Volunteer Profiles - Aisha Charves Takes Charge

VC Staffer Aisha Charves Takes Charge in the Aftermath of the January 2023 Floods

New Year’s Eve of 2023 was not so festive as an atmospheric river poured on Santa Cruz County. The record rainfall that began New Year’s Eve continued for over a week. As a result, the San Lorenzo River, flowing alongside the Paradise Park community just outside of town, swelled as high as 24 feet.  By January 9, over 50 of Aisha Charves’ neighbors’ homes were flooded.

The floodwaters brought layers of mud and sand into people’s homes, destroying household items, such as furniture and appliances.  There was also structural damage to many homes including broken windows and doors. Feeling a call to action, Volunteer Center staffer Aisha Charves responded. 

Aisha used her community organizing skills to initiate clean-up. She recruited her neighbors and volunteers through the Volunteer Center, including Mormon missionaries, AmeriCorps volunteers, and local business Cypress Coast Fence, who donated labor, a truck and trailer, and even paid dump fees, to help the small community clean-up from the aftermath.

“One neighbor was so overwhelmed,” Aisha wrote in an email, that “when she saw the mud and damage to her basement, she said, ‘it was too much.  I couldn’t handle it and I just shut the door and left.’” As for Aisha and her husband, losses so far include a damaged water heater, washer, and dryer.

Aisha is currently the Career Services and Healthy Connections Program Coordinator for the Volunteer Center.  Having worked here for 3 years, she began as a volunteer 6 years ago through AmeriCorps.   Aisha has always been familiar with service work.  She used to volunteer as a child with her dad, wrapping presents to fundraise for the hospice and home health agencies where he worked; and her grandfather, visiting nursing homes.

“Since I was young, I knew I wanted to spend my life helping others.  I now get to volunteer in my own time, and I work for the Volunteer Center, so I can also help others in my work life, which is a huge blessing,” she noted.  

While the last of the floods occurred on January 14^th, clean-up efforts are currently ongoing. Even as her own house sits in disarray, Aisha and others are tirelessly working, moving from house to house, shoveling out sediment, and sorting salvageable items from ruined ones.  These items are piled in driveways. Then, they are either cleaned and moved back into the homes or loaded onto trucks and roll-on dumpsters.  Aisha has seen at least 14 loads taken away so far.

Other work includes neighbors checking in on neighbors, sharing tools with each other, and helping with everyday tasks such as shopping and cooking.  The silver lining, she said, is that “everyone is coming together.”

“Helping others is an uplifting action and I love to be of service,” she shared, when asked what keeps her returning to this work.  “It’s an honor to help my neighbors and I love that my workplace organizes for good in the community,” she said.  

Robin Fillner is a Freelance Writer covering healthcare topics and volunteering writing services for local nonprofits including the Volunteer Center. In her spare time, she is an Oncology RN at Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital. Her LinkedIn page is www.linkedin.com/in/robin-fillner-rn-bsn-743293202. Photos courtesy of Aisha Charves.