In the opinion piece I wrote titled “The monetary value of volunteer communities” which was published by the Gazette on January 28, I gave examples of volunteer organizations working with the town to provide community services. I wrote that Neighbor-to-Neighbor “put together an extensive disaster recovery plan, a municipal responsibility.” This statement should have read that “Neighbor-to-Neighbor helped to implement the town’s local emergency and management plan.”
Neighbor-to-Neighbor worked with Kristen Leahy (the town’s zoning and floodplain administrator, resilience and adaptation coordinator) whose office has responsibility for disaster recovery and emergency planning, to offer insights and to implement the local emergency and management plan. Neighbor-to-Neighbor put together and manages, in partnership with the town, the Emergency Supply and Support Center (ESSC), the Emergency Communication Center and disaster-related clean up.
The work to create the planning document was led by the Town of Hardwick and continues to be updated by the town. Leahy worked closely with Hardwick Neighbor-to-Neighbor and other volunteer partners to implement this plan. That collaboration, according to Leahy, is an important part of how the plan moves from paper into practice, and the volunteer role in that process is significant and valued.
Cheryl Michaels
East Hardwick
