In July of 2004 Peterborough suffered from severe flooding and the damage from all the dirty water that pentrated several homes, businesses and properties. The extent of the damage was monumental and the clean up of the area took months. Many people were driven from their homes and left to live in shelters, community centres or with family and friends. For those unfortunate enough not to have financial assistance to get their lives back to normal the task of rebuilding seemed out of reach.
COCB was contacted by Premier RT Honorable Dalton McGuinty requesting assistance from the construction industry for the victims of the Flood Disaster. A team of representatives visited the area to assess the damage and determine what resources and materials would be required to repair the homes of those less fortunate.
The assessment was quick and work began almost immediately. A group of 40 enthusiastic and highly trained professional trades people offered their weekends and evenings, logged well over 1000 volunteer work hours to rebuild the shattered lives of Peterborough residents for whom no other source of assistance was available. The efforts of the volunteers needed to be supported monetarily for incidental building materials not covered by government relief program funding. Through the COBT, the trade unions supported COCB in the amount of $25,000.00.
The project concluded with 12 homes, and more importantly 12 families, being restored back to normal. One case involved a child with a disability. This struck at the heart strings of the volunteers. The drive and determination to complete the task was never so clear for our volunteers. Tirelessly they worked to achieve what some residents called a "miracle".
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