Team Rubicon volunteers are working on emergency home repairs following Typhoon Halong.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A team of volunteer veterans is assisting in the restoration efforts in Western communities. The team, consisting of six Team Rubicon volunteers, is primarily veterans who have been working on emergency home repairs on properties impacted by former Typhoon Halong in Tuntutuliak .
“It makes you feel pretty amazing,” Wayne Marquis, one of the volunteers, said. “When see us doing this for them, you can tell they just brighten right up, and it warms our heart to witness that.” Marquis, a marine veteran, arrived in Tuntutuliak on Nov. 12 and is part of the Team Rubicon volunteer group. Team Rubicon is a veteran-led humanitarian organization that assists communities impacted by disasters around the world. Since mid-November, Marquis told Alaska’s News Source, he has been working on emergency home repairs, including “mucking out” properties, applying new insulation, and installing plywood underneath the house to hold everything in place. The volunteers, Marquis said, fix an average of two houses a day. “There are still in the neighborhood between 20 and 40 homes that still need to be addressed,” Marquis said. “Some of them we won’t be able to get to, and nobody will really, until next Spring, because they are too close to the ground. The ones we are working on right now are an average of two feet, four feet off the ground.” Marquis said he thinks that it is the camaraderie of helping people out that brings volunteers together. At least 80% of the volunteers in his group, he said, are made up of veterans. A community where camaraderie plays an important role. Marquis told Alaska’s News Source that the option to volunteer with Rubicon is similar to the choice that service members make when signing up for the armed forces. “For us, it’s pretty important. We quickly connect, regardless of, like I said, any branch of the service,” Marquis said. “I think the bond that we share doing that together is pretty special. And that’s really the magic of being a veteran and sharing that with fellow veterans.” Marquis said that even years after service, the drive to serve continues to live. Marquis adds that this type of volunteer work and teamwork reminds him of his military service. “We’re all taxed with the cold weather, having to watch each other and making sure you don’t sweat too much and you don’t cool off too quickly. All of things really bond you together in a manner that’s pretty unique,” Marquis said. “It’s very similar to when you serve active duty in the military, but it’s a little extra special too, because you’re doing it for humanitarian purposes.”Man charged in Fox Hollow killing waives court appearanceFPD: Five in Fairbanks accused of illegal gambling operation, arrestedAST K9 main character in new children’s comic book
Team Rubicon Alaska Team Rubicon Westerns Storm Support Team Rubicon Rebuilding Homes Team Rubicon Emergency Home Restoration Typhoon Halong Alaska Typhoon Halong Volunteers Typhoon Halong Impacts Tuntutuliak Impact From Western Storm Tuntutuliak Tuntutuliak Home Restoration
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