COLLEEN OBRIEN

Veteran volunteers find purpose in helping others

Dec 29, 2017, 11:22 AM | Updated: 2:02 pm

Erie snow...

Rochelle Carlotti, 28, shovels steps near her home after a record snowfall on Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2017, in Erie, Pa. The National Weather Service office in Cleveland says Monday's storm brought 34 inches of snow, an all-time daily snowfall record for Erie. (Greg Wohlford/Erie Times-News via AP)

(Greg Wohlford/Erie Times-News via AP)

Bitter cold and record snow dominate parts of the East Coast and Midwest this week.

Erie, Pennsylvania is getting inundated with snow, which poses a unique danger to people with low mobility. They can’t shovel away the snow to clear a path, let alone trudge through it to get essentials like groceries.

More “Daily Dose of Kindness”

That’s where Team Rubicon steps in. Recently, Mary Johnson had her front porch cleared of snow by the all-volunteer group.

“I’ve very grateful. I can’t say thank you enough. For once, it may sound funny but, I feel like someone is actually helping. I just feel good all over,” Johnson said.

Team Rubicon was started for a couple of reasons. First, of course, it feels good to help people in need. And second, for people like Matt Sanders, he does it to help people like himself — a veteran.

Sanders told Erie News Now: “Team Rubicon is all about finding more purpose to serve. There’s a lot of veterans here and when we get out a lot of us are without purpose in a lot of different ways and so being able to find that purpose through the team that the team provides for us – it’s amazing.”

You can read more about Team Rubicon here and learn about how they helped the town clean up after a tornado.

You can hear Colleen O’Brien’s “Daily Dose of Kindness” segment every morning at 7:30 a.m. on KIRO Radio 97.3 FM.

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Veteran volunteers find purpose in helping others