• FLOODS of '08 VIDEO
More than 1,100 volunteers from over 33 states have joined together to gut out homes all over Cedar Rapids.
The disaster response team "hands on" works nearly eight unpaid hours each day - helping out those in need.
"If we do a home on one street, eventually you'll come back and you'll do the one next to it, the home across the street and you just work your way down the street," ‘Hands On’ Project Coordinator Jeremey Horan said.
Hammering out homes one by one, gearing up to do the mucking and the gutting
It started with one house and by word of mouth, spread like wildfire. This ‘hands on’ disaster response team has been cleaning out homes since mid-June the original 30 day project now extended to late October, with volunteers from all over the country.
"it's just overwhelming, the people who wanna come from - it doesn't really matter where or how far, they come for one reason and that's to give up their time and the resources they have, which we think is fantastic," says Horan.
Waking up day after day to do the same intense labor…
"Yeah, I definitely wake up stiff and sore. It does get tiring, but you get used to it after a while," says volunteer Alicia Hachfeld.
"It can be overwhelming, definitely. Especially if, you know, sometimes you come back to houses 2, 3 days. But you see the progress you're making and it's great having volunteers and fresh faces, the energy they bring definitely helps me," ‘Hands On’ project leader Ian Perkins adds.
The progress board helps keep their momentum going. Updated every night volunteers can see how many homes they've gutted to date and the total cost in terms of savings to the community. Just over $200,000 to date.
At the Cedar Valley Community Church, "hands on" volunteers eat, sleep, and wind down before they begin the hammering, mucking and gutting cycle once again.
Hachfeld says her time in Cedar Rapids is something she will always remember, "This experience - it's gonna help me appreciate what I have in my life, where I am in my life."
Helping Hands Across America
