FLANDERS, NY — Helping out in times of needs is a hallmark of the Flanders community, residents agree.

When a woman reached out on social media Monday, stating that she'd just learned that her mother had died and she needed desperately to have her driveway plowed and her walk cleared so that she could get to her family in Long Beach — caring neighbors didn't hesitate.

Susan Tocci of Flanders, whose family has deeply-rooted ties not just to the community as a whole but to the Flanders Northampton Volunteer Ambulance Co., reached out and told the woman that she was working on finding her help.

"I called my brother Paul Tocci and nephew Tom Podlas," she said. "They have been out in one of the plow trucks since yesterday morning. plowing, shoveling, and snow blowing. Everyone is wet and tired — but as soon as I saw her post, I called them with yet another job. I told them the situation and they stopped mid-job on a big account and rushed right over. All they said to me was, 'What is the address?'"

Such acts of kindness are deeply woven into the fabric of her family and the community, Tocci said. "We all grew up on the ambulance," she said. "We know what needs priority at any given moment. My family will always help anyone that has an emergency. And our neighbors always return the kindness when we need it. That's why I call Flanders 'God's Country.'"

Source: https://patch.com/new-york/southampton/snowstorm-acts-kindness-woman-whose-mother-died-overnight-needed-help-plowing