LINCOLN HEIGHTS, Ohio — A symphony of shovels hitting the unplowed pavement reverberated through the Village of Lincoln Heights on Tuesday.
A group of teens and twenty-somethings, a part of the Heights Movement, went door-to-door in various neighborhoods offering to clear senior citizens' driveways of snow.
"Helping out with people or houses that need help," said James Cooper, 16. "I want to see someone my age do the same thing I'm doing right now."
In total, the Heights Movement members tackled about 18 houses, group director Daronce Daniels said.
"A lot of folks kind of got trapped inside, and it's going to get really cold and the weather seems like the ice and the snow (are) not going anywhere," Daniels said. "We have a lot of seniors in our community, so the young folks within the community want to go out, make sure that we shoveled out their driveways."
Valerie Franklin, 68, was one of dozens of elderly residents who considered the act of kindness a "miracle."
"It is truly a blessing to see these young men come out," Franklin said. "This is dear to my heart. This is really, this has just truly been a blessing."
Recounting the start of this week, Franklin shuttered thinking of the view outside her window in the wake of the storm.
"The first thing I thought is, '(If) something happened, how am I getting out of here?' The emergency vehicles can't even get in here," she said. "I was just praying. The look out here was just so scary. It was really frightening, knowing that you can't get out."
Those prayers eventually led to a knock at Franklin's doorstep.
"I just looked out here and said, 'Lord, there's got to be a God somewhere,'" Franklin said.
"From a community standpoint, the residents know that if they need something, they can always call on us," Daniels said. "They definitely love seeing young people just showing up in general, but they definitely love young people showing up and giving them a service that can help them get moving."
