Snow Angels help Cranberry residents in need
Amid slushy and cold conditions across Butler County and beyond on Monday, Cranberry Township’s volunteer Snow Angels program mobilized to shovel driveways, clear sidewalks and help elderly and disabled residents.
The program is in its second year of operation, and falls under the township’s larger Volunteer Cranberry umbrella. Volunteers are matched with residents who request assistance with snow through an online form.
The township temporarily suspended requests for assistance while seeking more volunteers, but was able to match more than 50 requests with volunteers willing to help.
“We have 50-plus requests that are in, and they are all matched, and so we have had over 50 volunteers as well,” said township communications manager Tina Fedko. “Everyone has been matched, and we hope to open it very, very soon because we see that there are more volunteers coming in who will help us.”
Fedko said the response to the program has been “fantastic” among residents.
“We had a plea out (last night) to get more volunteers, and almost immediately we got 10 plus more residents who said, ‘Yes, sign me up.’ We were able to fill every request that was made,” Fedko said. “ We knew the storm was coming, so we tried to get ahead of our requests.”
A reopening time and date has not yet been set, she said, but she hopes the township will be able to open requests again soon.
“The program is a courtesy, and it runs if and when we have volunteers,” she said. “If you want to volunteer, you just go to our website — we have an online form ... There’s really no requirements, but you have to be 15 years of age or older, and able to shovel snow.”
Volunteers are required to sign a waiver before they can participate, and can find more information at cranberrytownship.org/2764/Cranberry-Snow-Angels.
When requests for assistance are open, residents asking for help must have a physical disability or be age 60 or older. A resident seeking volunteer assistance must lack alternative snow removal resources and be a resident of Cranberry Township.
