Red Cross Clean-Up Kits Help Ease the Recovery Process

Story by: Cindy Huge, Kate Walters and Cuthbert Langley, American Red Cross 

Brian Lodge isn’t changing anything.

“I’ll take the good with the bad,” he says throughout a drawn-out sigh.

Brian Lodge shows the water line on his Mullins home.

Lodge’s home sits next to the Little Pee Dee River in Mullins.  He knew the river could flood. He knew water could eventually end up inside his home. Over these last few weeks, both of those things happened. In fact, the water line reached over his head.

The rains from Hurricane Florence caused the river to swell over its banks and into Lodge’s home. Now that the river has returned to a somewhat tranquil pace, Lodge has come back home to begin cleaning up, with help from the American Red Cross.

For several days, the Red Cross has been distributing clean-up kits throughout Lodge’s neighborhood and other impacted areas. So far, nearly 3,000 of those clean-up kits have been distributed to people, like Lodge, who need them.

Amidst debris, Lodge begins his recovery with help
from a Red Cross clean-up kit.

With his bucket of supplies in hand, Lodge starts looking through to see what’s inside. Sifting through, he finds a foldable broom, gloves, cleaning supplies; the forlorn look on his face was quickly replaced with a delighted smile when he found a stiff brush. He had been searching local stores for one, but they were sold-out. He also found a mask to protect him from debris and any mold that could be growing.

“You never understand the strength of groups like the Red Cross until you go through something like this,” he said.

Hurricane Florence affected many people in Lodge’s community. He is the band director at a local high school that became a Red Cross shelter. In fact, Lodge said many of his students were there, too.

Lodge puts together a foldable broom
he received from a clean-up kit.

“I’m sure many of my students and their families have been deeply affected by Hurricane Florence,” he said. “I’m looking forward to seeing them next week.”

He will see them next week as normalcy continues to slowly return to Mullins. Schools will begin to reopen. But, the work is just beginning.

“Sometimes I just want to sit down, but I must keep on working,” Lodge said.

The Red Cross will continue to be there, helping to bring a renewed sense of normalcy to South Carolina.  The organization continues to stay in close contact with local emergency management to meet any needs that arise in the communities Florence hit.