October 2011 eSpirit
A flood of hope
Here in Pennsylvania, we know major floods – Irene and Lee in 2011, Ivan in 2004, the flood of 1996, Agnes in 1972, Diane in 1955, Hazel in 1954, the St. Patrick’s Day flood of 1936, the Johnstown flood, and many others recorded over the past 200 years.
Our rivers are beautiful, yet having several of the most flood prone river basins in the country can be devastating at times.
Just a few weeks ago, the day before this most recent flood, our Dial-A-Driver staff helped elderly citizens and others evacuate from a flood zone. At the same time, other staff members were working as quickly as possible to evacuate residents living in our facilities and protect what we could from the flood waters.
Two days later, when the evacuation orders were lifted, we learned that one of our buildings, which houses program offices and apartments for homeless young adults, was flooded with five feet of water. It destroyed our supplies, phone system, electrical panels, heating systems, plumbing and laundry equipment.
Within hours friends and volunteers immediately came to our rescue. Working side by side with staff these caring people spent days cleaning out the mud, plus materials and supplies destroyed by the flood waters.
While they were working, the director of a community foundation came by to see how much damage we had suffered. Within two days Air Products, The Luzerne Foundation, Rosenn Jenkins & Greenwald, and other friends sent much needed financial support to help us begin our own recovery.
In the midst of flood waters, we were immersed in a flood of hope – thanks to volunteers and donors who saw our need and acted to help us. They knew the sooner we got back on our feet, the sooner we could get back to helping others.
One of the things unique to those who love and help others is they gain love and strength themselves, even in the physical exhaustion of their labor.
Maud Booth, one of Volunteers of America’s founders, wrote in 1919, “The more one loves, the stronger becomes the capacity for loving, and it is the hands that are always busy with helpfulness that always find yet more to do.”
Your love, support, and helping hands have been invaluable in assisting us in helping others in the past.
Today, we still have many needs because of the flooding. With the holidays coming, we will have many more requests for help than usual.
I am asking for your support more than ever before. Whether today or when you plan your end of year giving, please send a generous contribution. You can be a part of immersing others in a flood of hope.
Alan R. Garner, President
Volunteers of America of Pennsylvania