Our Story
"Sometimes, a new story begins as another one ends. And sometimes, its beginning precedes the realization that it ever began."
Out of Reach
The latest venture had ended. For weeks I had been constructing a new plan, as my previous path was no longer relevant. A moment of clarity suddenly washed away those long days of futile effort, as I heard about a deadly landslide reported in South America. I wanted to help the people there, but I could not. I did not have money to donate to a charity, and I certainly did not have the resources to fly down there. And so I sat on my couch for the rest of the day, unsuccessfully thinking of ways I could help.
The Call to Adventure
That day would frequent my thoughts over the following years, but it never lingered so long as it did one day in November of 2020, almost a decade later. Hurricane Eta had made landfall in Florida, where I was helping my family during the Covid pandemic. While the hurricane did not hit us directly, storm surge flooded the streets with water past our knees and effortlessly whipped debris about. We were able to secure neighbors' outdoor furniture and miscellaneous items before it hit. As the storm surge filled the canals and flooded the streets, the water level was nearing the backdoor of many of the houses in the neighborhood. Across the canal, we noticed that one neighbor did not have their boat raised on their lift. A quick call over to them revealed that it was broken. My father and I were able wade our way over and help secure the boat with extra lines and ratchet cables before it could float away freely and recklessly through the neighborhood. That night, I recalled the day back in Wisconsin when I sat on my couch helpless, thinking about those victims of the landslide in South America. But not this night. The feeling of being able to help people in their time of need rather than to sit helpless was palpable, almost indescribable, and aggressively dominated my thoughts. How could this feeling be replicated? How could the small acts of assistance rendered that day be multiplied? How could I help people help others?
Crossing the Threshold
In the days that followed, I felt that familiar urge. That uncomfortable, yet enticing and relentless gravity towards something unknown. Since that day hearing about the landslide in South America, I had fleeting moments of a vision where there were means for a directionless person to help others in need. Where someone with the will to help others was given the resources and the opportunity to do so. It was time to give this vision its due diligence and begin conceptualizing its structure. A year later, I found myself with an opportunity to make this dream a reality. After moving to Summit County in 2021 and being humbled and amazed by the sense of responsibility to community I found there, Community Across America was founded - and a new story had begun.
"We believe there is a strong will among the people of this world to help others that are in need. And if they are given the opportunity and resources to do so, we believe they will."
- Drew Roberts