New Braunfels Jeep group stepped up when winter storm shut down the city

As the saying goes, when the going gets tough, the tough get going.

That attitude was evident in New Braunfels when a winter storm shut down most of the state, leaving residents virtually immobile, powerless and without water due to freezing temperatures and ice blanketing the roads.

For some residents who depend on delivered meals and medical appointments, life shutting down for a few days just wasn’t an option. One group in New Braunfels heard that call and stepped up to deliver.

NB Trail Team 6 is an online community of Jeep enthusiasts who in their spare time enjoy taking their vehicles out on trails and helping the community.

When the Meals on Wheels program, which is operated by the Comal County Senior Citizens Foundation, was going to be unable to deliver meals during the winter storm, the Jeep group’s members were contacted about delivering the meals to seniors in need.

“I think because we’ve been doing it so often, a lot of people just know who to go to in the event that something like this takes place,” said Rebecca Price, one of the group’s members.

She said that while many members of the online group were stuck at home helping their own families, there was a subset who were able to pitch in and deliver the meals when most other vehicles were stuck in driveways.

“In particular, I think we had 15 people help out because we also had people helping out with the food bank,” Price said. “So, I’d say about 20 people from the area who were able to help during that time. Some people had some issues with their water or electricity, and they said we’ll come out and help.”

Price said she was no stranger to driving in snow, so she and her Jeep were prepared to lend a hand. 

She said besides just delivering meals, the group’s members found themselves getting calls to take residents to warming centers and dialysis appointments.

“There were some people who had to get their dialysis done. … We were able to take some people to the dialysis center in the morning too. You are talking being up at 4:30 in the morning to get them there by 6:30,” she said. “It was pretty crazy.”

“You don’t realize what people’s lives are like that still have to continue on when something like this happens,” Price said.

She said the group was first organized with the intent to help New Braunfels and its surrounding communities, and during the COVID-19 Pandemic and the recent storm, the group has found many opportunities to help out.

“It’s nice to have that type of connection with people so if something takes place, they have somebody they can call on to be able to help,” Price said. “We’ve helped out with Meals on Wheels. … We volunteer wherever we can. We put ourselves out there to be that type of group.”