Grandmother’s Mission Restores Texas Flood Memories

Quick Smiles:

• Texas grandma inspires hope by reuniting cherished belongings with flood survivors
• Online group brings together a community of helpers and grateful neighbors
• Acts of kindness transform heartbreak into lasting connections

When devastating floods hit central Texas, 54-year-old grandmother Dondi Persyn turned compassion into action. Living just a stone’s throw from the Guadalupe River in Boerne, Texas, Dondi saw her neighbors lose treasured possessions to the swirling waters—and she felt compelled to help.

Instead of standing by, she started collecting the lost items she found scattered along the riverbank while waiting for local search crews. What began with a handful of things soon blossomed into a community-wide effort to bring hope and healing.

Seeing the scope of loss, Dondi created a Facebook group called “FOUND on the Guadalupe River.” Within days, more than 20,000 people joined, excited to help or searching for the pieces of their lives swept away by the flood. Through the group, volunteers and survivors posted photos of everything recovered: children’s shoes, life jackets, sentimental jewelry, even a totem pole with its feathers still perfectly in place.

Neighbors responded instantly. A teacher was delighted to recognize her special necklace among the posts. Another woman was overjoyed to reclaim her lost clothing and jewelry. Thanks to the group, a dental retainer found its way home—and even a missing cat named Samson, safe and sound two weeks after the flood, was reunited with his grateful family.

Dondi explained her motivation from the heart: “I had this feeling that if it were my family, or my children or my grandchildren, I’d probably want something.”

Together with her dedicated team of volunteers, Dondi carefully sorts, cleans, and labels every item recovered. Clothing is washed, bins are organized, and every lost treasure is treated with dignity.

“We’re treating everything like it’s the most important thing,” she shared. “We don’t know if that’s someone’s last remnant of a loved one.”

Her background is far from typical emergency response—instead, Dondi once ran a vintage shop and now works as a perfumer. But her empathy and neighborly spirit have made an immeasurable impact on her local community.

“It’s really fated,” she reflected. “We have to teach other communities to do what we did.”

Thanks to Dondi and her big-hearted volunteers, the heartbreak of the floods has turned into something beautiful: memories returned, hope restored, and renewed bonds between neighbors. Where devastation washed away belongings, Dondi’s kindness is helping to wash in a sense of togetherness.

As Mr. Rogers once said, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping’.”

The story of Dondi Persyn is a shining example of the helpers among us—ordinary people with caring hearts, making the world a little brighter each day.

Source