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Louisiana
The Volunteer Center of the Virginia Peninsula – Monroe, LA
The Volunteer Center of the Virginia Peninsula is currently working directly in the affected Monroe, Louisiana area. The VC is working on volunteer connections and donation matches and is beginning to hear from high-level donation opportunities. A major donation program the VC is currently working on is the “Pajama Program” which will be responsible for the distribution of 5,000-8,000 pairs of new pajamas and is scheduled to occur sometime within the next week. Staff at the Volunteer Center of the Virginia Peninsula working in Monroe are also requesting for the presence of a couple of additional trained volunteers who have administrative skills and can commit to a two week period of time to directly assist with current Volunteer Center efforts. (9/18/05)
Volunteer Baton Rouge – Baton Rouge, LA
Volunteer! Baton Rouge has taken over 4500 volunteer request/referral calls since 9/1 with a present average daily call volume of about 25 calls per day. Most recently the VC has hired two part-time employees to assist in handling these calls. Staff from the VC appear weekly on local television to talk about disaster volunteer opportunities for the general public in addition to having recently trained in Lafayette to become better informed on how to open a Volunteer Resource Center. The VC has also worked with 35 specific groups from colleges and high schools in the area to develop Katrina relief related projects for students to head up during Christmas and Spring Break. In addition to working with this population, the VC has worked with the POLF and their State Association to create a system for handling volunteer inquiries on the State listing and is continuing to work with a local TV station to identify and honor 50 nonprofits in the state who are working in the scope of disaster relief. Volunteer! Baton Rouge has also been fortunate to have Launa Prince from the VC in Los Angeles and Cathie Peterman from Volunteer Central in New Orleans come in to help set up VRCs with the eventual goal of opening four or five VRCs in devastated parishes. In addition to this project, Volunteer! Baton Rouge is looking to open a satellite office in North Baton Rouge to handle walk up inquiries and to reach out to an underserved population that they have yet to work with. The VC has found free space in the local MLK Center and is working with the councilman in that district to increase the likelihood of this satellite office being opened in the near future. Further activities of the VC include subcontracting with FEMA and the American Red Cross to provide volunteer coordinators/managers to two established programs. The VC has also recently identified New Orleans area disaster rebuilding organizations to work with in order to be able to better accommodate for groups of volunteers interested in assisting citizens affected by Hurricane Katrina; as part of this relationship Volunteer! Baton Rouge has developed a “boilerplate” response for groups wanting to volunteer which will contain the most up-to-date opportunities. (10/21/05)
Volunteer Center of Southwest Louisiana – Lake Charles, LA
Most recently on Friday, October 16, the Mayor asked the Volunteer Center of Southwest Louisiana to help find volunteers with access to vehicles to assist in the evacuation of all homes in the Southwest Louisiana area due to the health issues related to the abundance of mold/mildew in the homes. The Mayor's office had been told that out of the homes that needed to be evacuated, 10% of the inhabitants did not have transportation to evacuate themselves and that there was a 36 hour window of time to evacuate the inhabited homes. The Volunteer Center had a list of 4,000 local prospective volunteers and needed to recruit roughly 750 of these people who would be willing to assist the situation and provide the usage of their vehicles as well. The Volunteer Center called the 1-800-Volunteer.org team and by sending out a message to the entire Volunteer Center National Network was able to find over 25 VC's that were willing to help out. With assistance from these respective VC's, The Volunteer Center of Southwest Louisiana was able to access qualified volunteers and send names to the local organization that was coordinating housing evacuation assignments. Volunteer Centers who offered to help were located across the US, and included an almost-around-the-clock team of Manateen youth who took shifts making phone calls. Currently, the Volunteer Center of Southwest Louisiana has been told that it has until Oct. 25th to move folks out of the condemned houses, and has decided to halt calling volunteers because the Bell South phone system is still so unreliable that many phone calls are being met with busy signals. (10/19/05)
United Way of Acadiana Volunteer Center - Lafayette, LA
