As part of the City of Boulder's Community Stories night, Boulder Flood Relief came to speak about the ways that volunteerism have changed mindsets, inspired action, and influenced Boulder County's disaster response and recovery systems

1. COMMUNITY AMPLIFIED
tiernan doyle
Executive Director || Boulder Relief, Co

2. I M P A C T The anniversary of the September floods allows us to focus on the impact of
volunteering, how it affects us both personally and community wide

3. T I M E
After starting operations on September 12th, we had over 1300 volunteers go out
from our dispatch sites to Longmont, Boulder, Lyons, Jamestown, unincorporated
Boulder County and parts of Weld and Larimer Counties. We had many more
volunteer hours than we could log because volunteers would make a
connection with a homeowner, become friends, and start going to homes on
their own time.

4. E F F E C T
The calls that we answered added up to over a quarter of all of those logged for
volunteer groups. To answer those calls we had volunteers from all over the
United States and beyond, but a continuous cadres of locals who committed time,
energy, compassion and deep connections to our community .

5. RESOURCES We have been working everyday since the flood to make sure that there are
resources available to those who need them, but just as crucially that these
connections are not forgotten

6. I want to emphasize this notion of connectedness because I have been approached by
so many people both immediately after the flood and leading up to the anniversary who
said they don’t know what they could contribute or they didn’t deserve to be involved in
flood related activities or commemoration because they weren’t badly affected.

7. B E Y O U
We had so many people in our office who thought that they had nothing to contribute,
that they had no special skills to offer, but through simply being themselves, no matter
what state of recovery they were in, they contributed an incredible amount. I saw the
greatest compassion, action, and innovation from those who arrived thinking they had
nothing to offer. They filled gaps in the organization that we didn’t know existed, and
increased our ability to provide aid in a myriad of ways.

8. T
ALL FOR ONE
So with all my love, respect, and understanding, the idea that you are not a part of
the recovery community is a load of horseturds. We are all affected by this. It has
changed our community conversations, the way that we approach the future and
fundamentally altered the way we experience the land and people that make up our
county.

9. A C T It is so crucial to have people at different stages of the recovery process, because this
means that we have different resource pools and skill sets to draw on.

10. E N G A G E
And through this process of engaging with the community, I have come to see that
cutting yourself off from the recovery by saying that you were not affected is actually
damaging. You withdraw that sense of support that is so vital to restoring community
health and keeping people resilient through their darkest hours.

11. C O N N E C T Connection became one of the fundamental building blocks of our organization. From
those who stepped forward even when they thought they had nothing to give, we
undertook an occupation of emotional and physical support that was more valuable
than any one answer, skill, or resource we had access to.

12. T R U S T
The trust of homeowners and actions of volunteers from Boulder Flood Relief and
Mudslingers has had a resounding effect on the way that disaster relief and recovery
will be handled in the future. In honor of those who let us into their homes and those
who worked alongside us, I am fiercely determined to repay their efforts with a
structured recovery process that is holistic, lasting, and makes us stronger in the future.

13. C O M M I T It is not easy to engage and to keep engaging in this process of recovery and
rebuilding. It is a complex, draining process, but making that choice to step in and
acknowledge yourself as a member of the flood affected community is an incredibly
brave and immensely hopeful act.

14. A M P L I F Y It is my, your, our charge to be willing, motivated, and inspired to take part in these
connections, to face the next disaster enriched by the support of everyone in the
community. That is the gift that you may give to yourself and to your community.

15. T H R I V E
Looking at how much our volunteers accomplished, and how incredibly strong our
community is speaks volumes about the effect of individual participation. So if there is
nothing else that you take away from this night, I want you to go away knowing down
to your bones that when you extend your hand to help or to receive help, you have
everything to offer, and absolutely everything to receive.