Community Corner

Volunteers Show Up in Force to Help Dexter Residents

Efforts will continue next weekend to clear trees and other debris.

Tornado clean-up efforts continued in Dexter Sunday, with more than 120 volunteers working with the Hands of Light in Action group to help residents clear their yards of debris.

The group worked at eight different homes in one of the hardest-hit neighborhoods, cutting up more than 80 trees, hauling tons of brush and giving out "tons of hugs," the group's organizer, Nancy Malone, a Canton resident said.

Malone, founder/president of Hands of Light in Action, a non-profit that provides "hands-on" assistance to people in need after natural disasters in the the U.S and elsewhere, said she was pleased with the number of volunteers who showed up to help make a difference "in a small town of Dexter, MI."

Find out what's happening in Dexterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Just today, we ended up cutting up over 80 trees, hauled tons of brush and gave LOTS of hugs!! We had over 120 volunteers over the course of the day. We worked on 8 different homes just in 1 day.

In an email to Dexter Patch, Malone said: "Hands of Light in Action volunteers totally rocked it! I was so proud of the hard work and heart!"

Find out what's happening in Dexterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The organization will return to the same neighborhood next weekend, meeting at 9 a.m. on March 25 and March 26, Malone said. Volunteers should meet in the back of the Carriage Hill Subdivision, located at corner of Timberhill Court and Horseshoe Bend, and let officials know they are there to volunteer with the gorup.

More photos of cleaning efforts can be found in Malone's gallery.

At on Sunday afternoon, Nancy Paul and others from the volunteer group Faith in Action were busy setting up a room full of clothes, toiletries, food and drinks for those affected by the tornado.

About a dozen families stopped by and about just as many Dexter residents came in to volunteer their help, including two volunteers during the course of Paul's interview with Patch.

She and her volunteers will stay at the site all week, she said.

One of the volunteers who stopped by the school to lend a hand was lifelong Dexter resident Patricia Miller. She rushed home after hearing about the tornado on the radio and got there in time to see the tornado from from her home.

"It was the first time in my life I heard that freight train sound," Miller recalled of the looming tornado. "I felt lucky that all we lost was our power."

She said she planned to volunteer on Monday too, her day off from work.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here