MADISON, Wis. -- In the weeks following the recent flooding, thousands of Wisconsinites have helped their neighbors in the recovery effort, including the youngest members of the state's air force auxiliary.

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Taking part in the efforts have been 25 Wisconsin wing squadrons and two from Illinois, with many of the members just a few weeks removed from school.

Many of the volunteers made it their mission to put summer plans on hold and help those affected by the flooding.

Nathan Filippelli, a 14-year-old civil air patrol cadet and member of the Kenosha Flying Bloodhounds took part in his first mission as a cadet when he helped flood victims in Sauk County.

"It was pretty sobering thinking this could be my house, that I could be the one with all my stuff out there," said Filippelli.

For the past week, Filippelli and more than 450 Wisconsin cadets and senior members of the United States Air Force Auxiliary supported the disaster relief operations in seven flooded communities, WISC-TV reported.

"We had to gut a bunch of houses," said Filippelli.

That included those in hard-hit Rock Springs.

Christiana Richardson, a 19-year-old cadet from Hillsbor0, told WISC-TV that she's been happy to help with the relief efforts.

"It's been great and I'm just glad that we can get out there do something about it. That's been the best part about it," said Richardson.

For 10 days, Richardson sandbagged and cleared debris for affected residents.

"I'm going to remember the people that we helped, the families. The looks on their faces when they saw the help coming and how appreciative they were," said Richardson.

After volunteering more than 5,000 hours in the county, the civil air patrol members are heading home knowing they made a difference, WISC-TV reported.

"I just want to say these kids are an inspiration to the communities and to the people whose lives they've affected," said Lt. Cl. Marcia Cunningham of the civil air patrol.

In all, 476 civil air patrol members helped in the disaster relief operations.