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DAMASCUS, Va. (WJHL) – Laurel Creek was filled with debris from homes washed away by Hurricane Helene’s flooding. However, on Saturday, a group of scouts from Southwest Virginia came together to assist a community in need.
“A lot of debris has been picked up and all the little stuff like microwaves and chairs and teddy bears,” Washington County, Virginia administrator Jason Berry said. “And debris from trailers and RVs, that’s what we’re cleaning up today.”
Berry is also an Assistant Scoutmaster for Abingdon Troop 222.
Some of the scouts came from Abingdon, Virginia, a town that didn’t experience the damage that Damascus did. Those scouts said that led them to want to help.
“It makes me feel very blessed that I didn’t have to experience this,” Troop 222 member Wyatt Murphy said. “But it also makes me feel very sorry for the people who did have to experience this. And I thought I could just help out.”
“A lot of people lost their homes during Hurricane Helene,” Troop 222 member Alex Bailey said. “And mostly I felt like I should help out with the people that lost their homes and maybe pick up some trash and help out Damascus.”
Barry said none of the troops required their scouts to participate. All in attendance chose to volunteer their time.
“This is cleaning up a natural disaster, making it better than what we found it,” Barry said. “And that’s what Scouts is all about, making it a better place. So that’s what they’re doing, and they’re glad to do it.”
The cleanup inspired the boys to want to help again wherever possible.
“So maybe when another event happens, a hurricane or another event, I want to go help out when I get the opportunity to instead of lie in bed,” Bailey said.
“It just leads me to think that if everybody plays a role in it, then we can finish it together,” Murphy said.