When Hurricane Helene barreled through North Carolina last September, it left a trail of devastation that uprooted countless lives and destroyed entire communities. In the aftermath, volunteers from near and far sprang into action. Within five days of the storm’s landfall, Knobelsdorff (KE)—a Minnesota-based energy and electrical company—had launched a relief drive and mobilized 35 employees to aid in a three-week disaster recovery mission over a thousand miles away in North Carolina.
Calling on their local community for donations, KE partnered with businesses in Goodhue, Red Wing and Zumbrota, Minnesota, and filled a semi truck with generators, humidifiers, coats, basic clothing, laundry detergent, heaters and pallets of water that were driven south and distributed directly to the affected communities. In addition to truckloads of goods, the company also raised more than $20,000 in cash donations, which they used to purchase gift cards at local businesses and restaurants in the devastated areas to support the local economy. The gift cards were then distributed to residents for use at a later time.
“We responded to what they were asking for. We stayed very flexible. It was very rewarding,” says Knobelsdorff Director of Marketing Megan Ramaker.
Prior to mobilizing their employees, KE’s energy division faced a lull due to procurement delays, which initially seemed like a setback as workers risked being laid off or reassigned. But Mike Huneke, Knobelsdorff’s energy division operations director, had a different idea. Spotting an opportunity to serve the greater good, Huneke and his team of 34 employees leveraged their skills in logistics, project management and hands-on labor to support the hurricane-stricken communities. As a U.S. Marine Corps. veteran, Huneke’s knack for organizing efforts to mobilize workers to the disaster-ridden areas came naturally.
“He took that passion, and he brought it. He was able to put that hat on and say, ‘OK, guys, this area needs help; we need to do this.’ He brought that level of strategic thinking, organization and logistics to the table to say: ‘This is what I know and how we can get it done. Who wants to participate? Who else can we leverage?’” Ramaker says.
While the team was mobilized in North Carolina, KE kept all 35 of those employees on its payroll—speaking volumes about the company’s commitment to service. “The easy way is just to give money and say, ‘Here’s $5,000, here’s $10,000,’ but we had 35 guys raise their hands and say, ‘Hey, I want to go down there,’ and, you know, they had other options, and they chose this option,” Ramaker says.
With boots on the ground, KE’s employees quickly got to work building their own bunk beds and tents. They collaborated with other disaster-relief crews on demolition, debris cleaning and removing mold to restore homes and community spaces for reoccupancy. As is the case on all Knobelsdorff jobsites, safety precautions were top priority, with workers in full hazmat suits, hats, gloves, boots, masks and eye protection.
“There are quite a few different situations where we did go above and beyond. The community members love the guys down there, and they even have nicknames for them. They are making quite an impact there. These communities need people to do the dirty work,” Ramaker says.
As the number of climate-related disasters increases, KE believes organizations, particularly those in the construction industry, can make a meaningful impact by putting themselves on the front lines and working directly with affected communities, where they can address real needs and contribute to long-term recovery efforts.
“Remove what you think. Ask them, boots on the ground, ‘What do you guys need? What is it you want?’” Ramaker says. “It’s okay if it’s not something you had in mind. Asking and working directly with those local organizations is going to make a much bigger difference.”
