Before Hurricane Helene arrived in the Carolinas, help was already on the way.
“I’ve never seen such a heavy response from highly skilled individuals,” said Felicia Walker, Chief Operating Officer for Reach Out Worldwide (ROWW) — one of the first organizations to respond with boots on the ground within 24 hours of Helene’s widespread destruction across North Carolina.
Felicia spoke with City Editor Jack while coordinating teams across the Southeast in midst of the ongoing Atlantic hurricane season. “Our team is very small. We can get in there very quickly in those first few days. Our team leads are typically professionals in their field of expertise — contractors, heavy equipment operators, arborists, and doctors.”
The small but skilled team proved nimble and efficient, arriving in storm-ravaged areas like Asheville as FEMA and the Red Cross were mobilizing.
In the critical initial hours following the disaster, ROWW raced the clock to perform wellness checks, remove debris from roofs and roadways, and oversee distribution of critical supplies.
“This was a pretty unique deployment for ROWW and that we were able to have many teams of totally different skill sets running at once.”
Felicia echoed the relief effort took on a life of its own, with the western North Carolina community welcoming ROWW with open arms. “Luckily in Asheville there was this church that could house up to 30 volunteers. The World Food Kitchen, Mercy Chefs, and all these organizations brought food and water in. So, we felt that it was a good idea to bring in more bodies and that’s what we did. We had 275 volunteer inquiries.”
Hundreds of people willing to devote time and effort in response to a common cause all blossomed from a single idea.
ROWW is a 501 (c)(3) organization founded by actor Paul Walker, most well known from “The Fast and the Furious” franchise. The idea to create an organization specialized in responding to natural disasters became realized after Walker traveled to Haiti in wake of a devastating earthquake in 2010.
“He had a strong desire to help people,” said Felicia. Paul’s legacy continues more than a decade since his passing. ROWW serves to augment local resources and put team members to work for the common goal of restoring property and hope to communities struck by natural disasters across the globe — including those in western North Carolina.
“We will come back [to WNC] and do rebuilds once the people that are there can make decisions on what’s repairable and what is not,” shared Felicia.
Today, Reach Out Worldwide remains closely tied to the Walker family. Paul’s brother Cody now serves as the organization’s CEO. With every activation to a natural disaster, the family continues to grow.
“It’s all about the volunteers,” said Felicia. “ROWW has an amazing volunteer base. We started obviously with Paul and I think that ensuring his legacy is one of the biggest factors for me and for Cody and for the family that is what keeps us going.”
Interested in supporting Reach Out Worldwide? Donations are always welcome.
