Amanda Johnson’s front yard was one of the last safe points to stand in her neighborhood as the floodwaters rose a few weeks ago in Spencer. Her neighbor, the wife of a local pastor, told Johnson they’d have to open the church for people who just lost their homes.
“We looked around, and there's all of these people who are displaced from our neighborhood that are standing at the intersection by our house, just watching these waters rise,” Johnson said. “And really, you could tell they just didn't have anywhere to go, and they just didn't know really what to do.”
Standing from her home's porch above the waters, Johnson announced to her neighbors that Foundation Church was going to open to people for the time being so the community could have a place to go and regroup.
We realized pretty quickly that we were it, and we looked around at each other and realized that we needed to take care of each other.Amanda Johnson
This began a week-long act of kindness through volunteering, as Johnson and other residents assisted their fellow Spencer residents who didn’t have a safe place to return to. Though after a few days the Red Cross and FEMA came to the town with additional resources and assistance, it didn’t arrive right away.
“We realized pretty quickly that we were it, and we looked around at each other and realized that we needed to take care of each other.”
The historic flooding in Spencer brought disaster and destruction, with more than 80% of the houses in the community being affected. But amid the chaos, the flood also inspired acts of kindness and humanity, as Iowans used their resources to help their community.
Johnson says neighbors have stepped up to replace drywall, muck out basements and provide child care for each other. People have made Facebook groups to offer their talents and services. One local massage therapist provided massages to first responders and Iowans who were displaced.
“People always say that we're living in divisive times, and we're living in times where people are wrapped up in their phones and spending so much time just isolated,” she said. “This was such a wonderful opportunity to see just the power of love and kindness, just seeing people say, ‘Hey, I am, I have this skillset, and I'm willing to come and I'm willing to help you.’”
One act of kindness went viral on Facebook. Casey Johnson (no relation to Amanda Johnson) was pulling ruined items from her garage to the curb to be hauled away, when some neighbors came over and asked if they could take the Blackstone grill and restore it.
She then went out of town for the weekend to replace the car she had lost in the flooding.
This was such a wonderful opportunity to see just the power of love and kindness, just seeing people say, ‘Hey, I am, I have this skillset, and I'm willing to come and I'm willing to help you.’Amanda Johnson
“I came back from a weekend trip and opened my garage, and the Blackstone was sitting in my garage, all restored, and it had a nice letter on it and $50 gift card to the downtown butcher.”
In the note, the good samaritan said, “I hope this helps you in a very small way in your road ahead.”
Casey Johnson shared her story on Facebook, where it was liked and shared thousands of times, with commenters sharing that the act of kindness moved them during a challenging time.
Amanda Johnson and Casey Johnson shared their stories on Talk of Iowa as part of a conversation about the good news that makes us happy.
As our Daily Digest subscribers know, every day we try to bring our readers uplifting stories. Now, we're expanding the Sunny Side Project to collect moments of joy and good news from across the state by welcoming our audience to get in on the fun.
To contribute to the project, send a voice message to sunnyside@iowapublicradio.org or 515-725-1711. You can also record an audio or video message using the “Talk to Us” feature in the IPR app. For all things sunny, visit ipr.org/sunnyside.
To hear the full conversation, listen to the full episode of Talk of Iowa, hosted by Charity Nebbe. Madeleine Willis produced this episode.
