On the first anniversary of Hurricane Irene, recovery took another giant step forward with word of a $250,000 challenge matching grant from Fenimore Asset Management.
Anne Putnam, vice president of FAM and FAM Funds, announced the grant to SALT--Schoharie Area Long Term-at Sunday's "Schoharie County-One Year Later-Country Strong" at the Cobleskill Fairgrounds.
"Schoharie is my hometown," said Ms. Putnam, whose parents, Tom and Dusty, lost their home to last August's floodwaters.
"Fenimore Asset Management is blessed to be able to assist the community and the recovery efforts."
All donations will go toward unmet needs.
Already, said SALT Executive Director Sarah Goodrich, they've raised $100,000 towards the match.
"We're not done yet [with recovery], but $500,000 will go a long ways," she said, challenging the community to help SALT reach the $250,000 mark.
Ms. Goodrich said SALT has set a fundraising goal of $3 million-money that will be leveraged four times or more through discounted purchasing of materials and with volunteer labor.
"Let's keep our eye on that goal," she urged.
Donations can be made online at SaltRecovery.org and checks can be made payable to SALT and mailed to SALT, PO Box 777, Schoharie, NY 12157 or written to the "Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region" with "SALT disaster recovery unmet need" in the memo line and mailed to: Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region, 6 Tower Place, Albany, NY 12203.
Sheri Meyer-Veen, SALT board chair, said more than 25,000 volunteers have logged more than 150,000 hours since Irene.
"Your presence in our darkest hours have encouraged us to keep going," she said.
"We can't say thank you enough except to ask you to keep coming."
Thanks to groups including the Green Shirts, VISTA's Americacorps-both of which will be assisting into the winter and beyond, Ms. Goodrich said, one-quarter to one-third of the severely damaged properties in the Schoharie Valley have been restored.
"This is a huge accomplishment in just one year," she said, but still, there's a long way to go.
"There are still many people anxious to have a place to live, anxious to get back to normalcy, anxious to have a place to call home..."
According to data collected for SALT, the Schoharie Valley still has about $111 million in unmet need from Irene.