enVista, an enterprise and supply chain consulting services firm, sent a group of employees and a van full of donated supplies to Southern Indiana on Wednesday, March 21, to help with volunteer efforts after deadly tornadoes ripped through the area in late February and early March.
Between Feb. 29 and March 3, violent storms swept through much of the lower Midwestern and Southeastern parts of the country. The deadly storms left a track spanning nearly 100 miles across 10 states, including Indiana where tornadoes killed 13 people and caused millions of dollars in damage. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has named six counties in Southern Indiana as federal disaster areas.
enVista associates volunteered with Metro United Way, a local chapter of United Way. After a brief training session at the Volunteer Reception Center, the group was outfitted with work gloves and dust masks and dispatched to three disaster sites over the course of the day. Together, the group helped to clear large debris from a property in order to gain access to the septic tank system, salvage wood from a damaged barn and burn piles of trees that were downed in the storm.
“It was an incredibly profound experience to assist and meet individuals that have been impacted by the storm,” says Nathan Boyer, business development manager at enVista. “Seeing the devastation the tornadoes caused and the lives that were forever changed are things I’ll never forget. While the storms hit about two hours away from where I live, this is still a part of the Hoosier community, and it was wonderful to see everyone helping out and giving so selflessly.”
“As a consulting services organization, enVista’s culture centers around delivering more in value than we receive in return,” says Jim Barnes, enVista president and chief executive officer. “It is a privilege for our organization to give back, most recently to those in our home state who have been devastated by the tornadoes. I am very proud of our associates who proactively wanted to help.”
