LENDING A HAND WHEN DISASTER STRIKES

Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Phillip Reeves. Read his story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light. 

When Phillip Reeves pulls the cord on his chainsaw, he’s making a difference in the world. After leaving his role as a middle school teacher, Phillip was looking to find more volunteer opportunities that gave him the same amount of what he calls “feel goods.” Looking for a way to serve others and get out of his own head, he found a new appreciation for diving headfirst into the wake of disasters and helping others navigate their way out.  

Phillip connected with Minuteman Disaster Response, an organization that deploys self-sufficient volunteer teams in the aftermath of disasters. Across the region, Phillip has been deployed to disaster sites, providing hands-on support to homeowners and community members facing unimaginable loss and crisis. After working with his hands his whole life, Philip also played a key role in developing and leading chainsaw training programs, helping volunteers learn how to operate a chainsaw safely and effectively in high-risk environments. When disaster strikes, Phillip and his team are ready to jump in and lend a helping hand. Thus far, Phillip has served in more than 40 storms, helping hundreds of homeowners recover from the unthinkable. This commitment can vary from teaching classes over a few weeks per year to three full weeks at a time in a disaster zone. 

Because he loves the work so much, Phillip recently started his own smaller disaster response organization, Kosmopolite Disaster Response, which offers disaster relief services free of charge. While he’ll always serve with Minuteman, building his own organization will give Phillip the ability to design his own organization from the ground up. But no matter what he does, Phillip believes that serving others and surrounding oneself with other people is essential to maintaining adequate mental health. He encourages all people to find the motivation to step outside of their comfort zone, because it just might change their lives forever.

What inspired you to get started with this initiative?  

In 2021, I quit my job teaching middle school. When you teach, especially in public school, you get a lot of feel-goods from that, and my feel-goods were very lacking. I started to look for volunteer organizations, and I got into disaster response shortly after that. My first volunteer group was with Team Rubicon. I knew a preacher in Houston who had given them housing in the Houston area after a huge hurricane. I joined Team Rubicon, worked with them for a few years and really enjoyed it, and then came across Minuteman Disaster Response, and got even more involved with that organization. 

What inspires you to volunteer? 

I get a little philosophical with it. I believe that humans are one of only a couple of super-social species on the planet. You’ve got bees, ants and then humans. Dogs run in packs and apes have a bit of a tribe. But we are super social. I truly believe that we require other humans to be fulfilled. I think when you don’t have that connection with other humans, when you live a life that isn’t in service, it manifests a lot of negative feelings. 

Tell us about your volunteer role with Minuteman Disaster Response. 

My current role is the chainsaw coordinator. I run the entire chainsaw program for the organization. We have around 40 chainsaws and 130-ish qualified operators, and half of those I’ve trained myself. I developed the curriculum for our chainsaw safety program and I have started to develop other instructors so that the load isn’t all on me. I have three instructors, and I’m going to pass one more into service next weekend. If he passes the instructor course, then he’ll be the new instructor in the Tulsa, Oklahoma area. I’m spreading them out on purpose so that they can train people locally to keep costs down, and we can keep on pushing safe and skilled operators into the field. 

What are your long-term plans or goals for the organization? 

My long-term goal with Minuteman Disaster Response is to build them a scalable chainsaw program that they can continue to flex as the organization grows. I want something that I can walk away from. I don’t want to do this forever, but I’m also not going to leave until it’s until it can run itself. I’m always going to serve with Minuteman. I love the organization. I love what they do. I like their attitude, but I don’t want to continue to be the coordinator forever. So right now, I’m building a chainsaw program where we can keep creating more and more safe and effective members that can go out and serve. 

What’s been the most rewarding part of your work? 

Disasters are really special in that although they seem very common on the news, they are very rare to the individual. Most people will never experience a natural disaster, and those who do definitely didn’t think they ever would. So they’re really in shock. No one trains you on that. No one really knows what to do. They’re very shocked. And when you can walk up to a survivor and tell them you know exactly what needs to be done, and they don’t have to worry about it, that’s a very powerful feeling. You can be the expert and you can provide it for free, because most people are not prepared for that kind of event. 

What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer? 

I feel like I’ve been doing it so long that I’ve forgotten a lot of the things I’ve learned, and I’ve just internalized them at this point. However, I definitely always had the inkling that service was necessary for good mental health. I always knew that was true, but I really know it now, and I’ve watched people’s lives turn around whenever they start giving instead of just trying to survive. 

Why is it important for others to get involved with causes they care about? 

You sleep better at night. It’s like I’ve been getting at: I truly believe that service is required for a fulfilling life, and if you’ve never tried, then you can’t experience the benefits. I would say that no matter how skeptical you are, if you just give it a shot, then I think you’ll see what I mean. 

What do you want people to learn from your story? 

I want people to give service a chance in whatever way it looks in your life. I want people to get up off the couch, and I want them to get off their phones and find a more fulfilling life, because it’s not nearly as hard as it seems.  

Do you want to make a difference in your community like Phillip? Find local volunteer opportunities.