The True American Spirit Alive and Thriving In Ellijay: An Army of Volunteers Arrive

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Under the sweltering heat of late July, volunteers from around the country flooded the property of Build an Ark Foundation in Ellijay Thursday afternoon to help Susan Littlejohn rebuild her non-profit animal shelter. The barn, where Littlejohn cared for rescued animals, was completely leveled in an April 4th tornado. Miraculously, Littlejohn and the animals all survived with only minor injuries. Now, hundreds of the volunteers associated with the NewYorkSaysThankYou Foundation are coming into Ellijay to help rebuild the property this weekend. The Foundation was started by New York entrepreneur Jeff Parness in an effort to help disaster victims after the country pulled together to help rebuild New York in the arduous months following the September 11th terrorist attacks. That goodwill has now come home to Ellijay.

Parness’ foundation typically chooses one rebuillding projects every year around the September 11th anniversary. NewYorkSaysThankYou has come to the rescue of disaster victims in Greensburg, Kansas to Hurricane Katrina survivors in Louisiana. This year, Littlejohn’s story wound up on Parness’ radar. Not only because of Littlejohn and her work with animals, but because of Ellijay’s fallen son, Army 1st. Lt. Noah Harris. All of the events this weekend are being dedicated in honor of Harris.

At least 25 of the firefighters in town to help build a new animal barn this weekend are from New York and battled the disaster at the Twin Towers. Many other volunteers are firefighters as well, and are in Ellijay because they believe in what Parness’ group is doing. There are scores of people who have driven in from all across the country. The make-shift parking area at the shelter has more than 100 cars sporting license plates New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Indiana, Kentucky, California, Louisiana, Arkansas, Illinois, Texas and Iowa.

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Todd Dobbels and his family drove from Bonham Texas. He said he became involved with the foundation through his mother. Dobbels has volunteered with events in Iowa, Arkansas and now Georgia. He said he became involved because he thought it was a good way to meet the firefighters and to “be part of something special.” After a tornado came within a mile of Brian and Jennifer Sandmann’s house in 2005, the NewYorkSaysThankYou Foundation came to the Sandmann’s hometown in Indiana to help rebuild the church there. The Sandmanns have since driven across the country to work as volunteers for other NewYorkSaysThankYou projects. They have missed only one event since 2006.

Maverick Robinson, another volunteer, said he has lived in the area just four months and stopped to investigate, when he saw the crowds. Robinson moved here from Delaware, but before moving to Delaware, he lived in New Orleans, Louisiana. He survived Hurricane Katrina, but lost his home to the storm. Robinson experienced people in need first hand during the weeks and months that followed of Katrina. His philosophy, which doubtless he has carried with him to the Build An Ark project, seems to be surmised in his approach during Katrina: “You stop and help wherever you can.”

Perhaps, though, the spirit of the afternoon was captured by no one other than the NewYorkSaysThankYou founder. While addressing the volunteers at the dinner, Parness explained the foundation is not about 9/11, but it’s about September 12th, the day after the terror attacks, when “small towns like this one (Ellijay) came from all over the country to help New York.”

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