The response by the United Way of Acadiana Volunteer Center to Katrina began by putting their External Disaster Response Plan into motion the evening of Sunday, August 28 th and opening the Volunteer Center phone bank on August 30 th . Requests for volunteer support were received from 20 agencies and local VOAD partners, as well as, shelters established to accept evacuees. The largest shelter operation was at the Cajun Dome, which continues to have the greatest volume of volunteer needs. To date, the VC has supplied over 2500 volunteers working in excess of 11,000 hours to this site alone. Volunteers e-mailing their availability and those calling into the call center or those referred through 211 and other sources were matched to the needs collected from the shelters and other support organizations. The VC's total number of disaster volunteers exceeds 4500 with over 18.000 hours served. Other activities in support of the rescue and recovery operations included daily, and now weekly, conference calls with combined State Volunteer Center Directors (LAVCD) and 211 Centers in the state. POLF sent a volunteer from Florida with extensive disaster response experience. On October 4, this volunteer facilitated a training on establishing “Volunteer Reception Centers” in response to disaster. Several volunteer center directors from the area were able to attend. A VRC was then set-up in Vermilion Parish, which was devastated by Hurricane Rita. The VC has been coordinating out of town groups to help with the clean-up process. The POLF response involved sending volunteers from Florida, New Hampshire and Los Angeles to assist the VC in supporting recovery efforts. The VC has contacted other Centers across the nation and the POLF to share information on tracking disaster response volunteer efforts to ensure the highest quality of reporting. As of October 24th, the United Way of Acadiana Volunteer Center believes the number of evacuees in their community to stand at about 16,000 people. This includes people living in shelters, hotels as well as with family and friends. The Volunteer Center is working to partner with outreach programs and local non-profit agencies to help provide long-term volunteers to serve the needs of their growing population. (10/24/05)
United Way 2-1-1 - Monroe, LA
United Way 2-1-1 has established a call center to receive all of the Information and Referral (2-1-1) calls from the New Orleans area. When new phone lines were initially installed, over 1,365 calls were tracked in a 14-hour period- (6 of those hours were midnight to 6 am.) and approximately 600 went unanswered. In addition, United Way 2-1-1 is housing the re-located United Way of Greater New Orleans and its staff.
With the help of the Volunteer Center Disaster Recovery Fund, United Way 2-1-1 has received 12 volunteers from Nebraska, Hawaii, Nevada, California, and Arizona to assist in their Center's efforts. Most recently the United Way 2-1-1 has continued to field a high volume of calls and is now entering the status of these calls into a database of over 1000 inquiries. As of 9/22/05, United Way 2-1-1 is still concentrating much of their efforts towards referring volunteers to different organizations, working to connect telephone inquiries with projects/work outside of the region, and spending time catching up on their backlog of telephone calls. (9/22/05)
The Extra Mile Region VII, Inc. – Shreveport, LA
The Extra Mile Region VII, Inc, has been busy serving as the Volunteer Referral source for the local 211. In the last week the VC has called and referred over 475 volunteers to area organizations, opportunities, and shelters. As the leading source for connecting volunteers to organizations, The Extra Mile Region VII has worked to match volunteers with agencies according to their skills, time available and the needs of the organizations. State Representative Lydia Jackson also recently contacted the VC in regards to efforts concerning posting daily volunteer opportunities in the Caddo Connection. The Caddo Community Connection's goal is to establish a consistent and convenient communications network among leadership sectors in the Caddo community. As volunteer calls through 211 decrease The Extra Mile Region VII organization is working on educating the community about the ongoing needs of volunteers within community service organizations who are serving evacuees. Volunteers now have access to volunteer opportunities through 1-800-Volunteer, and The Extra Mile Region VII is also contacting volunteers who have registered through the national 1-800-Volunteer Louisiana website. (9/20/05)
Volunteer Ascension – Gonzales, LA
