Helping Flood Victims a Community Effort

MANSFIELD, PA— The Mansfield University campus community and community at large continue the efforts to help those in the region affected by the flooding in early September.
In a true team effort, a drive to collect household items and supplies, non-perishable food, drinking water and clothes was led by the husband and wife team of Mail Services Coordinator Edgard “Gardy” Domenech and Admissions Counselor Maria Domenech.
They enlisted the help of students and also involved their children, Dylan and Sophia, is distributing 300 donation bags to homes in Mansfield and returning a few days later to pick them up.
“We believe that helping in the community can bring great benefits to our kids,” Gardy Domenech said. “They'll develop empathy for others, build positive relationships with adults and peers, become empowered to make a difference in their world, and learn valuable life skills.”
“Our children have a natural tendency to care about others,” Marie Domenech added. “We believe that the process of putting that care into action really starts within our own family, as well as within our own community. Dylan and Sophie have had an opportunity to undertake personal community outreach right in their own backyards.”
Another example of the community effort came from Partners in Progress, where employees collected household items to donate.
The task of sorting the items collected, which filled a room in the Admissions area of South Hall, was taken on by students in Assistant Professor Mary Daley’s Introduction to Social Work class.
From there, Admissions counselors have delivered donations to high schools in Athens, Sayre, Towanda and Wyalusing so far, with more deliveries in the works.
“We wanted to have the high schools distribute the contributions directly to those within their school district that needed it,” Dave Empet, assistant director of Admission, said.
Empet says the more than $1,100 in financial donations have also been received and several mother money raising on-campus efforts are continuing.
MU students and staff have made several trips to affected areas to help with the clean-up effort.
To learn more about the ongoing “Mountie Family Recovery Effort,” go to news.mansfield.edu/mountie-family-recovery-effort/