Helping in Houston: Employees Step up Following Historic Hurricane

On one street, eerie silence. On another, people screaming for help.

And water everywhere.

Dodging submerged cars and picket fences, their boat’s propeller had already sustained damage. They knew it wouldn’t last much longer, but they had to keep going.

There were more families needing to be rescued.

Michael McDaniel is a Medtronic employee and a proud Texas-native. The 38-year old lives in Dallas with his wife and two children. But he grew up in Houston.

Before Hurricane Harvey hit, McDaniel was preparing for a busy few days at work. As a regional business manager he oversees the “Bayou Region” which includes Houston. 

Michael McDaniel went door-to-door looking for people to rescue. 

“I had an important quarterly business review meeting —  then the storm hit,” he recalls. “I called my boss and told him I couldn’t’ make it. I had to go to Houston.”

Pulling a fishing boat behind them, McDaniel and a close friend contacted local authorities who directed them to one of the hardest-hit neighborhoods. Then the work began.

“It was so early on, there wasn’t a coordinated rescue effort yet. It was just volunteers in boats.”

Guiding their 18-foot boat, they maneuvered through quick-moving water, going house to house looking for people to help.

“Families were hanging out of second-story windows yelling and shouting addresses of loved ones,” said McDaniel. “The need was so great — you’re speechless.”

They made dozens of runs into flood-ravaged areas and brought pets, children, and entire families back to dry ground.

“We saw neighborhoods that had no water one minute, but a few hours later it was six feet high.”

They went back a second day to help, but the prop on their boat was damaged so badly, they needed to borrow a second boat.

“The next day, there were hundreds of volunteers. We pulled people from homes and apartments and actually teamed up with local authorities who guided us into places with victims in desperate situations.”

In all, they worked two-and-a-half days and rescued dozens of people.

“I was thankful to have this opportunity to give and to help,” he said. “You’re trying to do what others would do for me.”

McDaniel wasn’t the only Medtronic employee to jump into action. Blanca Silva-Solis avoided major flooding in her neighborhood, but drove through rising waters and quickly turned her attention to collecting supplies for hurricane victims. 
 

Blanca Silva-Solis quickly turned her attention to collecting supplies for hurricane victims. 

“I immediately went to the store and bought items I knew people would need,” said Blanca. “We quickly coordinated drop-off locations and organized a donation effort.”

On the first day following the storm, Blanca connected with a nearby shelter with just a few hundred storm victims. By the third day, the shelter was housing more than 9,000 people.

“This was a total grassroots effort and we were in the right place at the right time to help people,” she said. “I even wore my Medtronic Mission t-shirt.”

The Medtronic Mission, written by the company’s founders more than 50 years ago highlights the importance of “maintaining good citizenship as a company.”

In the weeks to come, employees are coordinating with All Hands Volunteers, a disaster relief organization sending waves of teams to Houston.  The company allows employees up to five days of paid leave to volunteer with disaster relief efforts. Medtronic and the Medtronic Foundation are also donating to organizations assisting those affected by the storm while several Medtronic facilities are collecting supplies and organizing blood drives. 

“This is what Medtronic employees do,” says McDaniel. “The need will be great for a long-time. There will be plenty of ways to help in the months to come.”

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