What can one person do?

Sometimes people want to help, but they wonder "I'm just one person, what can I do?" Well, here are some very recent examples of exactly what "one person" can do.

Sheila, down in Brandon, decided to save her family cemetery.  It was located in an orange grove and all of the tombstones had been knocked down or removed.  The county had declared the site abandoned. But this did not deter Sheila.  She got busy and contacted every agency she could think of, and within 2 weeks she was meeting with an Archaeologist from FPAN.  They visited the site and located the cemetery area. The county is in the process of purchasing the land back from the current owner and have now marked the site once again as a cemetery.  All of this in less than a month from the time "one person" decided to take action.

Renee, up in Alabama, found one of her ancestors on our website.  She contacted us and found out that he was buried in our most endangered site.  In less than 2 days, we have been contacted by The Sons of the Confederacy, The Daughters of the American Revolution, and the State Archaeologist!  We have an appointment to meet in 2 weeks and discuss the possibility of doing Ground Penetrating Radar on this site as well as 2 others! All because "one person" got involved.

Matthew, a local Boy Scout, decided to help out a local cemetery for his Eagle Scout Project.  He was able to have all the supplies donated to fence in the entire property. He also had a very large dumpster delivered that was then filled completely filled with debris and trash left in the cemetery by illegal dumping.  He arranged for a local landscaping company to plant a row of trees to help shade the cemetery. He arranged for an army of volunteers to spend 3 weekends at the site getting everything completed.  All of this could not have happened without "one person's" idea.


This week we made a rountine check of the cemetery that Matthew had cleaned up, only to discover that someone had dumped a large amount of trash on the road. Upon closer inspection, we discovered that the "litterbug" had left his name and address on several pieces of the debris!  We called the local sheriff's department and a deputy came out and took down the information.  It turns out that the address was very near the cemetery and the deputy promised to go by and speak with them.  We went to lunch and came back 1 hour later just to see if anything happened.  The "litterbug" was there, and had picked up every piece of trash and raked the area!  All because "one person" with a cell phone was willing to call the police.

So, next time you have an idea, but think that one person can't make a difference, just remember; enormous things can be accomplished when one person gets involved.

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