VAIL Like nothing on earth.™

Helping Jamestown: Vail employees assist in flood recovery

Photo courtesy of rebuildjamestown.org

It was as simple as reading an e-mail and signing up. When we first heard of the flooding back in September we wanted to help.

We looked at our options: monetary donation or volunteer our time. Being poor ski bums living in Vail, giving money was not an option and trying to volunteer as an individual was difficult! When we saw the email from Vail Resorts Echo program about volunteering with a group of people from our company we knew that was the way to go. It was a great way to meet others working for this organization and to also help out the Jamestown Community.

The work was fun and rewarding. As we all happily chatted, our group became stone masons for the day by building a retaining wall to support a home inches away from a small valley the flood waters had carved out of the front yard. We also helped to clean up the piles of dead wood and debris from a family’s yard so the kids could have a safe and familiar place to play.

The community that was devastated by the flood showed amazing support and gratitude to the volunteer groups. We had people passing out candy and water as we worked and everyone saying ‘thank you’ as we passed. We had all packed our lunches but the town’s people insisted that we eat with them at their church. It was heartbreaking to see the destruction of the floods but it was incredibly heartwarming to see people coming together to help out this community in need. It was fun and exceptionally easy to join the restoration project through Vail Resorts Echo, and we highly recommend anyone who wants to volunteer their time and serve a community in need to check out the projects they offer.

For more info on how you can help in the Jamestown recovery efforts, visit rebuildjamestown.org

Volunteers Amelia Roberts & Steph Schaefer