Volunteer Ascension is still receiving a high volume of calls regarding the availability of potential volunteering opportunities. Calls that are received are screened for any certifications in search and rescue, first responder, and other similar credentials so volunteers can be directed to the proper agencies to help. Evacuees asking for assistance are also physically coming in to the Volunteer Ascension office and are being directed to churches that are in proximity of the VC's office. These churches are screening the evacuees and working hard to provide them with their immediate needs. The VC is also sending additional volunteers to local churches and a distribution/drop site providing much needed items and assistance for evacuees in shelters and those who have been housed in the parish. In addition to these activities, a relief fund (The Operation Good Neighbor Fund) has been set up through a partnership with the Chambers of Commerce and Parish Government and is being administered by Volunteer Ascension to take care of needs at the shelters, distribution center and schools throughout the community. This fund requires daily contact with all churches and agencies to fund the items needed on a regular basis, such as personal care needs, food, clothing, gas, assistance to relocate, transportation to doctor appointments, job interviews, and any other necessities that come up. Through the help of Volunteer Ascension, schools from other states have adopted some of the schools in the parish, to provide assistance with school supplies, uniforms and any other needs that schools might have. Thus far, over 2000 displaced students have registered in Ascension Parish Schools. Working with the Ascension Parish School Board office, Volunteer Ascension has set up a central warehouse for donated uniforms/school supplies to be distributed to the community and this distribution center will be open until 10/21 and continues to have a need for more volunteers to assist with the operation of this center until it closes. The goods received via the establishment of the warehouse donation site will allow for schools to have an essential resource throughout the remainder of the school year to satisfy primary educational needs for their students as they arise. Please continue to contact Audrey at 225-644-7655 to make donations / volunteer. (10/14/05)
Mississippi
Office of Community Service Learning, University Southern Mississippi – Hattiesburg, MS
The Office of Community Service Learning has assisted several other universities in connecting to relief efforts in Hattiesburg. The relationship has included assisting the schools in planning trips to the Hattiesburg area by finding places to stay, services, activities to be involved in, and agencies that need assistance. The list of schools that are a part of this collaboration includes: The University of Wisconsin, Ohio University, Vanderbilt University, North Carolina State University, and The University of Tennessee. Also, several of the schools have agreed to "adopt" students and needs so that they can raise money to help in the recovery process in order to get students and their families back on their feet. Students have the opportunity to register all needs, be it housing, clothing, or financial. With so many needs that must be met, many areas of the university are working together to best be able to accommodate students. The Office of Community Service Learning has assisted 250 students in finding clothing, shelter, and other services that were needed after the hurricane. Many of the universities students lost books, apartments, and belongings that have made it difficult if not impossible to continue with this school year. The University of Southern Mississippi's Office of Community Service Learning is working hard to facilitate the opportunity for affected students to continue learning. The VC is also working closely with the City of Hattiesburg and their temporary Hurricane Volunteer Services Center that matches volunteers to specific needs in the Hattiesburg community. The Office of Community Service Learning has helped over 200 volunteers connect to recovery efforts through this effort since September 12th. (10/12/05)
Quitman County Development Organization, Inc. - Marks, MS
The Quitman County Development Organization, Inc. has been busy assisting Hurricane Katrina evacuees that have relocated to the Marks, Mississippi area. Although Katrina did not directly hit the Marks area, many evacuee families are now calling Marks home. The VC has assisted these evacuees in a number of different ways. The VC's staff, youth opportunity staff and community volunteers recently prepared a supper for 60 evacuees who have been living with local relatives. In addition to the supper that was provided for these evacuees each head of household was given various gift cards for local retail chains to purchase essential goods for their respective families. The VC along with the community clergy churches and other nonprofits has also raised over $6,000.00 to assist evacuees as well. In addition to this, the VC played a major role in setting up a food and clothing bank for evacuees and has directly assisted one family by providing them with shelter. The Quitman County Development Organization plans on continuing to assist Hurricane Katrina evacuees when called upon. (10/7/05)
LinkCentre/Harrisburg Cultural and Social Service Center- Tupelo, MS
Although the LinkCentre does not currently have a VISTA worker in place, the center is using their resources as well as volunteer assistance to help the local Salvation Army with supply distribution. In addition to assisting the Salvation Army, LinkCentre is also helping the Red Cross with housing and feeding needs at the BancorpSouth Center while continuing to assist a local church feed evacuees as well. In conjunction with other area non-profits and local volunteers LinkCentre is also assisting with finding donations of furniture for evacuees that are relocating to their area for the long-term. (10/18/05 )
