Over the holiday weekend a water line froze and broke, flooding the Program House located on the hill to the right of our main building.  It was discovered by our maintenance staff on a routine check while the buildings were closed for the Christmas holiday.  The damage was extensive.  Our emergency action plan was put into process and staff were called in to address the immediate needs of securing the building and mitigating any further damage.  Upon contacting multiple restoration companies, we found out that we were just one of MANY homes and businesses facing this problem.  As you recall, the weather was a perfect storm of relentless rain followed by plummeting temperatures.  We were told that an initial response team would not be available for up to three days. 

As you can imagine, time is of the essence when mitigating water damage and the ensuing prospect of mold in a building that houses two classrooms of Dover PreK school children and the satellite location of Atlantic Rehabilitation.  Hundreds of families count on that building for their education, childcare and rehabilitation needs.  The longer we waited for response the longer these programs would be down, and the more costly the repair would be.

Then comes a hero.  John Blehl, owner of the ServPro Dover/Stillwater location came to our rescue.  John and his family are members of our Y and because of his support for our organization, he made sure our needs were met promptly and professionally.  They expedited a response team and the building was being fitted with fans and dehumidifiers within less than 2 hours after the initial call.

The building is currently still under repair, and we are happy to report that ServPro is working diligently to get  us back up and fully operational as soon as possible.  I cannot thank John, Jose and every member of their team for helping us out at a time when we would otherwise have been just a number in a long line waiting for service.  And a great big thank you to the Y staff who left their families on a holiday evening to join the team in addressing the problem.

The Y is a 24/7 operation-even on Christmas.  And it takes a village.  Here’s to better things in 2023!

January 3rd, 2023