Paul Paddock
Volunteering has been so fulfilling—helping fellow mappers across the world use the power of GIS to bring rescue, care, and repair efforts to areas in need SOONER after disaster strikes and making the seemingly unreachable reachable again for affected communities. Serving in these capacities speaks to my core, and I’m glad to be part of these missions, especially when they concern communities I have known for years, as was the case during the Hurricane Helene mission. Some of the hardest-hit areas in that storm were my homes away from home. Although I couldn’t be physically there to contribute, I was still glad to aid in the recovery efforts as “eyes from the sky” with the PhotoMappers. Everyone involved in these missions is always so engaging, and I’m very glad for the connections I’ve made in the process. Till the next mission!

Jeffrey’s Experience: GISCorps has given me an opportunity to grow technically and professionally by supporting organizations with compelling stories. I’ve just completed my fifth volunteer engagement with Art Forces. Most of my projects focused on custom development in JavaScript/Python and I hope that my programming background will be an asset to GISCorps moving forward.