PANAMA CITY, Fla. —- Local high school and college students are spending their Summer helping out the residents of Bay County. One local organization is working with these students to repair homes after Hurricane Michael.
Inspired by seeing other volunteers after the hurricane three different organizations came together to make this all possible: Diocese of Pensacola/Tallahassee, Mission 850 and Catholic Charities of North-West Florida.
This organization has had over five or six thousand volunteers since the storm hit and is still working to rebuild. These volunteers say they are overwhelmed with project ideas.
“The need is definitely there,“ said volunteer coordinator Adrienne Pelletier.
Each week with a new project, thirty volunteers at a time–spend their week fixing up homes, cleaning out debris and helping families out. All funded by donations, their mission: to share the love of God as they work. These volunteers feel joy in the midst of the destruction.
“When we’re here, just seeing the clients, their faces, just the joy just having us walking on their property. It shows that they’re loved and that we care about them,“ said Pelletier.
One volunteer says she believes big projects like these can change our community.
“I think it’s just gonna show others that there’s still hope and it’s gonna take time, but we can still help others and still do the tiny things and people will start to realize.“ said volunteer Therese Sherwin.
These students will work over 4,000 volunteer hours this Summer trying to bring a sense of normalcy back to Panama City.
