Sandra's story

It was still dark outside when Sandra’s husband shook her awake. The urgency in his voice jarred her out of deep sleep.

“Water’s coming in!” She looked at him, still groggy from such a sudden wake up, and didn’t understand what he was saying. “Honey, we’ve got water in the house!”

That woke me up. Completely. I put my feet on the floor and wanted to cry when I realized I was standing in ankle-deep water. I didn’t have time to cry. We started piling smaller pieces of furniture on our bed, placing the dining chairs on the table, waking the kids to get things off their floors, and painting on brave faces so we wouldn’t scare our children.

Because we were not in a flood zone, we didn’t have flood insurance, and I was panicking over how we were going to recover from this disaster. Almost immediately, our organization pushed out a communication about our Employee Assistance Fund being available for employees who had experienced damage from the storm. I submitted an application, and when I learned that funding was granted, I was relieved. The funds we received from the EAF, money that had been donated by colleagues I didn’t even know, helped us bridge the time between the disaster and when we received FEMA assistance to begin making repairs.

I remember crying when the funding was in my bank account. As the person who is always helping others, I was not used to asking for or accepting help. That grant ensured that we were able to afford the supplies we needed to clean and disinfect the house, cut out the walls, and replace some of the smaller necessities that had been contaminated by flood water.

I am forever grateful to be part of a ministry that values its employees and to be part of an employee population that cares about each other. Both were there for my family at a time when we didn’t know where to turn.

* To support our employees when they need it the most, you can make a gift to our employee assistance fund by clicking here.