Teaching Others to Be Prepared Is a Way of Life for This Volunteer

Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Susan Casdorph. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.

Susan Casdorph takes being prepared to a whole new level.

Growing up in West Virginia, Susan experienced food insecurity. After moving out of state for several years, she found herself facing financial troubles after a divorce, but this time with children to support. Upon returning to West Virginia and flourishing professionally as a legal secretary and transcriptionist, Susan swore she’d be ready for anything that came her way, and that meant becoming an expert in emergency preparedness.

For the past three years, Susan has served as a volunteer at Heart + Hand Outreach Ministries, a community-based organization that supports neighbors with their emergency basic needs. She offers fellow West Virginians guidance on everything from planning a garden and crocheting a hat for winter to building a 72-hour kit, filled with the supplies a family would need for up to three days in the case of a natural disaster or emergency. Offered free of charge, Susan’s classes are a means of building community, sharing knowledge and helping someone else who might not be ready to go through a difficult time.

Susan’s favorite moment is when someone in one of her classes shares that they now feel ready to take care of themselves no matter what happens. A leader in the Heart + Hand community room, Susan’s efforts have empowered hundreds of her neighbors over the years to live better lives. Her unwavering dedication to community service is truly inspiring.

What inspires you to volunteer?

I think some of this is rooted in when you’re a child and your family struggles to put food on the table. That food insecurity made its way into my adult life. I was married for five years and I had two children, and then we divorced. I was a single mom and I was always struggling to give them what they needed. We always ate, but sometimes it was just beans and rice. When my youngest was 11, we moved back here to West Virginia. Once I got here and I got working, things got a little bit better.

Our church is very excited for people to be as self-reliant as possible. I started learning about this stuff, and I started doing it myself. I wanted to be the type of person who had food on hand so that I never had to worry about going hungry.

Tell us about your volunteer role with Heart + Hand Outreach Ministries.

I teach a two-hour seminar about all different kinds of emergency preparedness, and just being prepared in general. But it’s not just that. Some of the classes that we’ve taught over the last couple of years have been about what to do if you have to evacuate your area. Here in our valley, we have a lot of chemical companies, so everybody who lives here always has that in the back of their mind. You can learn how to cook over a fire or how to cook with a Dutch oven. We also do sewing, canning and crocheting classes.

What inspired you to get started with this initiative?

Young people are just really not interested in preparing for disasters. A disaster isn’t just a hurricane. All it would take would be a three-day trucker strike. We learned that when COVID hit, and everything closed down for two or three months. Within a week, you couldn’t get toilet paper. What you find is when you have storage at your home and you have enough stuff stored up, you never miss a beat. Being prepared ourselves helps us be able to help someone else who is not able to be prepared. There are a lot of reasons why you want to prepare yourself.

What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?

I love to hear someone say they feel like they can do this. This is something they can accomplish and they feel safer because they know that no matter what happens, they’re going to have what they need. When I see somebody who has taken a class about building up their pantry, and they say they never knew you could do that, it makes them feel like they have some control and can anticipate what may be coming down the line. I love to help someone else be excited about taking care of themselves.

Tell us about future partnerships, programs or events that you are excited about.

We’re going to get a crochet circle involved in making hats. We’re going to teach you how to crochet hats of different sizes, especially to use up that extra yarn that you have around the house. Then we’ll be able to give those out in the wintertime to those who can’t afford them, or to unhoused people. We’re also going to do a quilting class next spring, and we’re going to teach people how to make a quilt. Then we’ll donate that quilt to Heart + Hand and do a silent auction for the food pantry.

Why is it important for others to get involved with causes they care about?

If no one gets involved, nothing will get done. Maybe you’re a retired plumber and you installed pipes all your life. You can get involved with a place that needs people to tell them how to change out a faucet or how to stop a leak. People don’t always know that. If you know how to do something, it’s important to share it. That’s what we’re here for on this earth.

Any advice for people who want to start volunteering?

There are all kinds of volunteer websites, and all you have to do is go online and say you want a volunteer opportunity in your area, and I guarantee you’re going to find somebody who’s looking for people to volunteer. You can always ask if nursing homes always need volunteers. If you’ve got a food pantry in your area, call them up and tell them you have a couple of hours a few times a week and ask if there is anything you can do to help. I guarantee you they will find something for you to do. Look for people who serve others, because they’re always looking for folks to join them.

What do you want people to learn from your story?

Anybody can do it. I don’t have a higher education. I got my GED and went through 11-and-a-half years of schooling. I never went to college. I’m a legal secretary now and was a transcriptionist for years. These are things I learned how to do. Anybody can learn anything. If you want to learn it, you can learn it. I think what’s most important to know is that everybody has worth. Everybody has skills and abilities that they can offer to help someone else who hasn’t learned them yet. It is so easy; you just have to look for it.

Do you want to make a difference in your community like Susan? Find local volunteer opportunities.