Center Twp. woman is nonstop helper
Like many other county residents, the power to Sheila Berns' Center Township home blinked off at about 9:20 p.m. on Thursday.
Unlike many other county residents, Berns immediately forgot about her own discomfort and inconvenience and headed off to help others.
Berns, who is a volunteer with the American Red Cross and Pennsylvania Volunteers, learned that the Red Cross had placed the Pa. Volunteers on shelter standby on Friday.
At dinnertime, the Pa. Volunteers got the go-ahead to set up a shelter at First English Lutheran Church for those without power.
Berns jumped in with both feet, as she did earlier this month at a Red Cross shelter in Florida after Hurricane Michael.
“I don't like to see people suffer,” Berns said. “If there's something I can do to help them, I would like to do that.”
Berns spent Thursday night bundled up in bed and Friday morning replacing the battery on the sump pump in her home's basement with her husband, Fred.
The family also set up a camp stove in the house, so they could heat up water and food that would not require opening the refrigerator or freezer.
Berns helped set up the emergency shelter in the church's community room, which offered cots and three meals per day.
“We served 60 dinners on Saturday night,” Berns said.
The dinners were provided by a church in the West Sunbury area that canceled its congregational Thanksgiving feast scheduled for the weekend, as the church had no power.
“They brought turkey, stuffing, gravy, rolls, the whole meal, plus all kinds of desserts,” Berns said. “It was amazing.”
After dinner, the shelter moved a few blocks away to the Butler Middle School on East North Street, so the church could hold services on Sunday.
By then, power was being restored at homes in downtown Butler.
“We served breakfast and lunch on Sunday and closed the shelter at 1 p.m.,” Berns said.
She said the event marked the first disaster situation for the Butler-based Pa. Volunteers, which provides ancillary services for responders in an emergency.
“I think we did amazing,” Berns said of the group's inaugural event. “Everyone there, we were able to provide for. We had no problems.”
At home, the Berns family spent their time reading in front of their fireplace on their Kindles, which they had charged up at Berns' daughter's home nearby.
“We were saying that we were starting to feel cold, so maybe we should go climb under the covers and call it a night,” Berns said.
Just then, the Alexa started to flash and beep, signifying the return of electricity.
“We all but jumped up and down,” Berns said. “We ran around and turned on the lights.”
The Bernses were surprised when they opened their freezer, which they had decided not to touch during the outage.
“I still had ice in the ice maker,” Berns said. “We fared pretty well.”
The items in the family's chest freezer also survived.
“Even my frozen vegetables were still frozen,” said Berns.
Berns is no stranger to assisting people after natural disasters, as she spent two week in Port St. Joe, Fla., earlier this month as a member of the Red Cross.Berns and about 150 other Red Cross volunteers from around the United States opened a shelter on Nov. 14 in an elementary school gymnasium to accommodate those displaced by Hurricane Michael.The volunteers unloaded the Red Cross trailer the night before, bringing cots, signs, blankets and comfort kits into the school.Berns said the volunteers were delighted to discover that the school, which had an operating generator, offered the Red Cross all the food in its refrigerators and freezers as well as use of the cafeteria's kitchen facilities.“We had a food services person who happened to be on the crew who ran the kitchen,” Berns said.At the end of the week, the school was ready to reopen for classes.“We had to move to a church hall,” Berns said.Red Cross emergency response vehicles brought food to the new shelter, which was equally as busy as the one at the school.“The people down there were so grateful,” Berns said. “No matter where you went, they were thanking us and asking us where we're from.”She said someone bought her breakfast at the Pittsburgh International Airport before she boarded her plane, and the airline did not charge Red Cross volunteers for baggage fees on the way home.Berns said she wouldn't have her life any other way, and she will continue to follow her faith and contribute what she can for as long as she is able.“It gives me peace of mind to be able to go and help somebody else,” she said.
