When Superstorm Sandy blasted through the east coast this past October thousands of people were left to pick up their lives one piece at a time. Iola’s First Presbyterian Church reached out to those who were affected by the devastation by lending a helping hand.
Nine volunteers came together and devised a plan to raise funds, travel to New Jersey and help out those who needed it.
Volunteers, five associated with the church, the other four from Allen Community College, raised funds through garage and bake sales. They accumulated $1,500 to make the drive across the country to New Jersey.
“We decided we were going to assist them for a week in the summer,” Tony Piazza, Allen Community College theater instructor and church member said.
The Iola church teamed communicated with Morning Star Presbyterian Church in Bayville, N.J. when planning their trip. The New Jersey church had made it its mission to help those affected by the storm.
“We thought the end of June was a good time slot,” Piazza said. “We gave them a specific week that we wanted to come.”
The Iolans sent in a skill assessment to the church so they would know what the volunteers would be able to do. The group knew how to do use power tools and were able to lift heavy items and equipment.
“We had a pretty high skill assessment,” Archie Huskey, an ACC graduate said.
Because the group had such a high skill assessment they were assigned to help Frank Tarshi rebuild the inside of his home.
Last fall Tarshi had three feet of standing water in his home. The Iola volunteers went right to work when they arrived to his three-bedroom home. They worked from June 25-28.
“We got more done than expected,” Huskey said. “We put in a new floor and a new kitchen. We took out the kitchen cabinets, installed dry wall to several rooms. We still needed to put in countertops, but ran out of time.”
The group also put in new insulation. Another volunteer group was at the location while the Iola church was there. That group helped with landscaping.
While in New Jersey the volunteers stayed in the basement of the Morning Star Church. The church has showers in its basement and added an additional shower, Piazza said, specifically to help with the cleanup efforts.
Piazza said three members of the group also helped in the church’s food pantry.
“This is what it is to be a Christian,” Piazza said. “By helping others and to demonstrate that.”
