Disaster Response Efforts In West Virginia Update: How Can You Help?

In late June, many areas in the southern part of West Virginia were hit with tremendous flooding. Homes were swept away. Family members were lost or injured. The waters were indiscriminate in sweeping through towns and bringing rapid destruction and damage to thousands of homes. And as the waters subsided, the people of our state began doing what we always do, rolling up our sleeves and helping one another out. People were working together to ship cleaning supplies and toiletries to those hard hit areas.

One of the best volunteer organizations that I have discovered when it comes to disaster response, and one which I would recommend to anyone looking to deploy, is Team Rubicon. The leadership of Team Rubicon has been trained in crisis and disaster response while serving in the military, and they bring all of that training and leadership into every disaster to which they deploy volunteers. One of the most challenging parts of disaster response for those who want to support is coordinating efforts. They require all volunteers to complete some online training modules before they deploy in an effort to ensure that all volunteers are fully equipped to make their punches count. I fully recommend signing up as a volunteer not just for the response that is needed now, but so you are equipped and prepared to deploy the next time an unexpected disaster strikes. Jamie and I also created a fundraising page with Team Rubicon to support their efforts. Will you consider donating? Jamie and I support Team Rubicon because we believe in the leadership, we are impressed by the staff, and we think they have a very coordinated and regimented training and disaster response program that gets veterans and civilians together to live out some of the best qualities of citizenship and service.

There's still lots of work to be done, and more and more people are launching initiatives to support. WVU Alum Ken Kendrick contributed matching toward raising funds for WVU Extension. Brad Paisley donated toward a Go Fund Me page to encourage others around the country to pledge their support. Jennifer Garner launched a campaign with Omaze to raise money through t-shirt sales for Save The Children's efforts to help children in those communities hardest hit. Jim Justice opened the Greenbrier resort to families in need. All over our state, people have rushed out to purchase supplies and make donations of various types in response. 

I have a few friends who have traveled down to support friends and family members directly, and ALL of them have come back stating that one of the greatest needs presently is simply manpower, and will be for the foreseeable future. Our state needs people to volunteer their time to respond to the cleanup needs. Universally, organizations are discouraging people from deploying on their own, but there are lots of groups out there to serve with. If you can, mobilize with a group that is already organized, if you are unable, then support efforts financially to help equip others to get out there. It is some dusty, dirty, muddy, mucky work, and your contribution, at whatever capacity will be appreciated.

Whatever you can do to help, do it! If you have time and skills that can help with the response in southern West Virginia, deploy with a reputable group and serve. If you are not available to help directly, or you can’t donate goods like those listed on the United Way website above, donate to an organization you know does great work! I am incredibly proud of the way people in our state have rallied to support these efforts, and I know that my fellow West Virginians will always make the best out of a difficult situation. We are a resilient community, a community that supports one another, and one that holds firmly to a commitment to service.

Recent Flooding In West Virginia And What You Can Do To Help

Over the last few days, my home state has been hit with massive amounts of rainfall which has led to intense flooding all over the state, but some of the worst areas have been in the southern half of the state. Entire towns were under water, and some people have even lost their homes.  I watched as my social media feed was filled with images and videos that my friends were capturing as they watched the waters roar. 

The waters have largely receded now, and now comes the cleanup. The cleanup is not what people typically imagine. People think about gathering scattered debris, or wiping down some surfaces in homes that remain intact, but it is so much more. I grew up on the Ohio River. There is a floodwall that surrounds my hometown of Parkersburg, West Virginia. In my lifetime I can only remember a few times that the floodwall was sealed off. The longest time was during the flood of 1985, but even just a few years ago, the waters rose high enough to cover most of the small park that exists outside the floodwall where the Little Kanawha and the Ohio Rivers meet. As the waters receded, the park area was covered with mud and muck that was about 2 inches deep. The fire department was deployed to wash the mud off the walkways and roads of the small park, otherwise, it would have remained muddy, mucky, and nasty.

 

When my dad was growing up, the floods seemed to come annually to the small house he and his siblings grew up in along the same stretch of the Ohio River. They would evacuate, and then return when the waters had receded. He remembered having to get snakes out of the house that had washed in with the flood waters, or which had slithered their way in to a place of temporary shelter. And then it was time to get to work clearing out the mud and the muck, and trying to discern what was salvageable.

That same scenario is being lived out by thousands of West Virginians right now. Their homes, if they were not washed away, may be damaged beyond repair. Some of these people live outside what is considered to be the flood zone for their area, so there are questions about whether insurance will help them recuperate their losses. And they need to wait for a visit from the insurance agents to help them discern.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Right now, people are dealing with the immediate. They are working with groups like Team Rubicon and other first responders to begin the massive cleanup, to conduct search and rescue operations for missing people. There are still people unaccounted for, and there are more than 20 dead. Forty-four of this state’s 55 counties were declared in a state of emergency.

