There have been over 100 confirmed deaths in the aftermath of hurricane Helene that caused destruction in parts of Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and Carolinas. Mennonite Disaster Service responded to the damage in Ashville, North Carolina.

Kevin King is the Executive Director of the Mennonite Disaster Service. He expressed what he’s experienced while being in North Carolina post hurricane.

“The sights and the sounds. Even the smells are just absolutely overwhelming. I've been doing this for 21 years, responded to Katrina, Greensburg, many other disasters. But it's been a long time since I've seen such a complex emergency like this.”

MDS has thousands of volunteers. Currently over 20 volunteers for Mennonite Disaster Service is assisting those in need in North Carolina.

"So, what's happening now is search and rescue, and then it's early phase of debris removal, chainsaw and so on. But we were called in and invited in by the local community to help open up the roads with skid steers and chainsaws. But 95% of our work is the long-term recovery, and that's the rebuild phase six, eight and two years later. But here we are responding to this huge, huge disaster.”

King says this work is not for the faint of heart, and sometimes, the work can take a massive toll.

“It makes me cry. Sure, it does. Human. And I guess when I stop. When the tears stop flowing. Maybe it's time to start to quit. To sympathize, to empathize with people who've lost so much life. Loss of property. Disasters are never friendly. They don't come and knock on your door and say, Can I come in? Disasters are just tragic. And so that's why I think the beautiful nature of Mennonite disaster services we supply volunteers to walk alongside of these people to help rebuild their home, rebuild their lives and get them restored, hopefully. So we're just a part of a larger network of many other national players, such as the Salvation Army, Red Cross, the Methodists, the Presbyterians, the Lutherans. We all have our niche. And that's the beautiful thing that's really talked about. I need a warehouse. I'll call Seventh Day Adventist. I need some more chain saws. We'll call the Baptist. I need some ice and water. I called the Red Cross and Salvation Army. It's amazing the 64 of us national agencies know each other on a first name basis. So, it's not just about the Mennonites. We're here as partners together, and that's a beautiful thing.”

CLICK HERE to donate to the Mennonite Disaster Service.

There have been over 100 confirmed deaths in the aftermath of hurricane Helene that caused destruction in parts of Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and Carolinas. Mennonite Disaster Service responded to the damage in Ashville, North Carolina.
Kevin King is the Executive Director of the Mennonite Disaster Service. He expressed what he’s experienced while being in North Carolina post hurricane.
“The sights and the sounds. Even the smells are just absolutely overwhelming. I've been doing this for 21 years, responded to Katrina, Greensburg, many other disasters. But it's been a long time since I've seen such a complex emergency like this.”
MDS has thousands of volunteers. Currently over 20 volunteers for Mennonite Disaster Service is assisting those in need in North Carolina.
"So, what's happening now is search and rescue, and then it's early phase of debris removal, chainsaw and so on. But we were called in and invited in by the local community to help open up the roads with skid steers and chainsaws. But 95% of our work is the long-term recovery, and that's the rebuild phase six, eight and two years later. But here we are responding to this huge, huge disaster.”
King says this work is not for the faint of heart, and sometimes, the work can take a massive toll.
“It makes me cry. Sure, it does. Human. And I guess when I stop. When the tears stop flowing. Maybe it's time to start to quit. To sympathize, to empathize with people who've lost so much life. Loss of property. Disasters are never friendly. They don't come and knock on your door and say, Can I come in? Disasters are just tragic. And so that's why I think the beautiful nature of Mennonite disaster services we supply volunteers to walk alongside of these people to help rebuild their home, rebuild their lives and get them restored, hopefully. So we're just a part of a larger network of many other national players, such as the Salvation Army, Red Cross, the Methodists, the Presbyterians, the Lutherans. We all have our niche. And that's the beautiful thing that's really talked about. I need a warehouse. I'll call Seventh Day Adventist. I need some more chain saws. We'll call the Baptist. I need some ice and water. I called the Red Cross and Salvation Army. It's amazing the 64 of us national agencies know each other on a first name basis. So, it's not just about the Mennonites. We're here as partners together, and that's a beautiful thing.”
<a href="https://mds.org/about-mds/">CLICK HERE</a> to donate to the Mennonite Disaster Service.

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from WITF, hosts Scott LaMar and Aniya Faulcon start the conversations about what’s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at https://witf.org/programs/the-spark.

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from <a href="https://www.witf.org">WITF</a>, hosts Scott LaMar and Aniya Faulcon start the conversations about what’s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at <a href="https://witf.org/programs/the-spark">https://witf.org/programs/the-spark</a>.

