We Are Not the Only Ones

There are all kinds of volunteers at this site!  We have a whole lot of folks from different parts of the country who are volunteering and doing Disaster Recovery work in Tuscaloosa.  We are part of the HFH RV Care-A-Vanners group.  And there is a steady stream of other volunteers who are also on site.

The Mennonites are here with about 5 men.  They have their own trailer and equipment and 'sign up for  a 6 or 12 month stint.

And a group of college men and women who are here from Georgia.  This group we found particularly interesting.  It all started with Mercedes.

Mercedes (in sun glasses -below) recently graduated from the University of Georgia.  Two years ago after the tornado hit Tuscaloosa she was drawn to get involved.  She drove out here by herself and found a group of people that were taking in volunteers and getting ready for recovery work.  She followed up with a second trip with about 20 other volunteers.  They were housed in the local Nazarene church.  Since then she has made it back to Tuscaloosa each year after school lets out and brings friends with her.

Here is a shot of the group:

This is a great group: Janine, Kelly, Mercedes (first row); Howell, Kari, Justin (second row); Monica, Alex (back row).  This group knows how to work and have fun doing it!  

And they are polite!  I haven't heard as many "Yes Sir", "Yes Ma'am"'s in years.  

One day we had a local group from the Capstone Hotel in town.  They included folks from HR and the Event Planning office.

In addition to working on site all day, they had lunch: large chicken wrap, Gatorade, pear and two chocolate chip cookies.

Down the street the United Methodist Church (UMC) Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is building a house.

There have been thousands and thousands of folks who have been here to help with the recovery.  With  the destruction of over 5,000 homes, there will be a lot of work to do for some time.

That is all for now -- thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles!