In the amateur radio magazines, you can read numerable accounts of hams who have helped others out. Amateur Radio Field Day is the last weekend in June, every year. This is a North American exercise for which we all go to remote areas and set up the kinds of stations we might have to use after a disaster. There are strict rules about using emergency power supplies, setting up antennas, etc. The stations earn points by not using household power or antennas that were already erected.
Points come from how many stations are contacted, so even a home-bound ham is part of the action.
You can talk to the same station from many different radios. The public is encouraged to come and learn, or reminisce. Bill Weinhardt's Radio Columns 1. Great Fun with CW 4. Antenna Ideas 5.