LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A group of volunteers from Kentucky are assisting families whose homes were affected by tornado damage in Louisville on Wednesday night.
As clean-up continues across southeastern Louisville, volunteers from Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief like Tom Garrity showed their hearts through sweat equity.
“I joke around that you could never pay me to do this, but I’ll do it for free,” Garrity explained.
The 64-year-old is volunteering with Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief to clean up the damage.
“Just kind of show them you know God’s still here. He hadn’t abandoned you, and we’re here to help and show you that love,’” Garrity said.
For the retired Jefferson County school teacher, it’s a chance to give back during this tough time.
“I’ve met people and they’re just crying and they’re like, we’re the ones normally go out and help everybody, and now we have people in our house, you know, helping us tear out all this wet drywall,” Garrity said.
Garrity has been an active volunteer for 21 years and has encountered many natural disasters across the country.
“I have been in Oklahoma for flooding, for mud outs, Pennsylvania for flooding, 9/11 was feeding, but I also got to go down to ground zero,” Garrity said.
He most recently deployed to western Kentucky to respond to the deadly severe storms in December.
“It’s bad. There are some houses here that are bad like they were in Mayfield, but not as many. This is just a much smaller tornado, an EF1,” Garrity said.
More disasters mean more people for the nonprofit organization and the father of three to help.
“Disaster relief work is not for everyone. I’m just one of those people. I like to help other people in physical ways, and this is something I can do with boots on the ground,” Garrity said.
Each of the volunteers has different reasons for helping, including some who appreciated the assistance, including homeowner Chad Maupin.
“It’s one less thing we have to worry about, which is really cool. They came in here and were willing to do whatever we asked and would not ask for a dime and they said they wouldn’t take a dime even if we offered it to them,” Maupin said.
The 39-year-old father of two lives in the Glenmary Reserves neighborhood in southeastern Louisville and suffered extensive damage at his house.
“It’s been life changing for sure. There’s been a lot of ups and downs, but the community has come together, which is a lot,” Maupin said.
But no matter how long the clean-up process takes, Garrity will be ready to extend a helping hand.
“There’s just a lot of really good people out there and it’s a blessing for me to be able to meet those people,” Garrity said.
Organizers expect more volunteers Saturday for a clean-up process that will take a long time.
Volunteers from Kentucky Baptist Convention are expected to leave this Sunday for Poland to help refugees.