United Way of Southeast Mississippi- Hattiesburg, MS
United Way of Southeast Mississippi's newly established Volunteer Center is working in conjunction with a local disaster assistance center to refer individuals who need assistance as well as those who are able to volunteer their services. In a short amount of time, the volunteer center has referred 11 volunteers from out-of-state to local agencies for placement. Volunteers are being recruited and referred to work in assisting with tree removal, storm damage cleanup, and the distribution of food and supplies. (9/14/05)
Starkville School District- Greensboro Center – Starkville, MS
The Starkville School District- Greensboro Center has been busy at work getting their activities coordinated for the evacuees of the storm. One of their first efforts was to administer a canned food drive to assist in stocking the depleted local Salvation Army pantry. The Starkville School District- Greensboro Center plans on continuing these efforts for several weeks to come. The next agenda for the Starkville School District was to provide family fun afternoons with the use of local volunteers scheduled for every Tuesday and Thursday. These afternoons will be accommodated for by providing transportation for families that are staying in dorm rooms and at nearby camps and motels. Early assessments point to there being roughly 200 displaced families and hundreds of students at the university who have family in the worst areas hit by the storm. As of 9/26, The Starkville School District- Greensboro Center has been focusing their efforts towards serving families. They are continuing to take in adults for basic education classes, ESL courses, parent training programs/workshops as well as accepting their children (all age levels) in their respective educational programs. They have enrolled five evacuee families' children in their pr eschool program and are happy with the volume of donated goods they have been receiving to assist the many families they are trying to help. Most recently, as of 10/24, the Starkville School District- Greensboro Center has continued to serve evacuee needs by enrolling evacuees in computer classes as well as having provided housing for a teacher from New Orleans in the Starkville district. They have also recently taken donations and delivered them to central pickup points in their community and have provided daycare for some of the families in the area who have found jobs. These families are receiving certificates provided to them by the Federal Government to cover the associated daycare costs. (10/24/05)
Lower Mississippi Delta Service Corp Inc – Cleveland, MS
The Lower Mississippi Delta Service Corp. is mainly providing assistance by volunteering their services (two staff members) to help feed the few remaining evacuees who have relocated to their undamaged region of Mississippi. They are also helping by donating clothing that has been received by their Center via a “clothing closet” they have established. Clothing is being distributed on a walk-in basis. Most recently as of 9/27, The Lower Mississippi Delta Service Corp. has noticed that m ost of the make shift shelters in the area have closed their operations. There are still evacuees in the area but they have for the most part been moved into housing situations and many of those that have remained in the area have found some form of employment. They have received numerous requests from persons wanting to volunteer but since The Lower Mississippi Delta Service Corp. is 200 miles from the arena of concentrated activity, those persons have been referred to coastal volunteer centers as well as the Mississippi Commission. At this time, they are not requesting further assistance. (9/27/05)
The Community Volunteer Center - Columbus, MS
The Community Volunteer Center is continually updating the United Way of Lowndes County- Executive Committee on recent Community Volunteer Center activities. The Community Volunteer Center in Columbus has taken the initiative in leading many Hurricane Katrina related activities. The VC has acted as a referral system, having referred evacuees looking for job opportunities and financial assistance while having also reported a missing person located in Moss Point, MS. The VC has matched about 24 local volunteers to local storm related opportunities, such as serving lunch and dinner at The Salvation Army, assisting with the Red Cross shelters that were open at the time and moving debris out of elderly or disabled people's yards. The VC also provides updates to local businesses, clubs, and organizations on what current resources (i.e. supplies, food and clothing) are needed and the most convenient ways in which these interested parties can help. The Community Volunteer Center in Columbus has also referred several people from other states to volunteer opportunities on the Gulf Coast by providing them with resources such as websites and phone numbers on how to directly volunteer in the affected area. In the days ahead, staff at the VC will continue working on their volunteering efforts as usual. The Community Volunteer Center will continue to update volunteer opportunities, recruit/refer volunteers, follow up with volunteers and provide new volunteer opportunities via email to episodic volunteers. (10/18/05)
