Nearly two weeks after Tropical Storm Irene pummeled Vermont, hundreds of families remained without basic supplies. When Kevin Rooney of the Lions Club of Vergennes organized a massive volunteer effort to collect bottled water and numerous other basic necessities, the response was tremendous, with goods nearly filling a tractor trailer.

That trailer was brought down to the Chittenden Fire Department near Rutland where it would be distributed by escorted pickup trucks to the areas still in desperate need. Yet there remained the laborious task of unloading the trailer. That’s when nine students from Northlands Job Corps Academy stepped up to volunteer their services.

Traveling 90 minutes from the school, the students quickly went to work at the fire department unloading and organizing the supplies by their destinations. Their hard work was rewarded with a buffet of donated lunch items from the local community.

“It felt good to do something to help,” said student Zach McMahon. “The whole operation was organized really well. It was impressive.”

Aside from their work, the students got to see firsthand how the dedicated efforts of a small number of volunteers can make such a critical difference in helping others in need.

Ian McGaughey