When devastating floods struck his home state of Kentucky in 2022, Austin Millikan didn’t hesitate—he knew he wanted to help.
“I was looking for a volunteer group that was on site,” Austin said. “That’s when I first heard of Operation BBQ Relief (OBR). I chose to volunteer with them because of my interest in barbecue—and the opportunity to help my neighbors.”
Over 31 days, OBR provided 129,664 meals during that deployment. But what impressed Austin most wasn’t just the scale of the operation—it was the camaraderie and spirit behind it.
“Everyone was working together to help the local community,” he said. “After seeing what OBR was capable of and how many meals were given out, I knew this was a group I wanted to continue volunteering with.”
His advice for new volunteers? Don’t overthink it—just show up.
“Just do it! Every volunteer has to start somewhere, and OBR is an amazing organization to begin with,” Austin said. “My favorite part has been all the friends I’ve made from the deployments.”
To register to volunteer with OBR, download our “OBR Volunteers” smartphone app or visit our website at https://operationbbqrelief.org/volunteer-obr.