Alabama
The Volunteer Center of Madison County– Huntsville, AL
The Volunteer Center of Madison County has been in the front lines of disaster relief for over five weeks now. The VC initially provided staffing for the Red Cross Service Center, which acted as a key resource for area evacuees immediately after Hurricane Katrina's presence was felt. The Volunteer Center was also selected by the United Way as the direct point of contact for the community to discover more about area services that are being provided. A function of this role is to administer daily updates of their Katrina related website. The VC immediately set up a Katrina Disaster Relief Homepage and links to additional sites for housing, local needs, national needs and this site can be found at www.volunteerhsv.org. Examples of recent postings on the website include a top 10 “to do list” for evacuees as well as an essential resource guide with necessary addresses/phone numbers to allow for easier evacuee access to assistance. The VC answers an average of over 200 calls daily and has had to get additional telephone lines to support the needs of evacuees in order to enable them to receive immediate attention rather than hearing a default voicemail prompt. The VC has also partnered with The Church Disaster Task Force (180 area churches) to develop a resource fair for evacuees scheduled on Thursday, October 20 to help provide them with long-term assistance in meeting their needs. The VC has also sponsored two job fairs at the Civic Center to provide employment opportunities and social services to evacuees. Each fair had 400-700 attendees and was responsible for creating a high number of job placements. Further activities of The Volunteer Center of Madison County are that they have provided long-term housing assistance for 446 evacuees in local empty homes/apartments, 202 of which were placed through The Volunteer Center Adopt a Family Program. This collaboration with churches/organizations and the like provides evacuees with three months of prepaid rent in order to facilitate the transition for families into the Huntsville community. This program is also receiving press coverage from local newspapers that are chronicling a number of evacuee success stories. As part of the program, t he VC takes the time out to interview and screen potential families that are requesting housing assistance on an individual basis in order to adhere to funder requests to make sure families applying for this assistance are indeed evacuees. Despite the overwhelming success of this program thus far, the VC is still working hard to assist an additional 184 evacuees in need of housing. Further housing assistance is provided in the form of relocation assistance for evacuees interested in moving out of state, references to newspaper inquiries with resources for evacuees, donation of city maps as well as being a State Coordinator to the openyourhome.com program. VC Staff has also participated in a recent FEMA training in Montgomery, AL and acts as the city representative for all press conferences etc. The VC was recently delighted to have the fortunate experience to work with The Volunteer Center in Santa Cruz, CA who sent Connie Goebel via assistance from the Points of Light Foundation to support disaster relief in mid September. (10/11/05)
The United Way of East Central Alabama Volunteer Center – Anniston, AL
Although it was expected that over 1,000 evacuees would be brought in and situated at a closed military base in Anniston, Alabama (reported on 9/19) that number actually appears to be closer to 150, with the possibility of additional evacuees arriving in the weeks to come. FEMA has signed a contract to operate this facility for the next 18 months and asked The United Way Volunteer Center to serve as the "Community Call Center." The VC has been very busy manning the Community Call Center which has acted as a point of contact for anyone wishing to volunteer their services or donate any goods, many of which will be going directly towards the evacuee facility in Anniston. The United Way of East Central Alabama has had volunteers manning the phones and is very involved in coordinating the efforts of volunteer recruitment and placement as well as the coordination of donated items. Since the establishment of The Community Call Center, call volume has now dropped from high to moderate levels. (10/10/05)
The Volunteer and Information Center Inc. - Montgomery, AL
