Susquehanna Team members voluntarily took turns helping one community north of the plant clean up homes and businesses ravaged by the recent flooding.

From Tuesday, Sept. 14 until Saturday, Sept 24, teams of Susquehanna employees joined the clean-up efforts in Shickshinny, Pa. Each day, a group of plant volunteers headed out, with approval of their supervisors and plant management, to support clean-up efforts.

“The Susquehanna plant is rooted in our local community — our employees live here and we’ve built strong relationships with many local businesses that were affected by the flood,” said Susquehanna Site Vice President Russ Kearney. “We feel a strong conviction to reach out and share our resources, both people and equipment, to help those affected by this historic flood.

“Many of our employees asked our management team how the plant could support volunteer efforts, which shows that PPL employees do more than talk about citizenship as a core value, we act on it,” Kearney said. “I appreciate the efforts of all the volunteers and the North American Young Generation in Nuclear group, which organized the effort.”

A few Susquehanna employees were directly affected by the flood; co-workers have pitched in to help them restore their houses. Many employees also have family and friends who were directly affected.

“Helping people dig several inches of muck out of their homes was pretty humbling,” said Sr. Technology Specialist Jason Lada, who volunteered on the first day. “Initially, we thought we were going to be moving wet furniture out of basements, but homes closest to river had about six feet of water on their second floors. Those we ended up pretty much gutting.”

“Some families and businesses were unsure if they would even try to rebuild in the same location,” added Maintenance General Manager Brad Drysdale, who supervised the first day’s team.

Susquehanna and other PPL facilities have done more than volunteer. PPL has donated $25,000 to the American Red Cross. The company is making office space at the Susquehanna Energy Information Center available to Shickshinny Police until the police station is usable again.

“The residents and borough officials have expressed their sincere appreciation for our help,” said Effluents Foreman and co-chair of Susquehanna’s NA-YGN Chapter Kip McCabe. “What’s more, no one has let the severe damage dampen their spirits. Everyone has simply dug in to get those affected back on their feet.”

Team Susquehanna assisted Shickshinny and Bloomsburg residents and paused for a moment with their gear. Volunteers (L to R) include Joe Schappert, Ash Chappell, Jim Schultz, John Rothermel, Brian Voss, Bob Briggs, Dave Hergan, Ashley Deitrich-Whitebread, Kip McCabe.