A team of DRI Foundation volunteers gave new meaning to the phrase “raking it in” as they cleared an acre of tornado-ravaged Illinois farmland, collecting debris on a day that’s usually all about collecting cash.
Rakes in hand, 14 volunteers led by DRI Foundation Board Director Pete Renneker, assisted Washington, IL farmers by clearing debris from their land in preparation for the spring planting season. These farmers not only have homes, barns, and equipment to replace, but also businesses to rebuild in the wake of the devastating tornadoes that hit the area on November 17. Debris left to freeze over the winter would have ruined attempts to plow and farm the land in the spring, thus jeopardizing their livelihood.
“We had 14 volunteers show up and clear about an acre of land, with nothing other than rakes and elbow grease,” Renneker said. “An acre of land seems like nothing when you look at the size of the farm, but the farmers were very thankful that the DRI Foundation was able to give them a good start on the daunting task ahead. The day was cold and raking debris all day is not easy work, but in the end, we got a great start on cleaning up the finer debris that the big farm equipment is not able to move.”
The DRI Foundation provided water, Gatorade, donuts, work gloves, and winter hats for volunteers. And they earned one CEAP for every hour they worked.
Volunteers were rallied in just two days, and Renneker called the effort “a great turnout for short notice on a holiday weekend.” We think it’s a great example of the DRI Foundation at work, as well as a testament to the caring and sharing nature of business continuity professionals.
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