365 Alive: Day 259: 9/17/11- Volunteer to Help Flood Disaster Victims

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Day 259: 9/17/11- Volunteer to Help Flood Disaster Victims

Day 259: 9/17/11
New Thing: Volunteer to Help Flood Disaster Victims

Inspiration: 2011 Floor, Ali
Cost: $0
Time: Several Hours
Bottom Line: I only wish I could have done more.

A Tunkhannock Landmark

Reflection: On September 8th, the North Eastern part of Pennsylvania was flooded in a major storm that effected much of the East Coast. One of the towns hit the hardest was Tunkhannock, which is my hometown. Flooding is a pretty regular phenomenon there and I certainly remember having to muck out our church (St. Peter's) several times until the whole building was lost to another major flood. However, this time the Susquehanna swelled its banks at record highs and caused more damage then the area has ever seen. I have heard that some people are still looking for the remains of their homes which were swept away.

I have been heartbroken over this devastation and went back to T-Town last night and into today to help out in the the disaster relief efforts. The trip began with a nice visit with Mom last night (thanks for the awesome soup!) and would have included Ali the next day, but she took ill (missed you!). I first went over to the shelter where they still have many families living to see what was needed there. The Red Cross has set this site up in the high-school and this was my first time back since my graduation 10 years ago. It was a surreal homecoming to see the gym converted into a home for those who have lost everything. The good news is that they were well maned there, so I was sent over to the Interfaith clothing drive site which has grown so large in their donations, they have started to occupy a large warehouse in town. I spent the next several hours sorting, folding, and distributing clothes to those in need. The people there were wonderful and the woman in charge reminded me alot of our Deacon Liz who runs our daily soup kitchen at work. It was a blessing to see the whole community banding together to help one-another. I only wish there was more I could do to help out this wonderful town and her people.