(03/19/18) - Service groups like Team Rubicon and Michigan State Defense Team are out clearing debris after a tornado hit Mid-Michigan on March 14.
The damage is towering, but it's an opportunity to give a hand and an ear.
"You'll find very few people who can come out and can talk to a homeowner who's been through something this devastating, and the homeowner is getting tears in his eyes, and you can't help getting yourself invested. You get an emotional connection with them, and you just want to do everything you can just to help them out because you know it's going to be a struggle from here on up for them," Bill Knarian said. Knarian is a Team Rubicon Strike Team Leader.
With 100,000 members nationwide, Team Rubicon's mission is to respond to disasters like hurricanes, floods, fires, and tornadoes. Another group assisting is the Michigan State Defense Force. Their focus today is a clearing debris.
"Out here right now, we're running a Chainsaw Operation. We're cleaning up debris, downed trees, and bringing out to the roadside, so the Road Commission can remove it from their property" Captain Steve Grigsby said.
This type of work takes long hours and several days. Even when response team members are given a day off, the community is on their minds.
"I felt guilty the whole time just sitting at the house watching TV or whatever knowing there are people that out there who lost their houses and lost everything they had. I can't do that. I had to get up and do what I know is right and do what I love to do and that's help the community," Blake Butler said. Butler is a Shiwassee Township firefighter.
If you'd like to assist in volunteering, please call the volunteer hotline: 989-743-2631.