Proud to Be From Pittsburgh

Proud to be from Pittsburgh: Relief fund for Bethel Park flooding victims

A month ago, flash floods tore through Bethel Park and impacted more than 400 families. The floods damaged homes across the community and left homeowners wondering what is next.

Homeowner Annie Torris tells us the damage at her house tops $100,000. She and her husband were told that it would cost $9,000 alone to clean debris out of their basement and gut it after the flood. They reached out to the Black Hawk Family Relief Fund and got a much different answer.

The fund, organized by community members, has collected tens of thousands of dollars in donations and helps organize volunteer groups to help out flood victims.

"Not once did we put out a call that we need help at this address and people did not show up," said fund organizer Becky Luzier.

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Those volunteers cleaned out the Torris home for free, giving them some desperately needed help.

"They were there and I didn't even know them," Torris said. "I can't even personally thank some people because I don't even know who they were."

Other volunteers have cooked meals for families or even done loads of laundry. The Black Hawk fund is getting donations from collection jars in businesses across town, and will get checks brought in from car washes put on by high school students and benefit events.

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Fund leaders say they stepped up to help because they weren't willing to wait for the delayed process of getting state or federal help.

"There was a real sense in Bethel that we were not going to wait for somebody else to show up to help people," Luzier said.

You can help donate to the Black Hawk Family Relief Fund by clicking here.