Tamara Plattsmier, United Way St. Charles’s volunteer and event manager, has been with United Way St. Charles for a decade. She was poised to help the community after Hurricane Ida.
“I tear up thinking of the truly herculean effort that Tamara put in in the weeks after Ida,” UWSC Executive Director John Dias said. “Despite losing her own residence to the storm, Tamara converted the damaged United Way College into a collection and distribution center for supplies, food, and water. She personally and with limited communications in a damaged building with no power or AC contacted a dozen or more churches and coordinated getting needed supplies into the community within about three days after the storm.”
Dias said Plattsmier stayed on an air mattress in the unairconditioned college for weeks after the storm to make sure someone was available to accept the donations.
“I said at the time – we usually think of superheroes as physically impressive figures with magic powers, but Tamara is a superhero,” he said.
Plattsmier said immediately after the storm UWSC was inundated with calls of people wanting to bring in supplies.
“We really didn’t have a plan … it was a very stressful time,” she said. “It was difficult … you had roads blocked. I had my kids with me and they helped me at the college. It was an awesome experience for them to learn and give back to their community. I’ve always felt like I wanted to be in a position to help other people. It makes me a happier person to be able to give.”
Plattsmier said she feels better prepared after Hurricane Ida to be able to have a plan of action if another storm were to hit the area.
“It was definitely a humbling experience, and I was just grateful that I didn’t evacuate and that I was able to bring any skills I could to help people in the community,” she said. “I was super grateful that I had a lot of help from people. People wanted to help. It was amazing to see that in a time like that the community really comes together and helps.”
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