Volunteers from Washington in Florida as Hurricane Milton approaches

As Hurricane Milton makes landfall toward the Florida Gulf Coast, volunteers throughout the country are heading down to the area to prepare for a weeks-long relief mission.

Several groups in Western Washington have not only sent volunteers down to the coast but are also sending truckloads of supplies. World Mission out of Fife packed a massive 53-foot truck on Wednesday with those supplies that will make it to Bradenton, Florida, which isn’t far from Tampa.

“We’re loading on hygiene kits. We’re loading generators. We’re loading socks, clothing, diapers, water,” Roberta Taylor with World Mission said.

There are already some volunteers from the Evergreen State in the state of Florida providing relief from Hurricane Helene. Will McMahan, a volunteer from Everett, is in Tallahassee and shares with KIRO 7 some of the madness happening in the area as Milton approaches.

“I mean the last two days I had to make deliveries and I got caught in the evacuation traffic because people are just trying to get out of here,” McMahan said.

McMahan says this isn’t the first time he has done hurricane relief and is happy to be a part of these missions. He says, however, that the build-up from this storm feels different from any other mission he has been a part of.

“And once I am released from this hotel room and I can get back to work again, what am I going to be going into?” McMahan said.

Despite the nerves of some of these volunteers heading into this storm, each one that KIRO 7 spoke with wants to do everything they can to help.

“And just being able to take just a little hope down there into the communities is really a blessing,” Taylor said.

Both Taylor and McMahan believe that hope is one of the best things they can bring to the Gulf Coast as many are uncertain about the impact Milton will have.

“I want to make a difference. And I want to be able to help people,” McMahan said.