LINCOLN HEIGHTS, Ohio — When Vanessa Moore looked out her door Tuesday morning, she saw snow blocking her driveway and knew she wouldn't be going anywhere unless it was cleared.
"We're usually the last ones to get done," Moore said. "You look at the door, you're supposed to go to work, and you look out, and you're like, 'I'm not driving in that, I can't go in because I can't get out.'"
But help arrived in the form of teenagers and young adults from the Heights Movement, who went door-to-door with shovels and a snow blower to clear driveways, sidewalks and streets.
"They not only did the driveway, they did the sidewalk, they did the gutters in the street, and they threw salt," Moore said.
The group tackled more than 20 homes and about six streets throughout the village during the season's first major snowfall.
Dorance Daniels, founder of the Heights Movement and a village councilman, said the volunteer effort fills gaps in municipal snow removal.
"It's plenty of time when the snow comes down really fast. Some of those plows crews can't really get to it," Daniels said. "It allows us with our machine, with some of our hand power and leg strength, to kind of get some of those corners to make sure everybody can get around."
The Heights Movement has expanded its snow removal capabilities since last winter, adding equipment and volunteers.
"Last winter, we were able to upgrade, get some more equipment, get some more hands," said Immanuel Floyd, a group member. "So, it's a great teaching and learning experience for our youth."
Watch more about Lincoln Heights snow response below:
Floyd says the experience is much-needed job training, saying teens start with shovels and could eventually operate larger equipment.
Nathaniel Robertson, a Lincoln Heights teen participating in the effort, said the community response was overwhelming.
"(One resident) didn't want me to leave her house," Robertson said. "That just put a smile on my heart, for real."
The village's official snow removal response also improved compared to previous storms, Daniels said.
"This year, I know snowplows got out there early today," he said. "I remember last year, coming through here, the buses and everything like that. They wouldn't have been able to make it through here."
Moore said she wasn't prepared for the sudden snowfall but was grateful for the unexpected help.
"First big snow of the year," Moore said with a laugh. "I wasn't ready."