The Spark

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from WITF, hosts Scott LaMar and Aniya Faulcon start the conversations about what’s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at <a href="https://witf.org/programs/the-spark">https://witf.org/programs/the-spark</a>.

Local crew out of Lancaster County helps states impacted by Hurricane Helene

Menstrual products are coming to some Pennsylvania schools thanks to Governor Shapiro’s million-dollar program.

Dr. Khalid Mumin Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Education says it’s important to create conditions where students can learn without having barriers to the basic needs that may be acquired.

 “First and foremost, the governor and the first lady advocated for this funding because they believe that all Pennsylvanians, especially our kids, deserve real opportunity and freedoms to be able to chart their course for success, “said Dr. Khalid Mumin.

Pennsylvania Department of Health, Dr. Debra Bogen, says this is a win-win across the commonwealth, and she’s glad to see this program move forward.

“There's no bell that goes off that says I'm going to have my period today. So, it's really important that we have the flexibility in schools to respond to the needs of children when they when they need them. So, this is such a smart and easy, important, not easy, but it's an important program, right? We provide all kinds of things for our children to ensure they're ready for their school day. And this is just another important need that is met for children where, you know, you can't always have everything you need, always at your fingertips. And so, this is making sure the schools have those needs met, “said Dr. Bogen.

Montgomery County Commissioner Jamila Winder says period poverty affects so many people. Now there are period products located in all county buildings within Montgomery County.

“Like as I mentioned earlier, they’re we believe, based on the 2022 census data, that there are over 13,000 females that are living below the poverty line and age 12 to 44 of menstruating age. And so, you know, the poverty challenges aren't just affecting our children. Right. And so, this is you know, people come to our county built buildings to do a lot of business, you know, vie for a marriage license. You might have to go to court for something, taking a walk in one of our parks or playing at one of the playgrounds. So it just really but the continuity of addressing period products, this is a great example from, you know, your schools to where people are doing business, you know, for every day, everyday life, “said Winder.

Menstrual products are coming to some Pennsylvania schools thanks to Governor Shapiro’s million-dollar program.
Dr. Khalid Mumin Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Education says it’s important to create conditions where students can learn without having barriers to the basic needs that may be acquired.
 “First and foremost, the governor and the first lady advocated for this funding because they believe that all Pennsylvanians, especially our kids, deserve real opportunity and freedoms to be able to chart their course for success, “said Dr. Khalid Mumin.
Pennsylvania Department of Health, Dr. Debra Bogen, says this is a win-win across the commonwealth, and she’s glad to see this program move forward.
“There's no bell that goes off that says I'm going to have my period today. So, it's really important that we have the flexibility in schools to respond to the needs of children when they when they need them. So, this is such a smart and easy, important, not easy, but it's an important program, right? We provide all kinds of things for our children to ensure they're ready for their school day. And this is just another important need that is met for children where, you know, you can't always have everything you need, always at your fingertips. And so, this is making sure the schools have those needs met, “said Dr. Bogen.
Montgomery County Commissioner Jamila Winder says period poverty affects so many people. Now there are period products located in all county buildings within Montgomery County.
“Like as I mentioned earlier, they’re we believe, based on the 2022 census data, that there are over 13,000 females that are living below the poverty line and age 12 to 44 of menstruating age. And so, you know, the poverty challenges aren't just affecting our children. Right. And so, this is you know, people come to our county built buildings to do a lot of business, you know, vie for a marriage license. You might have to go to court for something, taking a walk in one of our parks or playing at one of the playgrounds. So it just really but the continuity of addressing period products, this is a great example from, you know, your schools to where people are doing business, you know, for every day, everyday life, “said Winder.

Free period products available in Pennsylvania Schools

AI:  Unpacking the Black Box is a WITF original production. The first episode ‘The Origins of AI’ premiered on Thursday. John McElligott the host and producer of the series says the purpose of the show was rooted in the future of AI.

“I think one of the big things for us is this show might seem like it's about A.I., but it's actually about the future of humanity in the age of A.I.. It's one of the reasons we're not just talking to technologists, “said McElligott.

Mitch Mathias is also a producer for the show. According to him, the show originally was for an older demographic.

“We felt like that was a group that really didn't understand or understand almost nothing about it or maybe heard the term, but that was about it. But I feel like as we go through the show. I mean, it's going to be on TV and it's also streaming. So, you know, the demographics there are different. TV tends to get a little bit older. So, these days anyway. But we are putting it everywhere because I feel like a lot of what we're covering and planning on covering is for any group that just wants to know more about it, “said Mathias.

