NEWSLETTERS - Aaron's throws lifeline to flood victims in Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Aaron's throws lifeline to flood victims in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

It didn't go down as planned, but it's unlikely you'll hear any complaints from staff or customers at the Aaron's in Cedar Rapids.

That's where managers, cued by mother nature, turned a "customer appreciation" day into a "flood victim relief effort", gladly dishing out burgers, hot dogs and bottled water to displaced flood victims last week. 

An estimated 4,000 homes were evacuated when the Cedar River poured over its banks. Around 150 of those belonged to Aaron's customers.

"We got the word out to the radio stations and turned it into sort of a help everybody kind of thing," said Barry Baumeister, manager of the Cedar Rapids Aaron's store. "It was nice to be able to give something back, especially during this time."

Baumeister, whose store is owned by Aaron's franchisee Tom Bernau, said he also made the store a makeshift donation point where money was collected to purchase palettes of bottled water and food for the two city shelters which were rapidly filling.

"I only wish more people could have gotten to us," Baumeister said. "From the hardest hit areas, it took people around three hours to get to our side of town."

Baumeister's Aaron's store was sparred any flooding damage, he said.

Hundreds of blocks were flooded, after the Cedar River escaped its banks during the heaviest part of the deluge.

Brian Jones, a regional manager who oversees six Aaron's stores including the Cedar Rapids location, said Baumeister reacted to the situation as if his whole family had been affected, an attitude shared by Aaron's staff.

"He's so outgoing and wants to help everybody," Jones said. "He feels like a lot of us do, like his whole family was affected and he wanted to help out. This town was devastated and it's going to be years before this city gets back to normal. We're glad we were able to do our part to help."

mevans@rtohq.org