Schoharie Central School's Teachers Association has a history of pitching in.
But as the community struggles to move forward from Hurricane Irene, never has the need for STAY's help been so great.
In October, STAY worked with others, using donations of supplies and labor to insulate about 110 homes.
Their goal, said STA President Martin Messner, himself a SCS teacher and Schoharie resident-though one without flood damage-was 40.
"But we got a lot of help. We have a lot of friends and called in a lot of favors. We got more donations than expected so we just kept going."
Not all of the 275 homes flooded in the village were ready for insulation-some were still drying out-and though STAY is considering another round, it's also working with groups like Schoharie Recovery Inc. to figure out what people need most now.
"There are still a lot of families who don't know if they're coming back," Mr. Messner said. "They don't know what to do.
"In an area like this, people are very independent. They don't like to ask for help and we're afraid some of them are falling through the cracks...We need to know what people need so we can help them."
Two months post-Irene, Mr. Messner said people are getting discouraged and exhausted; the snow hasn't helped.
"That's why we pushed so hard with the insulation," he said. "People are living on their second floors because they don't have anywhere else to go."
Though volunteers have thronged into the Valley, Mr. Messner said that help is starting to trickle off-understandably; the insulation project burned him out-and they need more help from the state to address the flood's long-term consequences.
"Government exists to help people," he said. "We have no tax base left...all of our schools have already been struggling with their budgets..."
With help from the state unlikely, Mr. Messner said groups like STAY and Schoharie Recovery, to name two, will continue to focus on what volunteers can do and where the help's needed most.
"We all have to do what we can to help," he added. "It's not going to go away. We'll definitely come up with another project. What it is will depend on what people's needs and priorities are."