MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A third volunteer trip to flood damaged West Virginia, coordinated by the WVU Center for Service and Learning, concluded over the weekend.
“They’ve been filling up as fast as I can plan them with WVU students, faculty, staff and alumni members,” said Alexis McMillen, an assistant director at the center. “We’ve had a very good response.”
A week ago, McMillen took a break from scheduling assistance to embark with other volunteers to Summersville in Nicholas County.
“Mucking out some homes” was hard work she said. “That’s what the job is right now to get in and help get those homes cleaned out so hopefully they can be rebuilt.”
WVU’s volunteers have partnered with Team Rubicon for Operation Country Roads to try to improve living conditions in areas hardest hit by the June 23 historic flooding.
Team Rubicon was founded by two Marines who organized in 2010 to provide relief assistance after the Port-Au-Prince, Haiti earthquake.
According to McMillen, that trip included 46 volunteers from WVU.
“Over the course of about 5 hours, what we accomplished was just a very, very small drop in the bucket of what needs done,” expressed McMillen. “The effort is great, and people are still needed.”
Some volunteer groups estimate it could be 5 years or more before communities start to resemble something other than a disaster zone.
“This is a marathon, not a sprint. This effort is needed for years to come. I spoke with the director of Volunteer West Virginia and she noted there are still approximately 800 plus homes that they know about that still need that first basic clean out,” McMillen shared.
The WVU Center for Service and Learning will continue to organize volunteer trips as needed. Those interested in helping can sign up through the university’s online volunteer management system.