EARLHAM, Iowa — An Earlham man has returned to Iowa after transporting supplies and goods to the East Coast in efforts of assisting hurricane victims, after Helene first made landfall now more than two weeks ago.
Kevin Zehr took off in his pickup truck en route to Oklahoma to get supplies like food, drinks, diapers and mattresses about a week and a half ago.
"I wanted to do the right thing, what was going to be most beneficial for the organization at the time," Zehr told Local 5 News after returning to Iowa. "And that's what it seemed to be."
Zehr had planned to travel just from Oklahoma to Florida and then North Carolina to transport the supplies to people in his pickup truck and trailer, but then the organization he had been assisting in Oklahoma asked Zehr to come back and bring even more supplies to South Carolina.
"Some people say, now we know what Iowa nice is. You see that first hand, so that is really cool," he said.
When Zehr was out on the coast, he said organizations were still requesting trucks to transport goods and supplies to those in need. He added how grateful he was for the week he was out on the road, and the people he met were appreciative of the days he took out of his own time to help.
"Being out on the road alone, I get a little closer to God," Zehr said. "And before, years ago, I didn't have that in me and this just makes me feel in the hands and feet of God. And I am doing things for him and it makes me feel good."
Zehr said he traveled nearly 4,000 miles to deliver hundreds of pounds of donations in relief efforts to people.
Here are some of the organizations that are providing relief to those affected by Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.