In a moment like this, it is easy to wonder what a person can do to help. The desire is there for most of us, but there is also a degree of uncertainty. There are shams being created to exploit people’s generosity, and there have also been rare instances of looting in the wake of this disaster. But that’s not the way of most of the people of this state, or of this world. We want to help, and many of us make assumptions about what is needed, many relief workers call this a “second disaster.” This is where good intentioned people send items that are of little or no use to the people in need. In this instance here in West Virginia, first responders and relief workers have done a great job being extremely specific about needs. West Virginia University students have an incredibly organized website and volunteer effort to collect needed material donations. If you can, donate some time to help organize resources to be sent to the areas of need.

If you live further away, you can donate to organizations like the United Way, Red Cross, or Team Rubicon to support disaster response efforts. Personally, Jamie and I chose to give to Team Rubicon’s flood response efforts. This organization is led by former Marines, and they are bringing their crisis response training to deploy volunteers in chaotic environments in an organized way. They are not only bringing their skills into the environment, they are also providing both civilians and other veterans an outlet for continuing to use their training to serve others. In every interaction I’ve had with their staff team and volunteers I have been fully impressed. In fact, as full disclosure, Jamie and I have also signed on to be volunteers and receive training.

Whatever you can do to help, do it. If you have time and skills that can help with the response in southern West Virginia, deploy with a reputable group like those listed above and serve. If you are not available to help directly, or you can’t donate goods like those listed on the United Way website above, donate to an organization you know does great work! I am incredibly proud of the way people in our state have rallied to support these efforts, and I know that my fellow West Virginians will always make the best out of a difficult situation. We are a resilient community, a community that supports one another, and one that holds firmly to a commitment to service.

Reflection: 2015 Semper Fidelis All American Bowl

One year ago, on Sunday night January 4^th  2015, Jamie and I had the incredible privilege of being VIP guests and representatives of Nuru International at the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl, hosted by the United States Marine Corps at the StubHub Arena in Carson, CA.

The Semper Fi Bowl is a unique bowl experience for these All-American athletes. Not only must they excel on the field, but also, they must exemplify courage, commitment, and service off the field. In fact, as part of bowl week, these high school students organized drills and games for kids in some of the primary and middle-schools around Carson to encourage young people to live lives of service and integrity.

It was a distinct honor to be guests of Lieutenant Colonel Raphael Hernandez of the United States Marine Corps Recruiting Command. In the past, he had shared with me how he had discovered Nuru and was really impressed by the great example my friend Jake had demonstrated by continuing a life committed to service after leaving the Marine Corps. Lt. Col. Hernandez has helped share Nuru’s story with millions of people via social media, and, while it was an honor to see top notch athletes on the grid-iron, the highest honor was finally meeting face-to-face a man who has become a good friend, fellow advocate, brother-in-arms, and fellow #warriorforgood.

Lt Col. Hernandez also introduced Jamie and myself to Ryan and Amanda Burke from Team Rubicon. If you don’t know about Team Rubicon, do yourself a favor and check these folks out. They are committed to taking the training that they and other veterans acquired and converting that into volunteer service and organization when disaster strikes. One of the greatest needs in the event of a disaster is leadership that can organize and deploy volunteers for the most impact. Check them out and join the team!

While attending the game, a gentleman that served with Jake and Alex Martin in Force Recon, Byron Owen, saw my Nuru shirt, and said, “Nuru is doing incredible stuff. While we miss Jake and Alex at Force Recon, we are incredibly proud of the work you guys are doing on the ground to make an impact and help make the world a little safer and more stable for everyone.” I always get stoked when I see people who are part of this movement that I have yet to meet. It inspires me and renews my own commitment to keep telling this story and invite people to join us in ending the greatest humanitarian crisis of our generation.

I also had the privilege of meeting and talking at length with Sergeant Major Irvin Howard among others. While I talked to quite a few Marines, Seargeant Major Howard stayed with us the entire evening and went out of his way to serve us and make us feel welcome. We had incredible conversation about family, about the Marine Corps, about society, about Nuru, and even about his future when he retires. We talked about the need for people to become more actively involved in good citizenship to mentor the youth, and to serve as role models as best as we can. I look forward to what is in store for him in the next chapter of his life!

Thank you Lt Col Hernandez, and thank you United States Marine Corps, for your commitment to service and for making us feel welcome at the Semper Fi Bowl.