Video of David Campbell's Talk on HODR, Volunteering, and more

Here is the video from David Campbell's first presentation yesterday. VERY good and definitely recommended. He gives the history of HODR, some of the benefits of volunteering, how you should select a job, the importance of trust, and other pieces of life advice.

Goodbye (for now?)

I always hate leaving a HODR project and this is no different...one tradition we have s to say "good bye" so here was largely my "good bye to the other volunteers" that I gave last night:

I know the work is sometimes hard and sometimes there aren't enough people to do the work, but what you do is important.

You may not get the credit, nor even the excitement of first responders and don't get paid what professionals do, but you fill a very valuable role in the recovery process. The survivors of the disasters need your help. Many of them are so busy just "getting by" that when a disaster hits, they are pushed in a hole they may never get out of. But you, and volunteers like you that will come and help over the coming weeks, put them back on the road to recovery. You push them weeks, months, and even years ahead in their return to normalcy.

But more than that, you serve as an inspiration. Your presence tells the survivors that people from around the country (and in your international deployments around the globe) haven't forgotten them. That others care.

You inspire those in the town that see you and may go help their neighbor. But you also inspire those who never see you but only know you are out there helping.

I have never been on in international project, but knowing that you are out there working and helping others is inspiring. It makes that bad day, that snow or rain, that whatever that much better.

For all of this, thank you. But remember that thank you is not just from me, but but from the thousands of others who have also been inspired by you.

Some new videos

these are short clips on flickr...here is one just to show you what they are like:

If a picture tells a 1000 words

I think this MIGHT be posed....lol
Originally uploaded by FinanceProfessor

If a picture tells a 1000 words, then this set might be the equivalent of at least 5 or 6 books!!

Good day today. Hot! We cut trees back from a tree line/fence line for about 1500 feet, which might not sound like that much, but was really hard work. The crew did great job.

What is it like?

I have had several people ask me what a day of volunteering is like, so I will give you a brief look at what a day in Neosho is like and why you should consider coming out.


The building we stay in appears to be a former armory. It is very large, the Americorps volunteers stay downstairs, while HODR volunteers stay upstairs. The town had under 11,000 and probably most reminds me of what I think Harrisonburg VA was like pre-sprawl. There are several train tracks that go through the town. It is hillier than I expected. There is a very nice park for running :)

We leave at 8:00 (or as close to 8:00 as possible) each AM. We work (with short water breaks and a slightly longer lunch break) until 5pm. Work varies. Some days you may be putting on roofs, others fixing fences for farmers, others you may be tearing down houses, and on others you may be cutting and hauling downed trees (this is my favorite!)

You work with others and even if you have no expereince nor skills, you will learn quickly and be fine. You will also make a huge impact.

Staying at HODR food is free (although I generally go ahead and buy my own anyways as I have been known to be a bit pickier than most ;) ). You stay in a large room with a great group of other volunteers that often even help do your laundry!

What you don't often hear mentioned however is how grateful the local residents are for the help. On this trip alone two different people have stopped me on the street (or in a grocery store) to say thank you for being here. One of them also said I looked very metropolitan which I have no idea what that means but highly doubt I do.

If you do have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me or better HODR who will have better idea of availability, times etc.

The most important thing we did today...

The details: It was a good day. We worked on two fence jobs today. Each was well to the east of Neosha. Pictures are available here.

The first job was very big and several groups (HODR, Americorps, Rural Compassion) worked together on it under Ed from Rural Compassion's leadership. Essentially it was restringing barbed wire fencing for a zillion miles. (ok, maybe a tad less ;))

We finished this one mid afternoon (did I mention it was a bit less than a zillion miles?) and so with our last couple of hours went to a second job almost as an afterthought. And yet, as so often happens, this added job, this job that almost didn't get touched today, became our largest contribution.

It was at the Tonklins' (not their real name). Physically we did not get all that much done (although the fence is now able to hold cows and we moved many downed branches), but we accomplished something more important: we helped someone cope.

I remember when we first went to Biloxi in October 2005, Darius and others stressed the importance of being present to listen to the victims who wanted to tell their story; who needed to tell their story. In December of that year I met Dr. Bob Titlzer who's street teams lived that mantra faithfully and who to this day personified the idea.

Since then I have continually been amazed at just how true that is. It has happened up and down the Gulf Coast on every trip, in Buffalo, in Enterprise, in Bradford, even after local fires. But no where more than here today.

Mr. Tonklin is an elderly farmer. Stop for a moment and conjure up an image of an elderly small time farmer who has survived the good years and the bad years for the past two generations and you probably have him pegged. For instance, he told us he worked 15 straight years without missing a single day of milking the cows twice a day. I could go on, but that probably explains the type of guy Mr Tonklin is better than anything I could write. Not a single day off. 15 years. 'Enough said.

Mr. Tonklin epitomizes self sufficiency. Of doing it himself. His whole life he has been that guy who could do it all without outside reliance. But then the tornado came. And he was overwhelmed. His house was severely damaged, his farm was littered with everything from neighbors' trailers and roofs, to city garbage cans to trees (some ripped from the ground, others sheared off, still others twisted to the ground.

In the days since the tornado, the Tonklins have been helped by many volunteers, neighbors, and family members. Today however, Mr Tonklin had to talk. He had to tell about the storm, about the cows that he lost, and the cows that lived. He had to tell about his roof, his fences, and how his family all made it trough alive. He had to tell us about many things. About how sometimes in the worst of times, good comes from no where. He had to tell us he never would have been able to come back if it weren't for all the help he received. He had to tell us through the tears that it was ok to ask for help. He had to say "Thank you."

So we listened.

It was the most important thing we did all day.

Aaron with his hands full

Uploaded many pictures today (over 80). They are available here. You can see us mending fences, hauling debris, and more.

Aaron with his hands full
Originally uploaded by FinanceProfessor

Good day...lots of work!

We did fences in the morning and then trees and demolished an upside down trailer in the afternoon (yeah Machias this past Saturday was good training for that!

Sarah Jackling (yes Carrie's sister),who was in Biloxi with us back in March 2006 will be coming out Saturday for a few days.

Video footage of the tornado that caused this mess

wow...

Neosho, Missouri Weather and forecast

Yes BonaResponds will be represented at the Hands on Disaster Response Newton County Project.

Here is a link to HODR's info on the site.

“Project Newton County” will work to help the people of Newton County, Missouri recover from a May 10th tornado that cut a wide swath of destruction. Strong winds measuring up to F-4 strength spanned the entire 30-mile length of Newton County leaving a 1/4-mile wide mark through parts of the towns of Newtonia, Granby, Racine, and Neosho. Approximately 460 houses were affected by Saturday’s disaster including close to 200 houses either completely destroyed or suffering major damage, which left them uninhabitable. Newton County also witnessed the deaths of 18 of their residents including a 21-year-old EMT Firefighter who had just rescued 3 residents from the tornado’s harm before falling prey to it himself.

News from Topix on the area:

A map:


View Larger Map

Here is the weather at the site:

Neosho, Missouri (64850) Conditions & Forecast : Weather Underground

Other info: From Wikipedia, pictures of the tornado damage from Mike, pictures from Roger.