When the Chehalis River breached its banks, Steve Gillespie, an associate in the Land Use group, immediately responded. “You always see natural disasters happening on television, and you sit there helpless, wondering what you can do. When I saw this one, I thought, ‘it’s right here!’” Gillespie and his girlfriend Emma Owings (a fifth year associate with Preg, O’Donnell, and Gillette) drove to Home Depot and bought some supplies to donate, then drove down to Chehalis and spent a day helping people dig out. On a whim, they both sent an e-mail to their respective firms asking if anybody wanted to donate “a few bucks” to buy some extra tarps.

“The response was incredible,” said Gillespie. “I really only expected a few dollars here and there, but by the end of the day, individuals at Foster Pepper had donated almost $500.” Coupled with the $500 given by the Firm, the $250 donated by Preg, O’Donnell, and Gillette, and other donations from individuals, Gillespie and Owings raised about $1,500 in one day.

They went to the Home Depot and bought shovels, floor squeegees, rolls of duct tape, tarps, bleach, mops, buckets, gloves, and several other items. They then stopped by Surplus Too Army Navy Surplus store, which gave them a discount on a half dozen pairs of rubber boots and socks, as well as 15 first aid kits. When they were done, Gillespie’s Volkswagen van was packed to the ceiling with supplies to donate.

The next day, they delivered some of the supplies to the Doty, Washington Fire Department (which served as a makeshift food bank, thrift store, and volunteer coordination center) and the remainder to the volunteer center at the Chehalis United Way. Gillespie and Owings spent the rest of their day with three of their friends and several other volunteers, all helping an elderly resident dig out his garage and sort through what remained of his belongings. Said Gillespie: “It was a remarkable experience. The enormity of the situation surpassed what I had seen on television. Those folks still need a lot of help, but it felt good to do something.”