Brighten Your Day

Woman Goes To Walmart With $50 To Buy Supplies For Hurricane Florence Victims. The Manager Spends Over $1,000 Out Of His Own Pocket

September 27, 2018

I've always believed that disasters bring out the best in people.

Shelli Trench, who lives in Garner, North Carolina, shared this inspiring story after visiting her local Walmart to buy supplies for people affected by Hurricane Florence.

Credit: Shelli Trench

This is what Shelli wrote on Facebook:

"I dropped off some water and diapers at the shelter at Garner Magnet High School.

While I was there, I asked them with their greatest need was and their response was 'T-shirts. We have people coming from all over and we can offer them hot showers but we don't have clean clothes for them. So we need T-shirts and underwear.'

I said, 'Let me see what I can do.'

I had $50 that I could spend so I headed to the only store open – the Walmart in Garner, North Carolina.

I went in and asked for a manager, hoping he would give me some kind of discount to make that money go further.

Instead, I got a blessing.

When Jeff Jobes, the manager on duty, heard about the plight of the people at the shelter he didn't give me a discount. Instead, he armed me with one of his associates (Alex) and a shopping cart and told her to fill it... on him.

Y'all... $1,251 later, I was able to deliver 254 items of clothing to the evacuees at the Garner High shelter because Jeff the manager loves his community and he proved it with his actions.

Do me this favor... share this post far and wide and let's make it go viral.

Jeff deserves to be recognized for his example of honor, integrity, and community compassion."

Credit: Shelli Trench

But Jeff wasn't done yet. Here's what Shelli wrote the very next day:

"ROUND 2: Walmart Garner -2 #HurricaneFlorence -0

I woke up to this morning to this text from Manager Jeff: 'How is everything this morning? Need anything?'

So I drove to the shelter and ask them what they needed and they gave me a list of fresh fruit for snacks, Ensure, Boost, and Gatorade.

I texted the list to Jeff and his response was: 'Give me 30 minutes then come see me.'

Y'all when I got to the store, manager Jeff and his co-manager Kelly were busy pulling together the items that were requested.

They didn't donate bags of fresh fruit. They donated case after case after case after case of apples and oranges and bananas and Ensure and Boost and Gatorade and Cliff bars and pastries and bread and cookies.

My van was loaded to the top.

The outpouring of love and support from the Walmart in Garner is unbelievable."

Credit: Shelli Trench