Muskego residents are coming together in a powerful display of community support as volunteers expand their flood recovery efforts. After a week of helping neighbors clean up damaged homes, the grassroots volunteer group has now established a relief fund to provide financial assistance to those affected by recent flooding.
TMJ4 News has been following this community-driven effort. It started the Tuesday after the flooding with Pop's Pub helping to coordinate the effort along with Jessie Hieb, a friend of the owner. He put the call out on social media for volunteers to meet up there and start cleaning up homes.
"I thank God for all these people in the community," said Alice Worske, a flood victim who received help from the volunteers.
This sentiment has been echoed by many Muskego residents who have benefited from the volunteer efforts.
"There are no words to express my gratitude," said Sonya Janicki, whose basement was damaged in the flooding.
While volunteers have successfully removed flood-damaged property from many homes, residents are still facing significant challenges in rebuilding. That's where the newly established Muskego Community Relief Fund comes in. The initiative began when local businesses like Muskego Feed and Seed owners Nicky and Carl Chelius recognized the ongoing needs in their community and decided to take action.
"We got a hold of Grampa Pete's. And then we got a hold of meeting Jessie. And kind of figured out how we can get people to donate," said Carl Chelius of Muskego Feed and Seed.
Wayne Mike, owner of Grampa Pete's Chicago Dogs, described how quickly the effort gained momentum.
"It just snowballed," Mike said. "It takes a village to raise one. It all came together like that."
Jessie, who has been coordinating volunteer efforts, is now helping to organize the Muskego Community Relief Fund. The money is being held by Lakepoint Church.
Watch: Muskego volunteers launch a new way to get money to flood victims
"This is all 100 percent volunteer-run," Jessie said. "The goal is that we have a really short window to receive funds, about two and a half weeks."
Local businesses including Muskego Feed and Seed, Grampa Pete's Chicago Dogs, and the Moos Lodge are serving as collection points for donations. The plan is to distribute funds to qualifying homeowners by the end of October. One of the qualification is that you do have to be a Muskego resident to get the money.
"For someone, it might be helping them with an HVAC. For someone else, it might be to pay the cost of an Airbnb for a few months," Jessie explained. "Our goal is to help as many people move the needle forward."
Muskego homeowners in need of assistance and those wishing to contribute can find more information about the Muskego Community Relief Fund here.
This story was reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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