The Volunteer and Information Center, Inc. has continued with their ongoing efforts working with Hurricane Katrina evacuees. The VC is assisting evacuees with the location of long-term housing and job placement, finding furniture for housing and providing information regarding available resources to assist with other pertinent needs. The VC's volunteer network is continually being placed at various service organizations to aid many other agencies accomplish their mission and assist with the work they are doing with evacuees. The Volunteer and Information Center, Inc. is also working closely with the Family Guidance Center as well as local churches and school groups to assist evacuees. Along these same lines the VC is establishing a relationship with an area church that is conducting weekly visits to the Mississippi coastline taking much needed supplies and volunteers to directly assist the impacted area. Most recently, as of 10/24, the VC has reported that their 211 Information line continues to remain busy with receiving calls from evacuees looking for assistance. Evacuee concerns that are currently being expressed to VC staff tend to reflect the frustration evacuees are feeling with the process of getting the needed approval from FEMA to help for assistance with housing/rental and transportation costs. The evacuees who are expressing these concerns are running out of money from Red Cross and FEMA and have not yet received their approval from FEMA for housing/rental/transportation expenses. They are facing being forced out of the hotels they are staying in or being evicted from temporary apartments. The Volunteer and Information Center finds this lengthy process of application and approval for evacuees very concerning. (10/24/05)
Volunteer Center of Morgan County - Decatur, AL
For the last six weeks The Volunteer Center has been playing a key role in response to the over 250 families who have been staying in the Morgan County area. The VC has interviewed each of these families and provided them with key information in the form of a fact sheet where they can receive assistance. These fact sheets have also been provided to agencies and have been a key resource for the media as well. The Volunteer Center of Morgan County has also given $4000.00 worth of gift cards donated by churches and individuals to evacuees. In addition to this, they have provided housing information for families willing to donate their homes to the evacuees. The Volunteer Center of Morgan County is continuing its work by helping meet unmet needs and is also busy distributing large amounts of donated items collected by local schools and churches to agencies. The VC is also working with a large corporation who has designated $50,000 to purchase necessities for local Katrina victims and is acting as their vehicle for identifying the needs of the community. In addition to this, the VC recently secured a volunteer dentist to supply and put on braces for a child whose braces were damaged as a result of Katrina. The VC has also secured a donation for bedding, including mattresses, sheets, comforters and pillows for a family settling in their area. The VC continues to help secure housing for families deciding to live in the area and has also had a car donated which has helped meet some immediate needs for families needing a vehicle. The Volunteer Center of Morgan County also has volunteers working on calling each family either they or the local Salvation Army assisted to see if their needs were met and what can be done to meet their future needs. Further notable highlights for the VC are that their service-learning program has responded with 100% participation in some aspect of disaster response and 85%of the churches in Morgan County have had contact with the Volunteer Center in the last six weeks. Their local United Way Chapter has also given them a one-time small allocation of funds to assist with some of their general operating costs. The Volunteer Center of Morgan County has also worked with the local newspaper for continued press coverage of their activities in regards to some of the work done by national volunteer center staff that was recently deployed by the Points of Light Foundation. Plans are also being developed for a one-stop center to be created for future response efforts. (10/12/05)
Volunteer Mobile, Inc. - Mobile, AL
Among a number of activities, Volunteer Mobile, Inc. has been established as the Volunteer Emergency Operations Center for Mobile County and staff has been working 7 days a week 12 hours per day since Hurricane Katrina's effects were felt. In addition to this, Volunteer Mobile, Inc. modified their website to address Hurricane Katrina related issues while establishing an on-line donations system through Pay Pal and launched a database for the registration of disaster volunteers. With the website, the database, e-mails and calls the VC has recruited more than 4000 volunteers from 36 states. Volunteer Mobile, Inc. has already coordinated teams from Missouri, Oregon, Illinois, California, South Carolina, Virginia, New Jersey, as well as Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. Three teams are removing debris, mucking out flooded homes, tarping roofs, distributing food, water, ice and other necessities and setting up distribution sites in Mobile County as well as other