Through watching the show, viewers will get to see how AI can be utilized. There will also be AI voiceovers, and generated versions of McElligott.

“So, there may be times, you see, and I me, it looks real. Sounds real, but it's not me. But we realize with the speed at which this technology was moving, the ability to edit was just really a small portion of the production because things are happening so quickly. One of the unique things we've done, and nobody's done this before, is I get to interview some of these experts. We do it remotely on a podcast style, and then we're taking segments of that interview. We're feeding that into an AI that's creating the prompts. And those prompts are helping Mitch, and the team create the visuals. So, you're seeing us work hand in hand with the AI. The idea is not replacing everything we're doing. It's augmenting it and accelerating it in ways that are allowing us to keep up with the pace of change, “said McElligott.

There will be a total of eight episodes of AI:  Unpacking the Black Box on WITF TV. Both producers are looking to educate folks about the power of AI.

“I think one of the things that came up with me that just, you know, we talked about as we were starting this project or early on was sort of like if we can get across sort of talking about what A.I. is and what it's doing and how it's becoming more humanlike, maybe we sort of make people think about what it means to be human almost as compared to a computer or A.I., that kind of thing. I don't know if that's going to come across, but I hope that it does, “said Mathias.

CLICK HERE to watch the first episode.

AI:  Unpacking the Black Box is a WITF original production. The first episode ‘The Origins of AI’ premiered on Thursday. John McElligott the host and producer of the series says the purpose of the show was rooted in the future of AI.
“I think one of the big things for us is this show might seem like it's about A.I., but it's actually about the future of humanity in the age of A.I.. It's one of the reasons we're not just talking to technologists, “said McElligott.
Mitch Mathias is also a producer for the show. According to him, the show originally was for an older demographic.
“We felt like that was a group that really didn't understand or understand almost nothing about it or maybe heard the term, but that was about it. But I feel like as we go through the show. I mean, it's going to be on TV and it's also streaming. So, you know, the demographics there are different. TV tends to get a little bit older. So, these days anyway. But we are putting it everywhere because I feel like a lot of what we're covering and planning on covering is for any group that just wants to know more about it, “said Mathias.
Through watching the show, viewers will get to see how AI can be utilized. There will also be AI voiceovers, and generated versions of McElligott.
 “So, there may be times, you see, and I me, it looks real. Sounds real, but it's not me. But we realize with the speed at which this technology was moving, the ability to edit was just really a small portion of the production because things are happening so quickly. One of the unique things we've done, and nobody's done this before, is I get to interview some of these experts. We do it remotely on a podcast style, and then we're taking segments of that interview. We're feeding that into an AI that's creating the prompts. And those prompts are helping Mitch, and the team create the visuals. So, you're seeing us work hand in hand with the AI. The idea is not replacing everything we're doing. It's augmenting it and accelerating it in ways that are allowing us to keep up with the pace of change, “said McElligott.
There will be a total of eight episodes of AI:  Unpacking the Black Box on WITF TV. Both producers are looking to educate folks about the power of AI.
“I think one of the things that came up with me that just, you know, we talked about as we were starting this project or early on was sort of like if we can get across sort of talking about what A.I. is and what it's doing and how it's becoming more humanlike, maybe we sort of make people think about what it means to be human almost as compared to a computer or A.I., that kind of thing. I don't know if that's going to come across, but I hope that it does, “said Mathias.
<a href="https://video.witf.org/">CLICK HERE</a> to watch the first episode.

AI:  Uncovering the Black Box

Paulus Farm Market was established in 1991 in Central PA by Jim Paulus. What started out as a small business selling potatoes out of a garage, produce at the town’s square farmers market, is now approximately 1,000 acres located on South York Street in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.

Amy Paulus, Co-owner of the Paulus Farm Market, shares what most visitors look forward to in the autumn season.

“So, we have what we call our fall fun. And the fall fun is open seven days a week. We have a u-pick pumpkin patch. We have hayrides on the weekends. We have two big tents that are filled with loose corn. Think of sandbox corn. We have haystacks where kids can climb. We have a wooden tractor. We have a great big old combine place that it used to be my husband's first coal mine. It was his first combine. And now we've created a place that out of that we have all sorts of friendly farm animals so people can come out and learn about them and pet them and feed them a little mini corn maze. All kinds of fun stuff for the fall.”

Paulus Farm Market has also become a sought-out place for Agritourism.

