When the devastation of the remnants from Hurricane Ivan hit Butler County, groups were ready to step in and help.

Leslie Osche, executive director of the United Way of Butler County, said the 2004 natural disaster led to a lot of charity.

“It triggered tremendous amounts of giving,” Osche said.

She remembers the September day the storm hit well. As she was driving home, she noticed that she was in deeper water than she had ever driven through. Soon after that, she was helping the Red Cross set up a shelter at Connoquenessing Elementary School.

For a while, she was not sure if anyone would come to the shelter. But soon, many people began to arrive.

“It was really an experience,” Osche said.

The following Monday several groups met at the county 911 center to plan on how to help.

In the weeks to come, the United Way received about $25,000 in cash donations and many donated items.

Several furniture outlets donated new furniture. The Mine Safety Appliances Co. donated masks so people could safely clean up. Austin’s donated bleach to battle mold in flood-damaged buildings.

The Red Cross received plenty of donations as well, and the state Department of Environmental Protection offered free water testing kits to people with private wells.

Osche said it likely was the worst natural disaster to ever hit the county. The only thing that may rival it, she said, was the tornado that tore through the southern part of the county in 1985.

Osche said the hurricane led to about a year of added work for the United Way.

In the aftermath of the damage, several aspects of disaster relief and response changed.

Osche said the recovery efforts helped lead to the creation of the county Emergency Relief Initiative, the 211 hot line in the southwestern part of the state, and the county’s Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD).

The Emergency Relief Initiative, which was the class project for the 2006 Leadership Butler County class, is a fund with an advisory committee that provides emergency assistance for people, primarily those who struggle to pay utility bills after a disaster.

Osche said the fund maintains a balance of about $6,000.

The 211 emergency relief hot line was something that former county emergency director Frank Matis was interested in for a long time.

When Ivan hit, Matis set up a temporary hot line to keep nonemergency calls off the 911 emergency system. However, Matis and Osche thought a permanent hot line for nonemergency human service calls was needed.

The hot line officially launched in October 2012. For the southwestern part of the state, the hot line is run by the United Way of Allegheny County.

The VOAD was formed about a year after Ivan.

However, Osche said the United Way, the Red Cross, Catholic Charities and other organizations were acting as a VOAD during the Ivan relief efforts. The groups just did not have a formal name for it, she said.

By forming a VOAD, the groups now have a streamlined process for responding to disasters.