THOUSANDS OF CHURCH MEMBERS TRAVEL TO HELP CLEAN UP AFTER HURRICANE IDA
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by
Jill Taylor
Jill TaylorFollowing the devastation caused by Hurricane Ida, over 1,900 members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from Louisiana and nearby states were mobilized last week to help residents deal with the aftermath.
The hurricane hit the Louisiana coast on Aug. 29th, the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, with sustained winds up to 150 mph, downing trees, crushing homes, and causing power outages for more than a million people. Local residents are still coping with the effects of the storm.
Immediately after Ida hit, the Church began assessing the damage and planning ongoing relief efforts. Thousands of volunteers from throughout the region, including Helping Hands from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, were in place and helping with the recovery and restoration.
Volunteers from the Church in Shreveport drove six hours to Cut Off, Louisiana, to clean up Saturday and Sunday over the Labor Day weekend. Volunteers said it was rewarding to be of service to those in need.
Thousands of volunteers throughout Texas will now help their Louisiana neighbors by cutting down fallen trees and removing debris, tarping roofs, and working to remove drywall, flooring, and appliances impacted by flooding.
More than 500 volunteers are expected to help this weekend, traveling anywhere from five to eight hours, spending the night in tents, bringing tools, and working long hours of manual labor. This group will serve south of Gonzales, LA, and surrounding areas.
“It is humbling to coordinate this relief effort on such a large scale,” said Ray Butler, emergency coordinator for The Church of Jesus Christ in the Dallas East area. “I am grateful for the hundreds of selfless people who drop everything, sacrifice their time, and help others in need.”
Butler says this effort will continue for the next five weekends. The volunteer effort spans across East Texas from Gilmer, Longview, Tyler, and Heath for the weekend of September 11th. This is also a National Day of Service on the 20th anniversary of 9/11.
The following weekend will include volunteers from many central and suburban areas of the Dallas/Ft. Worth metro area.
“The Savior taught His followers to love God and to love their neighbors,” said Elder Jay B. Jones, an area leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the East Dallas region. “Our hearts go out to the people in Louisiana who found their homes destroyed by the floodwaters and high winds of Hurricane Ida. We are reaching out to help lighten their burdens by spending a weekend mucking out houses, clearing debris, and cleaning up the devastation caused by the storm. Thousands of our members and their friends, over the next four or five weekends, will make the trek south to serve for the weekend, and come home grateful to have had a small part in this great work.”
One woman who is answering the call to volunteer is Jessica Springer of Royse City, Texas. Her husband is a volunteer firefighter recently helping with the California fires.
Jessica lived through Hurricane Katrina and recalls the destruction, the debris, fallen trees, and floods. A few weeks after the storm, she pulled into a local church building of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and saw camping tents with volunteers scattered across the lawn.
“As we walked into the chapel it was full of men and women wearing yellow shirts, the Helping Hands,” Jessica said. “They were singing a song, and at this moment, there was so much peace filling the chapel. The volunteers were soon on their feet and off to work. It was truly amazing to see people come together and help those they have never met before.”
Jessica was touched by those who would leave their homes to serve others, and she knew she wanted to help out with Hurricane Ida.
“When I saw the news of Hurricane Ida, this brought back feelings and memories of Hurricane Katrina,” Jessica said. “I knew I had to volunteer. If I could just bring some comfort and relief to those who have been affected by the storm what a great blessing that would be.”
Relief efforts will continue into the later weeks of September, possibly expanding into October as the Church continues to assess the needs of the local community. The Church has several command centers, coordinating volunteer efforts with local authorities.
This is not the first time Helping Hands has assisted in local disasters. The Helping Hands program was established in 1998 and, since then, hundreds of thousands of volunteers have donated millions of hours of service to their communities all across the world.
