September 18, 2011
Results? We could simply say, “WOW”. But you probably want to know more. The Valley Rally stands as a historic outpouring of generosity from our community in response to a historic flood.
To set the stage: The warehouse that serves to store our inventory of furniture is less than 1000 sq.ft. in size. Our “Clothes Closet” facility is a converted 14 x 50 modular office trailer. Our big fund raiser for the year, the Sleepout, typically raises about $11,000. Our annual budget is about $75,000.
We knew that with the radio station doing a “Christmas is for Kids”-style donations campaign, we would likely have a very successful day. I think I recall the record for Christmas is for Kids being about $50,000, but I didn’t expect quite that much in cash donations. We knew that we needed additional storage facilities. The North Waverly Chapel had permitted us to take over their gymnasium/ social hall, but with receiving all of the goods collected at the flood relief centers, that large space had already been filled. With the assistance of Kiwanis, we obtained the use of the former St. Johns Catholic Church for clothing donations; and an empty 15,000 sq.ft. warehouse near Waverly for furniture. We planned to set out a number of tables in the church basement, so that we could arrange clothing in neatly organized stacks. At the warehouse- which looked cavernous- we cleaned and painted the front corner, thinking that it would be about enough to hold whatever furniture we received.
Saturday, even well before the announced 9 a.m. start time of the Rally, donations were arriving. Kiwanis had arranged for several Uhaul trucks, donated by Footes. The trucks were filling up as rapidly as the teams of students and volunteers could carry the materials into the trucks. Large collections of household items of every description collected along the curb while the trucks were away being unloaded. The Kiwanis people were everywhere, directing traffic, taking donations, driving trucks, answering questions.
Although the steady line of donations finally came to an end shortly after noon, it was hours more before the Bridge volunteers were done. And the seemingly huge basement at St. Johns? JAMMED LITERALLY FROM FLOOR TO CEILING. That cavernous warehouse? AMAZINGLY, ABSOLUTELY FULL OF QUALITY FURNISHINGS OF ALL KINDS. And cash donations? We passed $250,000 and are still receiving.
As Chuck Carver interviewed the hundreds of people stopping by to donate, the mandate that we heard over and over: get this help to the flood survivors.
The Bridge wishes to assure the community of the following.
- EVERY penny that you donated, and every usable item you donated, will be made available for flood relief, right here at home.
- We will work to ensure equitable distribution of the funds. We walk a fine line between wanting to help everyone right away, while not simply duplicating the effort of FEMA or other agencies- which have far more resources than we do.
- Everything we do is out in the open, available for inspection. We agree on rules and procedures and then we follow them. We have good financial controls in place, guided by LaBarr & LaBarr CPA’s.
If you are someone who suffered loss from the flood, and especially if you are out of your home, let us know. We need to know the extent of the group that we are administering to.
Richard Friend, President, Bridge of the Penn-York Valley Churches