To be honest, I normally would rather be asleep at 5:45 in the morning. I’m just not an early morning person. However, this day was going to be different. Adrenaline rushing from the first moment I awoke, I got ready quickly and headed to our Pursuant office.
Sunblock, check.
Bad shoes, check.
Sunglasses, check.
Beef jerky for the road, check.
Driving to meet up with my six other co-workers, I was recapping what had been running through my mind the night before. As I was laying in bed I kept trying to imagine what the next day would bring as our team of seven rolled into Moore, Oklahoma. What would the devastation from the tornado look like? How effective would we be? Was it going to rain again?
Oh, it rained pretty good, but by the time we got to Moore, it had stopped there. It did create some muddy conditions, but nothing my bad shoes and I couldn’t get through. We first arrived at a small church to meet up with Poured-Out, the NPO we teamed up with for our clean-up effort for the day. We were debriefed, then headed out to the site that our team would be working on.
The devastation was unreal. Silence in our vehicle summed up the sorrow our team felt as we drove through the neighborhood, the deep respect for those that lost their lives and for those that were picking up the pieces. It’s unfortunate that it takes an experience like this to feel the weight of appreciation for what one has.
We got straight to work. From sorting metals out to be recycled, to sectioning out a tree with a chainsaw, to shoveling and raking yards so that small debris wasn’t to be compacted into the soil when the heavy machinery was to come through. We had our hands full. That was the entire day. Those three activities on just three homes, which come to find out, was quite important.
Something I learned later that day was that these homeowners did not have the kind of home insurance coverage that covers demolition. Demolition can cost anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000 dollars. With a tragedy of this nature, rebuilding can seem almost impossible when the first step carries such a steep price tag. Poured Out was there to help with this step. I am glad we were able to help out as well.
You see, one of the reasons I enjoy being at Pursuant is PPTO, a.k.a. Philanthropic Paid Time Off. It’s a big reason why we were able to head to Moore, Oklahoma in the first place. Having that specific paid time off to go volunteer within the community and help make this world just a tad better to be in is one reason I enjoy being a part of the Pursuant family. It’s one defining piece that makes up what Pursuant culture is all about.