been displaced by the wildfires in Oregon and California. Godโs Pit Crew is also still helping out people impacted by Hurricane Laura. Recovery from these disasters is still a long way away, but Godโs Pit Crew COO Brandon Nuckles said itโs amazing to see the support pour in. God's Pit Crew is sending thousands of Blessing Buckets filled with supplies to help the victims of the wildfires out west. With Hurricane Sally hitting the Gulf Coast, Godโs Pit Crew is looking for monetary donations to buy more water, food and supplies because they have to limit the number of volunteers working at a time due to COVID-19.
Godโs Pit Crew volunteers helping Hurricane Laura victims in Louisiana
LAKE CHARLES, La. โ Folks in Louisiana are still cleaning up from the damage caused by Hurricane Laura. Almost two dozen Godโs Pit Crew volunteers have spent the past several days on the ground in Lake Charles, Louisiana. A Godโs Pit Crew employee who is currently in Louisiana said dealing with a disaster in a pandemic is overwhelming for these hurricane victims. Click here if you would like to donate to help Godโs Pit Crew.
Godโs Pit Crew deploying volunteers, supplies to Hurricane Laura victims
DANVILLE, Va. โ Godโs Pit Crew volunteers are gearing up to head to Lake Charles, Louisiana to help Hurricane Laura victims. Theyโre expected to leave Danville Friday at 6 a.m. to clean up debris. About 20 people have signed up to be part of the first crew dispatched south. The founder of Godโs Pit Crew, Randy Johnson, said sending the tool and equipment trucks can be a Godsend for those with no way to get trees and limbs off their homes. The nonprofit needs donations for their โblessing bucketsโ since theyโve already sent out 70 semi-truck loads of relief due to COVID-19 and other natural disasters this year.
'They are the heart of this organization: Gods Pit Crew treated to Food for Frontline meals
In the final week of Food for Frontline, Gods Pit Crew volunteers were treated as they continued to work around the clock. It has been about as crazy as crazy could be, said Randy Johnson, Gods Pit Crew founder. Typically, Gods Pit Crew runs on hundreds of volunteers. Were really happy to prepare all the stuff and really happy to cook the food for the people, said Vincenzo Badalamenti, whose family owns Joe & Mimmas. People have been good to us, so were really happy about that.Joe & Mimmas staff unloaded the meals at the Gods Pit Crew warehouse and wheeled them in to the breakroom.
Godโs Pit Crew sending supplies to church in northern Virginia
DANVILLE, Va. โ Godโs Pit Crew is at it again. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the founder said theyโve sent 45 semi-loads of products to people in need, and this week theyโre working on another order. On Monday, they prepared 500 boxes of food and 500 backpacks full of school supplies and hygiene items. Those will be delivered to Montclair Tabernacle Church in Dumfries, Virginia later this week. A portion of the shipment will also be distributed to military families in need in the Quantico area.
Godโs Pit Crew sending aid to Tennessee, Mississippi tornado victims
DANVILLE, Va. โ Help is on the way from Southwest Virginia to people impacted by Sundayโs deadly tornadoes across the south. Godโs Pit Crew in Danville sent a semi-truck full of relief supplies to Cleveland, Tennessee on Monday morning. On Tuesday, a semi-truck full of relief supplies from Godโs Pit Crewโs satellite site in Dallas, Texas will head to Collins, Mississippi. โThe big strain is having to be so restrictive with a number of volunteers we use at a time and trying to make sure theyโre safe and healthy," Godโs Pit Crew founder Randy Johnson said. If youโd like to help Godโs Pit Crew, click here.
Godโs Pit Crew preparing for local coronavirus response
DANVILLE, Va. โ A local nonprofit known for helping people around the country and world is preparing to help people here at home. Godโs Pit Crew volunteers are making a list of all the supplies, like food and water, in the organizationโs Danville warehouse available to be sent out locally if needed in the incident of a coronavirus outbreak. CEO Randy Johnson said as of Friday there were about four semi-truck loads of Gatorade, one of water, about 50 pallets of food and about 2,500 disaster relief kits. โWe would probably tend to try to work with the government, public officials in our surrounding city and county and let them handle that," Johnson said. The organization is also still trying to help people in Tennessee after last weekโs tornadoes, but as of Friday, Godโs Pit Crew was not planning on limiting supplies to disaster areas in order to keep supplies locally.
Godโs Pit Crew preparing to provide aid after Tennessee deadly tornado
DANVILLE, Va. โ Godโs Pit Crew is communicating with contacts in Tennessee after Monday nightโs deadly tornadoes ripped through part of the state. โWe have been in contact with churches and people who are in the affected areas, and GPC will be ready to respond accordingly as more information on the current needs is gathered,โ said Brandon Nuckles, chief operating officer for Godโs Pit Crew. As tornado season arrives, Godโs Pit Crew is ready to respond by having plenty of Blessing Buckets and relief supplies on-hand. On Friday and Saturday, GPC will have a Pop-Up Blessing Bucket Drive at the Danville Walmart at Mount Cross Road and the Walmart Neighborhood Market in Nordan from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. volunteers will be collecting essential relief items that go inside the Blessing Buckets. For those who canโt make it to this weekendโs drive and would like to help support Godโs Pit Crewโs disaster responses or Blessing Bucket program, you can visit godspitcrew.org/donate and select โDisaster Responseโ or โBlessing Bucketsโ as your gift designation.
Martinsville City Schools are prepared for emergencies with help from Godโs Pitโs Crew
MARTINSVILLE, Va. โ Martinsville City schools are prepared for any emergency. Godโs pit crew donated more than 200 emergency blessing buckets for use in every classroom in every school. The buckets contain first-aid instructions, supplies, self-defense spray, bottled water, and items that may be needed in an emergency situation. The buckets are there to provide an extra layer of security in the event of a crisis, public shooting, or school lockdown. Danville City schools were the first public school district to receive the buckets.