SAUK CITY — “I had this burning in my gut,” said Brianna Krejchik after she watched news outlets and social media document the devastation Hurricane Helene inflicted across the southeastern United States in late September.
“I have to do something,” she remembered thinking, as she and her husband, Ivan, watched from Sauk City, many miles away from the storm’s destruction.
Hurricane Helene, the third-deadliest hurricane since 2000, hit landfall in Florida on September 26 and traveled inland over the next three days to North Carolina and Tennessee, destroying homes, roads, and lives in its wake until dissipating on the 29.
To date, more than 200 deaths have been attributed to the storm, with nearly half of the deceased residing in the state of North Carolina, which suffered unprecedented flooding.
When cleanup efforts began, the Krejchik family felt the call to help.
A local initiative
Recalling the days immediately following the hurricane, Brianna knew how she wanted to help but was unsure of how to garner support.
Searching for answers, Brianna explained that she turned to her pastorate, Mary, Mother of Mercy — which consists of St. Aloysius Church in Sauk City; St. Barnabus Church in Mazomanie; St. Mary, Health of the Sick Church in Merrimac; and St. Norbert Church in Roxbury — and “reached out to Father [Miguel Galvez, SJS]” over email to pitch her idea.
Brianna’s pitch was to fundraise money and supplies from the community, fill a semi-truck, and drive it to a town in the southeast.
Father Galvez, the parochial administrator of Mary, Mother of Mercy Pastorate, said that after reading Brianna’s email, “I wanted to know more,” and asked her to “come and meet me in person”.
Describing their initial meeting, Father Galvez said, “The first question I asked [was,] ‘Do you have a semi-truck?’”
Brianna replied, “No.”
“Do you have a driver?”
“No,” Brianna said.
“Do you have a place where you want to take all the supplies?”
“Not really,” was her response.
“Do you have a place where you want to store all the donated items?”
“No.”
“And, I said, ‘When do you want to do this by?’” asked Father Galvez.
“Two weeks or less,” Brianna declared.
Unphased, Father Galvez remembered agreeing, “Okay, let’s do it,” and named the effort Operation Mercy on Wheels.
What followed was a small miracle.
Monetary and supply donations were gathered from parishioners of Mary, Mother of Mercy Pastorate, the greater Sauk City community, and travelers from all around Wisconsin.
A semi-truck, driver, and loading bay were offered free of charge for the fundraiser.
Brianna was connected with local organizers and found a town to deliver relief to.
In total, Operation Mercy on Wheels collected $15,000 and 15,000 pounds food and supplies.
After fundraising, the semi-truck was sent to North Carolina filled with donations.
What seemed nearly impossible at the beginning was complete within 13 days.
Remembering, Father Galvez said, “It was amazing to see how everything was falling into place so quickly.”
Ultimately, Operation Mercy on Wheels was spearheaded by a small group that included: Brianna and Ivan Krejchik, Father Galvez, Donna and Randy Verges, Roxy Johnson, and Bryan McCarthy — but it was made possible by a very caring community.
Traveling to Black Mountain
When searching for towns in need of help, Brianna was recommended to reach out to Cajun Navy Relief, a Louisiana-based organization that embraces a neighbor-helping-neighbor mentality in the event of natural disaster, by a friend.
After reaching out to Cajun Navy Relief through Facebook Messenger, Brianna was connected to a local organizer in the small south-central Appalachian town of Black Mountain, N.C.
On October 25, Operation Mercy on Wheels arrived.
The group who made the more than 900-mile trek included McCarthy, who drove the semi-truck, and the Krejchiks and Verges, who traveled in personal vehicles.
The group traveled directly from Sauk City to Black Mountain, not stopping overnight to rest.
Once they arrived, they delivered supplies to the town’s relief station, which was located in a strip mall.
Donated items included: Generators, shoes, coats, bedding, and food, along with many other items, and what helped guide donations, Brianna explained, was a list of the most-needed items provided directly by the Black Mountain relief station.
The group of Sauk City travelers stayed a week in Black Mountain, helping man the relief station and work to clean debris from residential properties.
But another reason for their stay was to pray with the people, Randy said.
“There’s such a need for it,” he continued, explaining that you could see it in the way the locals conducted themselves.
“They’ve been doing this for two months now, and the locals need a time of prayer and healing,” he said, explaining that nearly everyone had lost someone they knew.
Donna said that their goal would be accomplished “if we can just relieve them a little bit by giving them supplies and just being there, giving them hope and showing love”.
What made the Operation Mercy on Wheels particularly inspiring, Father Galvez said, was that he “could see how their donations were being given directly, put in the hands of the people that really needed it,” through the photographs that were taken and sent to him by the Krejchiks.
In Flocknote updates to Mary, Mother of Mercy Pastorate, Father Galvez included those photos, among other photos of the destruction, to give parishioners an idea of their impact.
Donna added that the people in Black Mountain “are so, so thankful.
“That would be the one thing that they’d want to say to anybody who donated, a big ‘thank you.’”
In planning for the future, the Krejchiks hope to return to Black Mountain because “they’re eager for more help,” Brianna said.
If they return, they will plan to travel with their children, Brianna continued, explaining that “it would be a good experience for them”.