One thing that many of us were told, probably though the great Mr. Rogers, was that whenever something bad happens in the world you should always look for the people that are helping.
After a storm, you don’t have to be the guy with the chainsaw pulling trees out of people’s homes.
Sometimes all you need to be able to do is whatever you can do. I have a lot of portable power banks that I keep in the home and when the power went out here during a bad storm a few years ago I loaned them to my neighbors so they could get in touch with their families.
After Hurricane Laura tore through Louisiana, those who experienced the most damage were left without power or water, many forced to pick up the pieces of their lives without the simple comfort of a hot meal.
Rikesh Patel owns 25 McDonald’s locations in Louisiana, and his Lake Charles restaurants were hardest hit. In a generous gesture, he decided to help out his own but also the community.
Offering his own workers places to stay if their homes were damaged and time-and-a-half pay, according to CNN, he also called corporate the day after the hurricane hit and asked for a McRig. One made the trek from Kentucky and arrived the day after he requested it.
“Pictures don’t do [the destruction] justice,” he said of the area. “It’s so much worse than what you’re seeing on social media.”
“We know that the rebuilding process will take a lot of time,” Patel added. “But we know that Lake Charles is going to come through this and that we’ll be stronger than ever.”
And part of that was aided by his offer of free food. Using the McRig and the workers still in the area, he began serving meals composed of a cheeseburger, fries and a bottled water at no cost to the recipients.
“Today we proudly served over 1,500 free meals to our Lake Charles community,” he tweeted Aug. 31. “We’ll be back at it again tomorrow! The greatest brand in the world.”
One recipient, Sky Nielsen, posted a photo of the free meal and the note that came with it on social media, and Patel shared it on Twitter.
“As the people of Lake Charles and the surrounding areas recover from the devastation caused by Hurricane Laura, your local McDonald’s Owner/Operator, in partnership with McDonald’s Corporation wish to contribute in a small way by providing lunch to those who are working so hard to rebuild their homes and businesses,” the note read.
“The true character of our great city is on full display as we come together and help each other recover from the effect of this devastating storm.