As the days become shorter and the air gets crisper, Hope Village continues to coordinate volunteers who are working on rebuilding projects in long-term flood recovery.
Even as volunteer teams continue to work through winter, Hope Village and its partners are looking toward April and the re-opening of the Village’s campus on the grounds of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Minot.
All through next season, Hope Village will continue working towards its goal of helping to put 500 families back into their homes after the June 2011 Souris River flood.
As Minot flood survivors continue to work on their homes a year and a half later, the need for more specialized volunteers becomes greater.
In the first year or so after the flood, a host of volunteers removed debris, gutted and mucked homes and tackled tree removal and yard work.
But as the rebuild marches on, volunteers with more specific construction skills are needed.
The urgency of getting everyone back into their homes motivates Hope Village to seek out skilled volunteer teams willing to come to Minot.
While it’s not necessary that every volunteer be an expert in carpentry or construction, a five- or six-person team with one or two skilled workers would be ideal.
Teams will be broken down into three areas: carpentry, drywall/finishing and general disaster.
In response to volunteer feedback, Hope Village will attempt to advise teams of their specific jobs in advance, which will allow the less experienced in the group to brush up on technique before heading to Minot.
While job assignments will change as progress is made, teams should sign up as:
- Carpentry teams working on framing, finishing, installing windows/doors cabinets, siding and subfloors
- Drywall and finishing teams that would ideally be assigned to hanging, mudding, taping, texturing, priming and painting – although other projects could take priority.
For teams that are interested in serving Minot but do not have specialized skills, there will still be a need for general disaster teams. While these opportunities aren’t predicted to be as necessary next summer, we will have gutting, mucking, power washing, sanitizing, demolition, yard and house cleanup and tree removal projects available.
If you have a team that is interested in traveling to Minot from April through September 2013, please call 855-720-9804.
For teams interested serving from now through March 2013 in Minot, contact 701-240-1495.
The volunteer packet can also be found here.
