RICHMOND, Va. -- A Richmond couple answered the prayers of an EMT in Buckingham County by letting him stay in their RV while he works on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic.
The pair were connected by RVs for MDs, a public Facebook group with nearly 30,000 members created to connect healthcare workers in need of recreational vehicles. That way the workers can stay closer to home while keeping their families safe.
Buckingham County EMT Traquan Gregory found out about the page through another work group.
Gregory said things have been completely different since the pandemic began.
"When I first get to work, I say a prayer because right now, it is a trying time... -We never know what we're walking into," Gregory said. "I always had it in the back of my mind, 'If I got exposed, what would I do? And how would this affect my family?'"
Gregory scrolled through the Facebook page and discovered a Richmond woman's post.
Sherry Klauer learned about the Facebook page from her sister-in-law and posted a pic of her family's camper.
When Gregory spotted it, he reached out.
"He said, 'I'm an EMT and I have children,'" Klauer remembered. "One has had respiratory issues in the past and one is a brand new baby... just turned three months old, I think last week. And then he also has a heart condition. And I thought, 'Wow, we can make this work.'"
Within a few days, the Klauers drove their RV to Buckingham County.
Gregory called the act of kindness a blessing that his he and his family will be forever grateful for.
"To know that just a complete stranger can donate to another stranger that they never met, never knew before the Facebook group. I mean, it was truly a blessing for me," he said. "Thank you."
It adds a sense of peace for Gregory as he continues to serve the community during the pandemic.
"To know that our camper... that we love and is so special to us, that could help another family in a way that we never anticipated," Klauer said. "I keep telling him, 'Take care of yourself, and take care of all those people out there, and that's all you need to do.'"
To date, the group has made more than 1,000 matches. Click here for more information about RVs for MDs.