California voters cast ballots on a wet election day: ‘I’m doing my part’ to keep the state dry
S.S. President Michael D. McAllister: “I was just trying to stay up and watch the election happen. And I did. And it’s very easy to stay up and watch.” (Photo: Courtesy of Michael McAllister)
Michael McAllister is standing up to the state of California. The S.S. President is the co-founder of the nonprofit organization California Flood Response, which helps provide assistance to homeowners harmed by flooding, particularly those with limited means.
Today, we’re standing in our kitchen, preparing to make dinner, preparing to eat, preparing to cook and cook and cook and cook. We’ve been preparing these meals, we’ve been cooking these dinners all by ourselves for the past four months. Because sometimes, in case that ever happens again, the weather has to change just to get you out of the kitchen and maybe take you to the next meal. But that’s how we stay here and stay safe.
In addition to providing meals, McAllister’s organization helps more than 70,000 homeowners in and around San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties who cannot afford to pay for repairs to their homes due to flooding. He has been organizing the volunteers who come to his organization’s headquarters in Hercules, Calif., because he can’t afford to pay them for their time and energy. Instead, volunteers pay McAllister for his time and use the money to purchase supplies and make meals for the needy. It works. McAllister said, “I’m doing my part. There’s so many people who do nothing.”
But, if anyone should ask how I do my part, I say, “I’m doing my part, I really am.” I’m doing my part, and I’m here. I’m just a regular guy. And I’m not going to leave anybody behind. No matter what the circumstance is. And there’s not much that we can do on the outside, in the outside world, but we can do our part. We can do our part, and we can make a difference. We can’t say we will take care of everybody. That’s why we need volunteers and we