devastated communities along the Mississippi coast. Working with the Governor's Office on Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, the Seventh Day Adventists, and FEMA, the VC has established a regional warehouse for donations that processes donated goods for relief efforts coordinated by VOAD agencies in Alabama and Mississippi. FEMA has asked Volunteer Mobile to coordinate the long-term recovery effort for the ten counties that will receive individual assistance for this disaster. This will involve helping each county develop its own local VOAD or interfaith response team, helping them identify and access national partners to help with recovery, provide training and technical assistance, and manage data collection and reporting for progress toward recovery. In addition to this, Volunteer Mobile, Inc. representatives have attended meetings with a number of distinguished local mayors to talk about regional cooperation and how to best utilize the offers of support from cities around the US and the world. (9/26/05)
Arizona
Volunteer Center of Maricopa County – Phoenix, AZ
The Volunteer Center of Maricopa County has been a point of contact and resource site for volunteers who are untrained or unaffiliated. The VC has logged over 12,000 calls in 11 days and has remained open for extended hours. In addition to this, the VC's VISTA member administers its Medical Reserve Corps. The VC has gained over 400 new medical personnel in that Corps and is deploying 18 medical professionals to start through its Medical Reserve Corps. The Volunteer Center of Maricopa County is referring people who wish to volunteer at the disaster sites to the Red Cross trainings being conducted in the area. (9/15/05)
Volunteer Center of Southern Arizona - Tucson, AZ
The Center in Tucson has received a high volume of requests to help support the Hurricane Katrina efforts. Four of their AmeriCorps Members have been deployed to Alabama and Louisiana while two members recently returned from a one week assignment at the Volunteer Center of Monroe, LA assisting with 211 call center operations and a number of additional activities. They are receiving, processing and providing information on more than 100 calls per hour. The VC is also the regional center for recruiting and referring doctors, nurses and shelter management people who would like to assist in the efforts. (9/15/05)
Arkansas
The Texarkana Volunteer Center – Texarkana, AR/TX
The Texarkana Volunteer Center has worked hard to assist the several thousand people who have migrated to their community. The VC met with approximately 100 business leaders, disaster relief agencies, the local Chamber of Commerce and non-profits to devise a plan to best serve evacuee needs. After the initial meetings with community leaders, the VC compiled helpful information for the evacuees and put together a brochure for their use. Approximately 2000 of these brochures were printed and distributed to all the shelters and hotels/motels where evacuees were staying. Other key activities the VC has engaged in are, providing volunteers to the Red Cross office, helped staff five shelters that needed 24 hour manpower seven days a week, fulfilled FEMA's request of providing six volunteers on a daily basis to assist in the registration of evacuees, as well as having assisted in establishing a call center for donations and referrals. In addition to these activities, the Texarkana Volunteer Center has collected school supplies to be distributed to the children of their community's newest residents and plans on continuing to assist evacuees locate employment opportunities to facilitate the acclamation process to the Texarkana community. (10/19/05)
California
The Volunteer Center of Orange County – Orange County, CA
The Volunteer Center of Orange County has displayed disaster volunteer opportunities on its agency website and is holding “Make a Difference Day” and other public activities related to disaster relief. In addition to these activities, The Volunteer Center of Orange County has engaged Corporate Volunteer Councils in relief discussions and has been a part of extensive emails correspondences among 2-1-1 and local emergency personnel for updates and information-sharing. (9/16/05)
The Volunteer Center of Riverside County – Riverside, CA
The Volunteer Center of Riverside County has been helping out locally in three ways: Working with the ARC manning a one-stop shop for disaster victims that have self relocated to Riverside. Working with Riverside County OES manning a donation unit and distributing family necessities such as baby products, eye glasses etc. The Volunteer Center of Riverside County is also assisting OES with the Next of Kin Call Center. (9/16/05)
The Volunteer Center South Bay-Harbor- Long Beach - Torrance, CA
Is launching a “Match Campaign” for their annual Operation Teddy Bear program to help the thousands of children estimated to be out of school for several months while they wait for their schools to be rebuilt. Their goal is to raise an additional $175,000 to distribute backpacks with books, crayons, and other necessary items.
