I first started volunteering through my involvement with the Boy Scouts of America. I volunteered hundreds of hours at numerous summer and winter camps where I taught courses, including National Youth Leadership Training, at community events, ran the cub scout pinewood derby, completed my Eagle Project, and assisted during other scout’s Eagle projects, such as constructing a bridge on a hiking trail in Village Creek State Park. After I graduated High School and aged out of Boy Scouts I wanted to give back to the organization that had such a large impact on my life. So I acted as an Assistant Scoutmaster for Troop 186 at winter camp. I spent the week camping with the troop where I was responsible for the safety of the scouts and taught outdoor skills. Outside of Boy Scouts I volunteered at the Helping Place, the Southeast Texas Food Bank, the local public library, the school district, and every year at the Beaumont Fire Safety Festival with my dad, who is a firefighter for the city of Beaumont. During the festival I teach knot tying and knot applications, and then after the festival I help clean up and put supplies back into storage. Out of all my experiences, my time volunteering during Hurricane Harvey had the largest personal impact on myself.
Hurricane Harvey struck the coast of Texas and became one of the worst natural disasters in history. My town was relatively unaffected compared to the surrounding areas, with only a few homes receiving damage. So during the middle of the storm, when I heard my school was opening as a shelter for those displaced by the floodwaters, I volunteered. I was at the school before the shelter opened, but before long people started arriving. Some were dropped off by volunteers from other shelters that were out of space, others were dropped off by the volunteers that had pulled them from the water. I helped victims get settled into the shelter, unloaded water, food, and supplies, and did anything else that was needed. Many of the evacuees I helped had been driven straight to the shelter after getting rescued from their homes and only had the soaking wet clothes on their backs. Some arrived in the beds of trucks or even the back of dump trucks without any protection from the rain and were shivering from the cold. It was certainly an eye opener to see how grateful something as small as a dry towel could make someone. Even with all their loss, we often had to persuade these victims, including teenagers and children, to take shoes and clothes that had been donated, because even with all that they had been through, they did not want to take anything that someone else might need. Many had lost their entire homes and were still trying to help others before themselves. This showed me a side of humanity that I have not seen anywhere else.
After the shelter was closed, I spent the remaining week that I had off from school gutting homes that I been flooded during the storm. We removed carpet and flooring, cut out drywall and insulation, moved furniture, tore out cabinets, and cleaned out anything else that had been damaged in the flood. Many of the people that we helped had lost everything to the storm, and would tell us stories and memories attached to the furniture we were carrying out and piling on the curb.
My experiences volunteering during Hurricane Harvey cemented my desire to find a career where I can make a positive impact and help others.
Cade Pellerin 