In October 2010, the Red River in Rochester, Minnesota overflowed, causing heavy damage to nearby homes. Within days, two teams of volunteers were deployed and on the scene, offering help and leaving a lasting impact no one could have predicted.
One morning, the group passed two brothers desperately working to repair their house. When the NCSY teens offered to help, the men were overjoyed. It wasn’t until after they spent the day ripping apart floors to drain the water so the furnace could be used that they truly understood why.
When they finished, the brothers cried tears of gratitude, explaining that their elderly father lived upstairs, and thanks to the efforts of the NCSY volunteers, they would now be able to use the furnace before the impending snowstorm next week.
“You saved our Dad’s life,” the brothers said. The teens left such a lasting impression that the following year, when NCSY brought a new group of teens, the brothers greeted them with a hug, welcoming back the “Jewish group from New Jersey.”