APOPKA, Fla. – What started as a park cleanup project turned into neighbors helping neighbors clean up yard debris after Hurricane Helene.
Jeannie Jessup is one of the four people who volunteers helped clean up debris at their home after the storm.
“I thought, I never ask for help, but I’m going to reach out and I thought maybe a couple of people might show up, and I have a whole yard of people,” Jessup said. “It’s great. I’m glad I did.”
Jessup has a large backyard and would need to carry the debris to an empty lot across the street to be picked up. She said it would have taken her days to clean up without the help.
“Probably three days, a lot of hours of walking,” Jessup said. “Probably a good 15, 20 trips from the back.”
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Apopka City Commissioner Nick Nesta hosts a quarterly cleanup project. This quarter’s project took place at Dream Lake Park.
However, when Helene came through, rather than focus on just the park, he decided to put the call out on social media to people who needed help after the storm.
“It was quite a bit,” Nesta said. “You know, the house we’re at now they specifically said that they were nervous about reaching out, they were just embarrassed, and I’m like, ‘No — that’s what community is about. That’s No. 1.’ As a commissioner, that’s why I’m here to serve, is our residents. No. 2, people come out because they want to build community, and this is how we are able to help each other.”
Nesta said it was humbling to see the volunteers come together to help out other people.
“As a commissioner, you want to bring the community together and through acts of service like this, they come out in droves,” Nesta said.
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