“We offer field trips to local schools almost every day. We have every weekday. We have at least one group coming out to learn about where foods come from. We really focus on foods coming from farms. We have, for instance, we have a pizza garden growing, so even a frozen pizza. Even the youngest child can think about the ingredients that go into a pizza. And where do those ingredients come from? Well, cheese would start out in a store. Maybe that's a lot of times the answer. But also, it would start out originally from the cow that milk comes from. The cow comes from an animal, and that animal is living on a farm. So, we do things like that. Excuse me. We offer birthday parties. We offer all types of agritourism events where people can come out and see those gardens, see what we do. We're always there. So, we're like, very accessible. But yeah, we the field trips, that's probably the biggest educational aspect of our farm.”

Agritourism benefits surrounding communities by drawing tourist to rural areas, stimulating local economies, and fostering a greater appreciation for agricultural practices and local food systems. Amy has a background in education, which she says goes hand in hand with the agritourism business at the farm market.

 “So farming is it's you have to you have to be able to improvise. You have to be able to be diverse. You can't just go out there and plant the corn and the potatoes, which is what my husband loves to do, but to diversify and really bring in all sorts of people, and especially young kids and young families, you have to have other things for them to do. And so, when we opened this agritourism part, it was at a time when the market was still doing well, still bring it, still bringing people in. But we knew that it was hard to compete with grocery stores, hard to compete with the great big box stores. And we didn't want to do that. We wanted to remain a small part of the community but have a big impact. So we have seen the business grow by 100% with having agritourism. It just brings in a larger group of people really, really just helps people to understand that, it's not just this. These eggs are not just appearing in my grocery store. This hand is not just appearing in my grocery store. All of these things are connected back to farms. So, I feel very proud that we have helped to create that type of an informative destination for people and a fun destination for people.”

<a href="https://paulusfarmmarket.com/About">Paulus Farm Market</a> was established in 1991 in Central PA by Jim Paulus. What started out as a small business selling potatoes out of a garage, produce at the town’s square farmers market, is now approximately 1,000 acres located on South York Street in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.
Amy Paulus, Co-owner of the Paulus Farm Market, shares what most visitors look forward to in the autumn season.
“So, we have what we call our fall fun. And the fall fun is open seven days a week. We have a u-pick pumpkin patch. We have hayrides on the weekends. We have two big tents that are filled with loose corn. Think of sandbox corn. We have haystacks where kids can climb. We have a wooden tractor. We have a great big old combine place that it used to be my husband's first coal mine. It was his first combine. And now we've created a place that out of that we have all sorts of friendly farm animals so people can come out and learn about them and pet them and feed them a little mini corn maze. All kinds of fun stuff for the fall.”
Paulus Farm Market has also become a sought-out place for Agritourism.
 “We offer field trips to local schools almost every day. We have every weekday. We have at least one group coming out to learn about where foods come from. We really focus on foods coming from farms. We have, for instance, we have a pizza garden growing, so even a frozen pizza. Even the youngest child can think about the ingredients that go into a pizza. And where do those ingredients come from? Well, cheese would start out in a store. Maybe that's a lot of times the answer. But also, it would start out originally from the cow that milk comes from. The cow comes from an animal, and that animal is living on a farm. So, we do things like that. Excuse me. We offer birthday parties. We offer all types of agritourism events where people can come out and see those gardens, see what we do. We're always there. So, we're like, very accessible. But yeah, we the field trips, that's probably the biggest educational aspect of our farm.”
Agritourism benefits surrounding communities by drawing tourist to rural areas, stimulating local economies, and fostering a greater appreciation for agricultural practices and local food systems. Amy has a background in education, which she says goes hand in hand with the agritourism business at the farm market.
 “So farming is it's you have to you have to be able to improvise. You have to be able to be diverse. You can't just go out there and plant the corn and the potatoes, which is what my husband loves to do, but to diversify and really bring in all sorts of people, and especially young kids and young families, you have to have other things for them to do. And so, when we opened this agritourism part, it was at a time when the market was still doing well, still bring it, still bringing people in. But we knew that it was hard to compete with grocery stores, hard to compete with the great big box stores. And we didn't want to do that. We wanted to remain a small part of the community but have a big impact. So we have seen the business grow by 100% with having agritourism. It just brings in a larger group of people really, really just helps people to understand that, it's not just this. These eggs are not just appearing in my grocery store. This hand is not just appearing in my grocery store. All of these things are connected back to farms. So, I feel very proud that we have helped to create that type of an informative destination for people and a fun destination for people.”

Local crew out of Lancaster County helps states impacted by Hurricane Helene

In 1 playlist(s)

The Spark

Social links

Follow podcast

Recent clips