More than 1,000 people from 30 Latter-day Saint congregations in central and western Kentucky, West Virginia, Indiana, Virginia, Tennessee and Ohio spent the last two weekends cleaning up after July’s devastating flooding in eastern Kentucky.
Helping Hands volunteers cleared debris, shoveled muck out of homes, moved furniture, prepared meals and served in various ways while many used their own tools and camped in tents in the area, according to a news release.
About 2,800 volunteers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have contributed more than 27,000 hours of work overall.
“I couldn’t believe it when I pulled up to see all these people,” said Kent Dingus, a Latter-day Saint bishop in Kentucky. “It just brings tears to your eyes and we just need to do those things to help others.”
Barry Spurlock, a Latter-day Saint from Lexington, Kentucky, described the organization that went into the heavy labor.
“I saw people coming back in covered from head to toe in flood mud from mucking out from under a house and seeking another assignment to go back out and work some more,” he said. “I saw women covered in dirt from cutting up trees and visibly tired yet smiling and laughing and ready to go back out and do more.”
In addition to organizing volunteers, the church sent five semitruck loads of food and supplies within a week after the flooding. The deliveries included more than 85,000 bottles of water, 3,600 five-gallon plastic buckets of cleaning supplies, food for more than 10,500 meals and 600 pounds of clothing.
“This is a huge deal for the people here,” said Keith Parsons, a local Latter-day Saint leader.
Read a full report of the church’s volunteer response to Kentucky flooding on the church’s newsroom.
