Ferndale Creates Volunteer Program For Residents Who Need Help Shoveling

FERNDALE, MI — It's shoveling weather! But what if you can't shovel your steps or driveway because of an injury or condition? There's a brand new Ferndale volunteer-based program for you!

Joe Gacioch, the Assistant City Manager of Ferndale, created a volunteer-based program to link people who need help shoveling with shovel-wielding volunteers.

"Yesterday morning we had the city snowplows trying to take care of all of the road clearances and I received a few calls from seniors who have neighbors that are typically there to help them clear their sidewalks but this time they weren't," Gacioch told Patch.

The idea snowballed from there.

Gacioch said "We have a couple public services agencies that normally would help but they were busy with commitments so I created a really quick solution and made a Google sheet and made it editable. We knew if we provided the spark the community would run with it and they did. We have such a strong sense of volunteerism."

This is how it works. If you'd like help removing snow, you just put in your address in the document, which anyone can see and can add a note. For example, one entry reads "Senior resident requests help shoveling sidewalk and driveway." There's also a status section, so you can update the document when help comes your way.

Meanwhile, if you want to help a fellow resident, you can also put in a note with your availability.

Check out the document here http://bit.ly/2hwiUQ8 and let the shoveling begin!

Photo by Oatsy40 via Flickr