Here's a Very Easy Way to Help Flood Victims—Or to Find Help, Yourself

A real grassroots effort is underway in Elmhurst to help the victims of last week's flood.

First Ward Alderman Diane Gutenkauf created the Elmhurst Helping Elmhurst Facebook page on Saturday morning, and in just about 48 hours, the page has hundreds of followers. Donations of clothing, food, furniture, fans, dehumidifiers, money, gift cards and a whole lot more are rolling in.

"It's still fairly organic at this stage, with people posting and responding to each other," Gutenkauf said Monday. "It's a great resource to let people know what's out there and to give people who want to donate and do something a really easy outlet for that."

Elmhurst residents have posted that they are without a furnace and hot water. Some have had to move into hotels because their homes are uninhabitable.

"Somebody was collecting gift cards for redistribution, and we've been trying to post resources and those kinds of things," Gutenkauf said.

The page includes everything from links to local contractors' websites to offers to do laundry.

"It's really taken off," she said. "We're trying to promote it every way we can."

Gutenkauf credits Elmhurst resident Simeren Silverstein for the idea. Silverstein is taking it a step further by talking with various businesses regarding donations and coordinating potential donation drop-off sites.

Gutenkauf said her own home was not damaged in the storm.

"Fortunately, we did not lose power, the sump pump never turned off, and we didn't get sewer backup," she said. "That freed me up to be able to spend more time sharing information and resources."

Certain areas in Gutenkauf's 1st Ward got hit pretty hard, she said. On a site where a home had recently been torn down, an underground storage tank was unearthed, and gas or oil leaked out into neighboring properties, she said.

"That was a really bad spot," she said. "The Illinois EPA came out to look at it."

Homes near York High School also saw extensive damage.

"I don't want anybody to think it was just south Elmhurst that got hit," she said. "It was the whole town. And, it's not like it was just Elmhurst. The Des Plaines River crested 11 feet above its normal level—11 feet!"

Click here to join the Elmhurst Helping Elmhurst Facebook page.

To see all articles related to the 2013 flood in Elmhurst:
Elmhurst Flood 2013

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