The volunteers were mainly recruited by Serve Rhode Island, a nonprofit organization headquartered in Providence, that, according to its website, “connects thousands of volunteers to service opportunities in the community annually.” The Chamber raised funds to provide the volunteers with lunch, tools and safety
property that day. Konicki, clad in gym gear, recommended I talk to one in particular. She told me his story. “He called me the first day and asked how he could help. He started by making cold calls for donations for the Bring Back the Beach fund. Then he went to the field and he’s been coming here every weekend since.”
A Force of Nature
Volunteers Heed The Call “Volunteers were like angels.” This is what Konicki told me on our first phone call. To date, an astounding 1,200 volunteers have been mobilized to help businesses and homeowners clean up debris, shovel sand and repair structures.
34 SO RHODE ISLAND | June 2013
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Misquamicut Beach is no stranger to disaster. In fact, we can thank disaster for what is now the state beach area, which was created in 1959 after the hurricanes of 1938, 1944 and 1954. According to the RI DEM website, the “slate was wiped clean” by these hurricanes, and “just about every structure along the beach was flattened, washed out to sea or damaged to the point of being uninhabitable.” The state was fed up; after Hurricane Carol, in 1954, legislation was passed to allow the state to condemn the beach and acquire it via eminent domain. The one-mile strip of state beach is the result. But many homes and businesses remain alongside this strip. Packing a record breaking storm surge, Superstorm Sandy leveled or damaged hundreds of homes and 31 businesses. Sand dunes were simply gone. In the end, a contractor hired by the Town of Westerly cleaned up, stockpiled, sifted and redistributed nearly 67,000 cubic yards of sand. Massive mounds of sand were stockpiled in the state beach parking lot. It was painstakingly sifted through to remove rocks, gravel and debris. Redistribution of the sand, to the beach and to public lots, was completed by April 1, the deadline set by the US Fish and Wildlife Service in order to avoid adverse impacts to the piping plover. The sand on the beach is now pristine. The dunes are back. The only remaining debris in the state beach parking lot is the colossal mound of gravel sifted out of the sand.
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Misquamicut Beach is ready for its summer visitors
equipment. The Misquamicut Business Association managed volunteer efforts on the ground. One recent sunny Saturday morning, the beach was bustling with contractors and volunteers, who mainly work on the weekends. Stillman and Konicki were hanging out at the social club, Stillman’s RV. Four volunteers were working at Stillman’s
Konicki escorts me onto Stillman’s property and introduces me to him. His name is Mick Manfredi. He’s married, has two kids and is in his 30s. He tells me he started making phone calls for donations on behalf of the Chamber. Then he delivered lunches to the volunteers. Then he got involved with Serve RI and he’s been helping with clean-up and rebuilding
ever since. Manfredi, who was laid off prior to the hurricane, tells me that one of the most satisfying moments was when a total stranger walked up to him one day and thanked him. I ask what drives him to volunteer. “This beach was my life during the summer.” Konicki, back in the RV, echoes this sentiment. “Everybody loves this beach. There’s a strong emotional connection to it.” Across the street from Stillman’s RV was the Misquamicut Business Association’s volunteer check-in trailer, manned that day by Julie Cardinal. While we talked, volunteers, including a mother and a daughter, streamed in and filled out the required paperwork. Cardinal directed them where to go. There were 20 volunteers working that day. Many of them were working with Bernie Beaudreau and Cindy Myers of Serve RI to clean up the massive debris field on the north side of Winnapaug Pond. According to Cardinal, this is about an average day; typically, around 20 volunteers toil away each weekend. Most of them, she says, are not from the area. A life long Misquamicut resident, Cardinal notes, “It’s the most amazing thing in my life.” Caswelle Cooke, the executive director of the Misquamicut Business Association, arrives. He tells me that the MBA lost many of its programming materials in the storm. This included equipment used to put on their weekly summer events and seasonal events, including Springfest, which was held May 10-12. Nearly $8,000 dollars was raised in one week by the MBA to replace almost all of the equipment. “The governor,” Cooke says, “has been awesome. He pays attention.” He told me that the Westerly Town Manager Steven Hartford and Governor Chafee spoke at length after the storm. The talks were invaluable to business owners: regulators from the RI DEM, the Coastal Resource Management Council (CRMC) and the town got together and visited businesses, saving loads of time and money associated with coordinating the permitting process. He tells me that MBA volunteers helped clean 200 cottages after the storm. “Also,” he says, “Home Depot has agreed to replace the 50 street planters that were lost.”
The Community Comes Together I tracked down Bernie Beaudreau on the north side of the pond. Beaudreau, the executive director of Serve RI and native Rhode Islander, was
Photography: Hilary Block
Insurance hasn’t paid a dime. “All of the funding has come from the Chamber and from my own savings.” Norm, who’d been listening intently to Stillman, chimed in, “The thing is that it’s 1,000% Lisa. The bulk of the businesses the Chamber has provided money for aren’t even members.” Konicki, sitting next to me on a bench seat in Stillman’s RV, blushes. “Well,” she says, “it’s about doing the right thing.”