RSVP Lake County -
VOLUNTEER RECEPTION CENTER
Experience

The rain never stopped, or at least it wasn’t going to. On Friday, August 4, Mother Nature dropped nine inches of rain in Lake County and the rivers, streams and storm sewers were running rapid. By early Saturday morning, many homes, businesses and cars were flooded and many had sewage back-up.

On Monday, August 5, it was clear that a Volunteer Reception Center (VRC) was needed to process all the calls for assistance and people willing to assist. The Volunteer Services Agency of Mahoning County assisted the Lake County RSVP director at constructing a VRC.

By noon on Tuesday, the VRC was up in running in an empty Painesville Township School building in Grand River, convenient to where most of the severe flood damage took place.

The VRC was officially closed on Sunday afternoon after servicing 34 requests for assistance. A total of 70 volunteers were sent to assist residents with removing flood-soaked items and cleaning of floors and walls. The VRC had 29 volunteers throughout the week that were crucial in the smooth processing of spontaneous volunteers.

The Ohio Valley Relief Center from Bellaire, Ohio sent 100 flood cleaning buckets stocked full of supplies to the VRC to distribute to volunteers and residents. The county EMA supplied TYVEK suits, rubber cloves and N95 masks. Many people dropped of large amounts of cleaning supplies for volunteers to utilize. The Lake County General Health District made a Sanitarian available to give safety briefings to all volunteers. The Salvation Army sent Canteen trucks out to where the volunteers were working so they could get a nice meal. The American Red Cross Assistance Center was very helpful with referring volunteers and residents who needed assistance.

After the VRC was closed, RSVP kept taking calls for assistance and worked with the First Church Congregational in Painesville City. Together, the two agencies were able to keep assisting the few calls that continued to drift in.