Ball State students can help the community clean up the damages left over from the Jan. 5 ice storm Saturday.
Jessica Parks, who is in charge of "Operation Pick Up Sticks," said she is excited about the potential help students can offer.
"We would like to encourage the Ball State students to come out and volunteer because it gives them another way to become a valuable part of our community," Parks said.
The project is a volunteer effort brought together by non-profit organizations such as the Hope Crisis Response Network, the Salvation Army and the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief.
Delaware County Commissioner Tom Bennington said more than 400 community members are already involved in Saturday's project, which starts at the county fairgrounds.
"We are a community that needs to help each other," Bennington said. "It's a necessity".
The ice storm's damage totaled $3 million, with nearly $750,000 needed to finish the clean up, Bennington said. The more people that show to help the clean up, the less money will be needed, Bennington said.
The total amount of damages at Ball State have reached nearly $200,000 which include pick up and assistance. The number does not include the re-building of the damage, such as adding trees, which could reach another $100,000 dollars, Kevin Kenyon, assistant vice president of facility and planning management, said.
The project is aimed at helping the elderly and disabled who are unable to keep up with the damages, Jonna Reece, president of the Board of Sanitary Commissioners, said.
"The problem we have is the elderly and disabled that are unable to bring the downed limbs to the edge of the property for our trucks to pick them up," Reece said. "We have approximately 30,000 homes in the sanitary district. I would imagine that we might be talking about as many as 1,000 homes that are in need of assistance."
The assistance needed is long-term and will take up to several weeks, Reece said. She said Ball State students could be a huge contribution to the project.
"If we could harness that community service into one large project it would really help out the city," Reece said. "I would love to see the students step up to the plate and offer their services."
Ball State student Jacob Feike has grown up in Muncie and is excited about the chance to help out his community.
"I am still seeing damages all over this city," Feike said. "This is a great chance for students to give something back to this community."
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