Key Takeaways
• To streamline future relief efforts, Lawrence Hanley of Desk Plants (asi/49451) and Rusty Pepper of Taylor Corp. launched Team On-Demand, an initiative designed to create a ready-to-deploy playbook connecting suppliers, distributors and volunteers to efficiently deliver critical supplies and support during natural disasters.
• The venture was created after devastating floods hit the Texas Hill Country in July and the promotional products industry came together to deliver essential goods to those in need.
• The response effort showcased how the print and promo sector’s nationwide distribution networks, product capabilities and manpower make it uniquely positioned to aid disaster relief.
When catastrophic flash floods ravaged the Texas Hill Country over the Fourth of July weekend earlier this year, it was a call to action for many in the promo industry – especially Lawrence Hanley and Rusty Pepper, who have founded industry disaster-relief venture Team On-Demand in the wake of that tragedy.
After those July floods, Hanley, CEO of Austin, TX-based supplier Desk Plants (asi/49451), quickly created an Amazon registry filled with essential items flood victims would need and shared it across his network. Another Austin-based supplier, Rupt (asi/84203), joined forces with Desk Plants, offering its headquarters as a receiving and distribution hub as donations from the industry started rolling in.
“This isn’t just a natural disaster. It’s a human tragedy that has changed lives forever,” Jason Lucash, CEO of Rupt, told ASI Media in July. “Entire communities have been devastated, and the road to rebuilding will be long.”
Over the course of four days, hundreds of people had contributed more than 2,500 packages of essentials, with a total value of about $55,000. In addition, Counselor Top 40 supplier Hit Promotional Products (asi/61125) donated an entire 56-foot-long truck filled with supplies.
Longtime Austin resident Pepper, head of global markets and partnerships at Taylor OnDemand, part of Taylor Corp., volunteered to help with on-the-ground distribution efforts.
A week after the flooding, Hanley, Pepper and a group of volunteers loaded up a full-sized U-Haul truck and formed a caravan to Center Point, TX, to distribute the donations to families in need, then joined ongoing search and recovery efforts for the people still missing at the time.
It became clear during the donation and distribution process that the print and promotional products industry is uniquely suited to mobilizing quickly and efficiently to answer the call when natural disasters strike, Pepper says. Consider, he adds, that suppliers produce many of the exact items needed in disaster recovery – like first aid kits, battery packs, sunscreen, hand sanitizer and apparel – and have distribution centers located strategically across the U.S. Print companies are able to quickly create flyers, signs and other materials to help guide volunteers and help raise awareness in the aftermath of events. Plus, industry pros represent thousands of potential boots-on-the-ground volunteers ready to provide direct support, he adds.
Get Involved
Donate or sign up to become a Team On-Demand partner here.
The only thing missing, as Hanley and Pepper saw it, was an organizational framework to help ensure donations of what’s most needed are linked up to the proper channels to ensure timely distribution. Hanley and Pepper created Team On-Demand to provide that very framework.
“A lot of people want to help, but they don’t know where to start, so then they just never do anything,” Pepper says. “We’re creating a playbook that we can deploy whenever a natural disaster strikes. We want to be able to pool the resources of the print and promo industry to galvanize them and make it easy to get involved.”
Team On-Demand is currently seeking donations to help cover the costs of getting relief to disaster-affected areas. The initiative is also seeking to partner with suppliers and distributors that have warehousing space and are willing to devote a portion of their space as collection points for donated goods during future relief efforts.
“We’re really just tapping into existing resources,” Pepper says. “We want to be that center point for when disasters happen.”
