Flood Photo for homepage
Photo from The Gazette - Published with permission.

Photo from The Gazette – Published with permission.

During the flood of 2008, 7,649 volunteers contributed more than 206,311 hours through the Volunteer Reception Center  to help our community start the recovery process.

Serve the City was the first to respond to the need to coordinate volunteers as the water started to crest in Cedar Rapids.  They took calls from those in need of help and sent volunteers to sandbag and start the clean-up process.

The volunteers continued to come from all parts of the country.  United Way partnered with the Community Corrections Improvement Association (CCIA) to begin the Volunteer Reception Center.  CCIA was the recipient of one of the largest AmeriCorps VISTA deployments in the country.  Over 60 AmeriCorps VISTA members came to Cedar Rapids to help clean-up and rebuild Cedar Rapids. Members led volunteer groups through the mucking, gutting and rebuilding of this city.

AmeriCorps VISTA members provided 84,193 hours of service to the community.  The Volunteer Reception Center coordinated over 7,649 volunteers which contributed over 206, 811 volunteer hours.

Many faith based and disaster organizations also sent and coordinated volunteers during flood recovery.  It is estimated that in total, community-wide over 650,000 hours were given by volunteers.  These hours represent over $13,304,360 in volunteer labor given back to the community.

We know that together we can recover and together we have come a long way. We also know that there are still many organizations and projects that need the help of volunteers like you. Check out the map below for current opportunities.

Related: Click here for more on United Way’s involvement during the flood.

Volunteer Needs Today in the Community

Guide: The markers indicate what impact area the volunteer opportunity aligns with.

marker education – Education marker_health-Health marker_income- Income marker_other- Other

 

SYC_Sponsors_2013June 13: Cedar Rapids Show You Care Day & Event

In honor of the five-year anniversary of the June 2008 flood, the City of Cedar Rapids is partnering with KCRG, The Gazette, the United Way and other community organizations to declare June 13, 2013 as “Show You Care Day.”

Click here to sign up for a volunteer project on June 13.

City of Cedar Rapids RGBCedar Rapids experienced such amazing community support in 2008 that we’d like to encourage that support again five years later. We want this day to be a remembrance of what happened and a commemoration of our community’s resiliency.
The City of Cedar Rapids and KCRG will host a live event from 10 to 10:45 a.m. on June 13 on May’s Island. We are inviting several flood survivors, first responders and community leaders to share their flood story during this event. The entire event will broadcast live on KCRG 9.2 and KCRG.com. The first 15 minutes will air live on KCRG-TV9.
Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets.