digging in the dirt
Part of Slifer’s Cleaning Crew: Left to right – Eric Pence, Michelle Caster, MaiMai Dorn, Kari Gerber, Elizabeth Holland, Susan Ferrari, JoAnne Brutsch, Kim Toms.
Most of the Slifer Designs’ crew got their hands really dirty last week when they took a day to help clean up from the floods in the Front Range. The group teamed up with Mudslingers, a grassroots community organization that connects those who need help with flood clean up with those who want to help. Mudslingers literally sprung out of the mud.
The whole group pauses for a quick photo.
Most times the designers at Slifer are working on high-end remodels or custom homes. Last week they took their skills, strength and manpower to an entirely new level. There can be such a feeling of powerlessness when we hear of a disaster, and it is perhaps even more compounded when it strikes close to home. Wanting to make a difference, Slifer’s Cyndi Gershenoff spearheaded the community give back day. In a place where there’s so much to be done—from such huge projects as rebuilding roads to helping clean out a mud-soaked house—volunteers can make a significant and real difference. Come to find out, what might sound like a small project can turn out to be completely daunting.
Our task: clean out this mud-filled crawlspace.
“We found out Tuesday (before we went down on Thursday) what our mission was: helping dig out a crawlspace/basement,” Cyndi explains. “Ok – sounds good. We had nooooooooo idea what we were heading into!”
Team leader, Cyndi Gershenoff, gets down and dirty in the crawlspace.
The crawlspace was three-feet high and ran the full length of the house and the team tackled it cheerfully—with a bucket brigade. The team consisted of 4 shovelers, 4 pushers to get the buckets to the outside of the house and then more pushers, swingers and throwers to dump the sand and dirt about 15 feet from the house. Some of the crew helped dig out and break up a hot tub and some remove drywall as well.
Kim DeGroat and Sue Poisson, just part of the bucket brigade.
Just being able to see the tangible results of the day, and knowing we helped someone who needed it, was such a reward. Cyndi summed it up clearly, “It was a great day of lots of hard work, laughter, getting dirty and helping out – priceless!!”
Caylin Scott & JoAnne Brutsch, masked and ready to tackle the mud.
There is so much still to do, so if you have some time, a few muscles, are ready to work and want to get dirty, contact Mudslingers to volunteer at donateboulder.org; bouldermudslingers@gmail.com or 720.310.5170.