After the Storm: Molly Hindman’s Week of Service

During the week of January 5th, JHA Project Engineer Molly Hindman took advantage of JHA’s Volunteer Time Off (VTO) Program to serve with two disaster relief organizations to support communities in North Carolina devastated by Hurricane Helene.

Silent Guardian, based in south-central Pennsylvania, focuses on disaster response and partners with Spokes of Hope by sending volunteers to areas of need. Spokes of Hope, based in South Carolina, operates a long-term base camp in Bat Cave, North Carolina, where they coordinate ongoing disaster recovery efforts for the surrounding region. 

JHA Companies VTO Program allows employees to take paid leave to volunteer with charitable organizations, reflecting the firm’s commitment to community engagement and employee development.

Molly’s description of her experience: 

We spent the week hauling supplies for building projects, organizing resources in the warehouse, and digging a lot of dirt. We did whatever we needed to do to help support Spokes of Hope and the people they are serving: We moved lumber, trim, flooring, and one or two toilets for a new house project. Our team cleared and grubbed in the woods for another house location, spent two days digging sediment out from under an existing house that got side-swiped by a landslide, and installed paneling for a public bathroom. I discovered that I can technically pick up and carry a pack of shingles for 100 ft or so, but that I should probably never do that again.

I was constantly aware of the fact that this was the worst-case scenario for a job like mine, which involves stormwater design and therefore must always take extreme storm events into account. This was the kind of extreme storm event that you probably can’t design your buildings for. All you can do is get out and hopefully come back later to rebuild. That being the case, it probably makes it all the more meaningful to discover that there are other people who are willing to show up and help with the aftermath.  

I recently joined Silent Guardian, which focuses on serving the Lord through emergency response and disaster recovery situations. Silent Guardian’s mission is to be present and working, whenever a crisis strikes. For myself, it isn’t that I have a passion for meeting one specific type of need, that I have the capacity to rescue someone trapped in a flood, or that I want to work my way into a career with disaster response – I just want to be useful and help meet needs. Organizations like these give me the opportunity to do so.