Volunteers key to Henryville revitalization

HENRYVILLE, Ind. (WISH) - It has taken thousands of hours of volunteer work and effort to get Henryville to where it is today. Hundreds of homes were damaged, many were destroyed.

Donations poured in after the tornado, and organization leaders say those dollars have been used to the fullest.

Faith-based organizations, including the Salvation Army, teamed up to form the group Volunteers Rebuilding Our Community.

Mark and Kimberly Schneider are one of the couples who received help from the group. VROC rebuilt their home from the ground up.

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The Schneiders were just heading home to their children, when they saw the tornado.

“Once we got home, we saw what it had done, and it had destroyed the town,” said Mark.

Their children were safe, but their home had been torn from the foundation (the storm picked it up, and set it down). They didn’t have insurance for the home, and they weren’t sure what to do.

“To see the amount of support, and the people who have helped us, it’s been amazing,” said Kimberly.

Using money donated to the Salvation Army after the tornadoes, VROC has been working since last year, rebuilding from the ground up. They have built 11 homes so far.

There are about a dozen left to go, and they’re planning to be on the ground until August.

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“If it wasn’t for VROC and the Salvation Army and our chuch, we wouldn’t have been able to rebuild,” said Mark. “Six months later, we have a house, they just really are unbelievable people.”

“Donations that we get, go to the local Salvation Army, and that helps us to have impact to purchase materials,” said Kevin Cox, with Hope Crisis Response Network, and VROC. “One hundred percent of every dollar given, went to the material, went to the project.”

They have two full-time personnel, but they are funded through grants.

“We’ll probably do another 8-10 houses,” explained Major Stephen Kiger, with the Salvation Army.

“Because of people like them, Henryville is surviving,” said Mark.

Here are the numbers:

• VROC has had 9,000 volunteers so far.
• They’ve put in 122,000 volunteer hours.
• They’ve gotten 262 families back home after repair work.
• Each full home they’ve built costs about $42,000.
• The volunteer hours spent and donations used have been worth about $2 million.

If you’d like to help, you can find more information on VROC here.

Keep in mind, there are other organizations still helping in Henryville as well. You can find information on one of those, here.