Help Is Here

Exhibit shows how Walmart aids in disaster relief

Courtesy Photo A temporary exhibit at the Walmart Museum in Bentonville displays artifacts and images from the company's worldwide disaster relief efforts. The exhibit is up through Oct. 15.
Courtesy Photo A temporary exhibit at the Walmart Museum in Bentonville displays artifacts and images from the company's worldwide disaster relief efforts. The exhibit is up through Oct. 15.

Water was a huge problem for the many people who survived Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast. Water flooded cities, destroyed homes and became undrinkable.

People needed help, and Walmart was there. A temporary exhibit, "Help When It's Needed Most," takes a look at Walmart's response to this disaster and many others around the world.

FAQ

‘Help When It’s Needed Most’

WHEN — 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, noon-9 p.m. Sunday through Oct. 15

WHERE — The Walmart Museum, 105 N. Main St. in Bentonville

COST — Free

INFO — 273-1329 or walmartmuseum.com

"Imagine you have nothing," says Alan Dranow, senior director of Walmart Heritage Group. "Your home is destroyed, and you are waiting at the Superdome, and the Walmart trucks come in, and they've got water. You couldn't drink any of the water [in New Orleans]."

The exhibit has artifacts from some of the disasters, including a license plate that was embedded in the wall at a Joplin, Mo., Walmart store destroyed in a tornado and commemorative T-shirts, as well as photos and videos from each disaster. Hurricane Sandy, which struck the Northeast in 2012, and the 2011 Japan tsunami are also represented in the exhibit.

"You see how terrible the storms were, but then you see how Walmart comes into an area to help," Dranow says. "We are experts on logistics, warehousing and trucking."

An associate who survived Hurricane Katrina visited the exhibit recently. One of the videos brought her to tears, Dranow says.

"She looked back on that, and it reminded her what a terrible thing it was, but it also reminded her -- and this is what really touched me -- how Walmart was there for her and her family. She didn't miss work. She was put to work in another store. We made sure she and her family had what they needed," Dranow says. "You really learn the whole story of what Walmart does."

Walmart has been offering disaster relief since the Marion, Ill., tornado of 1982. On May 29 of that year, an F4 tornado ravaged the small city, killing 10.

"Sam Walton and Jack Shewmaker visited the community and decided to make available whatever the customers and associates needed to get their lives back in order," Dranow says. "A lot of other people back then would see a disaster as an opportunity to raise prices on things. Sam dropped the prices. He didn't want a profit on that."

"It's not just the company giving things," Dranow says. "Walmart associates play a major role in disaster relief."

Dranow was part of a team that sorted clothing for victims of the Joplin tornado.

The exhibit also takes note of Walmart moving from disaster relief to disaster preparedness, Dranow says.

"Rather than getting behind the problem, we are coming out ahead of it," he says. "Our associates have clear, well thought through disaster preparedness plans."

Quick thinking by the store manager at the Joplin Walmart saved a lot of lives when the tornado struck in 2011, he says.

The relief program began with Sam Walton's realization that his company could make a difference and help the community, and it is carried on today by his successors, Dranow says.

"We want people to know they are not alone. When Walmart is there, we are there for our customers, we are there for our associates. Our associates are impacted just as much as our customers," he says.

NAN What's Up on 09/25/2015

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