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.
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.
From All-American to All-Star: How Jeremy Kimbroughโs career took a turn for the better
Kimbrough is a tire carrier for Kurt Buschโs crew at Chip Ganassi Racing. โI was fourtunate enough to make it up to the NFL and play with the Washington Football Team. Jeremy Kimbrough in Washington's training camp in 2014 (WSLS)He spent two seasons with the team before an injury took him away from the game--but drove him to the racetrack. In 2016, he joined NASCARโs Drive for Diversity program, which gives women and mionrities training and opportunities as drivers and as pit crew members. An inspiring feat for this college football All-American turned 2020 NASCAR Pit Crew All-Star.
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.
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.
Buckets of emergency supplies in classrooms give Danville teachers, students peace of mind
DANVILLE, Va. - Emergency buckets are helping give students and teachers in Danville some peace of mind. All Danville Public Schools teachers have had a bucket for about a week now, thanks to Gods Pit Crew. Galileo High School English teacher Michelle Larking said theyve been especially helpful for students since the active shooter drill there Oct. 11. As soon as the buckets came, they asked us, Whats in the buckets? We opened the buckets and went through and showed them, and they were relieved that we had those things," Larking said. They were getting very creative and thinking, What can we use as a tourniquet if we didnt have one?A grant from the Womack Foundation allowed Gods Pit Crew to provide the buckets.
New partnership allows God's Pit Crew to get supplies to hurricane victims faster
You know people's lives have been forever wiped away," said Randy Johnson, founder and director of God's Pit Crew. The nonprofit sent a tractor-trailer packed with 1,000 blessing buckets and 15 generators full of supplies out Wednesday morning. It's not a new mission for God's Pit Crew, but this time, it's a little different. The nonprofit has sent supplies overseas on ships before, but Johnson said that's a painstakingly slow process that takes weeks. Click here to find out how you can help God's Pit Crew.
God's Pit Crew sending aid to Bahamas
DANVILLE, Va. - God's Pit Crew is teaming up with Operation Compassion to help people in the Bahamas impacted by Hurricane Dorian. According to a news release, the two nonprofits are working together to send a tractor-trailer load of relief supplies to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, this weekend. The supplies will then be loaded onto a barge and sent to the Bahamas. God's Pit Crew is also working with Agape Flights to have up to 1,000 Blessing Buckets and generators flown to the island of Eleuthera, where many hurricane evacuees are located, according to the news release. Copyright 2019 by WSLS 10 - All rights reserved.
God's Pit Crew keeps close eye on Hurricane Dorian
DANVILLE, Va. - With Hurricane Dorian expected to make landfall in Florida in the next few days, God's Pit Crew is preparing to respond. The Danville nonprofit is staying in touch with contacts in Florida and monitoring the storm. "They will run out very quickly if this thing is what they say it potentially could be. We are pretty low on bottled water right now," God's Pit Crew founder Randy Johnson said. If you'd like to help God's Pit Crew, click here.
Juicing for Jesus: 11-year-old to set up lemonade stand to raise money for God's Pit Crew
He's done it twice before since 2017, raising $15,000 for God's Pit Crew to help people recover from disasters. This weekend, he'll have a lemonade stand set up and hopes to raise $10,000 to help God's Pit Crew build a new school in the town of Moffett, Oklahoma, which was devastated by flooding in May. God's Pit Crew founder Randy Johnson estimates at least $250,000 will be needed to build the school. The lemonade stand will be at Zinc Total Salon in downtown Danville from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. He and his mother will actually go to Moffett next month to help God's Pit Crew.
God's Pit Crew to rebuild school in Oklahoma devastated by flooding
DANVILLE, Va. - God's Pit Crew is preparing for its largest project ever: helping the town of Moffett, Oklahoma, rebuild after devastating flooding. God's Pit Crew plans to rebuild the school, expecting the work to cost at least $250,000. After interviews and a lot of praying, he said, he called Moffett's superintendent and told him God's Pit Crew would be back. In interviews with God's Pit Crew, school staff members echoed that feeling. If you would like to help God's Pit Crew, click here.
2016's Stop 19: Appomattox County
APPOMATTOX COUNTY (WSLS 10) - Stop 19 on the Virginia Proud Weather Tour took Jeff Haniewich and Lindsey Ward to Evergreen, three months after a deadly tornado hit. On Tuesday, WSLS 10 announced Rebuilding Hope, a partnership between WSLS 10, God's Pit Crew and Spirit FM to rebuild the home of Nancy Harris. Not only did Harris lose her home, she also lost her husband when the tornado hit February 24. On Wednesday, Jeff will be in Halifax County.