As rainwater poured into the city of DeKalb, volunteers flooded into DeKalb’s Water Division.

While the count and origin of every worker is unknown, more than 100 volunteers worked at DeKalb’s Water Division, 1216 Market Street, to fill and distribute thousands of sandbags Thursday night and Friday.

“We started filling sandbags at 6 p.m. [Thursday] night,” said Bryan Faivre, assistant director of Public Works-Water Division. “We had people coming in at two or three in the morning to get bags.”

The Greek communities, as well as the DeKalb and NIU communities were represented at the Water Division building.

“A couple of bus loads came from NIU with about thirty people or so willing to work,” Faivre said.

Mike Murphy, a sophomore history major, heard an announcement in his dorm and decided to volunteer with Matt Benson, a sophomore business major, and a few of his other friends.

“Matt and I were talking about it, if the city needs a sand wall the situation must be pretty dire,” Murphy said.

Jeff Myers and Megan Erdmann, lead guides for NIU, were also on scene to help fill bags since the Friday events that they were scheduled to work for were cancelled.

“These people are coming out of the woodwork,” Myers said. “If you don’t get choked up when you walk in here, you’re not human.”

Erdmann also was touched by the thoughtfulness of the volunteers.

“These people can be setting up their dorm rooms and hanging out with their families and they’re here,” Erdmann said.

Rick Slonski, a senior criminology major, member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon and president of the lacrosse team, arrived with a few of his friends Thursday night to lend a hand.

“We were here yesterday, too,” Slonski said. “We want to show we care about the community, not just the campus.”

David Gersic, resident of DeKalb and NIU information services employee, started filling sandbags as soon as he could.

“I’d rather help someone else than do my own,” Gersic said. “I only got a little bit of seepage, nothing major.”

Faivre personally thanks everyone who showed up to help.

“It was great to see the amount of work and the effort everyone put in,” Faivre said.