Volunteer Center of Los Angeles – Los Angeles, CA
The Volunteer Center of Los Angeles has been busy on a local, statewide, and national level regarding their Hurricane Katrina efforts. Among a number of additional activities, The VC of LA has accomplished the following: Locally, the VC has posted contact information on 2-1-1 InfoLine's website for both volunteers and agencies, is responding to a 2-1-1 request to put together 2,500 resource packets for Katrina evacuees for distribution to County Emergency Response Services and sent 13 volunteers to help with a week long effort to send 10 trucks loaded with water, medical supplies, clothing, and other necessities to Katrina survivors in Lafayette, Louisiana. Additional local activities of the VC are that they have contacted over 1,500 nonprofits in order to determine what their needs are and what they are capable of supplying to the Katrina survivors, and are also coordinating with the American Red Cross to send them volunteers once the process of opening a local shelter for the survivors is completed. Statewide, the VC is coordinating volunteer responses from the disaster area to Volunteer Centers within California so there is a central location for volunteers to call. Nationally, the VC has created a Katrina webpage on their Volunteer Center website with links for volunteers, Katrina survivors and organizations that can provide or give help. It should also be noted that ten staff members are ready and interested to be deployed to the Southeast while Cambria Smith, Assistant Executive Director, will be leaving to the disaster area October 2 nd to assist in volunteer response. (9/16/05)
Volunteer Center of Santa Cruz - Santa Cruz, CA
The Volunteer Center of Santa Cruz has established website links and corresponding information and are recruiting volunteers for a number of fundraising and direct relief caravan efforts in the Santa Cruz area. They plan to send 2 people to assist Volunteer Centers in the affected region, and are working with local unions to recruit Mental Health professionals for possible deployment to the affected areas. The VC is also planning Make A Difference Day projects focusing on relief efforts.
Volunteer Center of the Silicon Valley - San Jose, CA
The Volunteer Center of Silicon Valley has two roles in disaster response and recovery for Santa Clara County and its fifteen municipalities. First, the Volunteer Center is the clearinghouse for all spontaneous unaffiliated volunteers. Second, the Volunteer Center serves as the county coordinator for the Collaborating Agencies Disaster Relief Efforts (CADRE) network, a coalition of 250 lead community-based organizations and public agencies in the county matching the disaster needs of victims with the goodwill and resources of the community. The Volunteer Center activated the CADRE network on Friday, September 2nd. Currently, twenty-three CADRE members have activated and are supporting Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts locally and/or in the disaster area. Additionally, San Jose State University has partnered with CADRE in providing Spartan Village, a recently vacated married student housing area, as the local official receiving and processing shelter for Hurricane Katrina evacuees. The facility is made up of 53 fully furnished 2 bedroom/one bath condominiums and town homes on a four-acre parcel. In addition to these highlighted activities, The Volunteer Center of Silicon Valley has been busy at work engaging both unaffiliated and affiliated volunteers in Hurricane Katrina based efforts. A few of the many glaring accomplishments are as follows: 110 spontaneous volunteers have been processed through CADRE, 127 evacuees have been registered with FEMA and processed through the Silicon Valley Shelter, 185 spontaneous volunteers have deployed to date while 85 are in the training pipeline for deployment and 200 are available for local Hurricane Katrina Relief support Operations. The VC is also the county coordinator for and has processed 760 temporary housing offers from concerned citizens for relocating evacuees. (9/16/05)
Hands On Sacramento – Sacramento, CA
Hands on Sacramento has contributed to Hurricane Katrina efforts in a number of ways. A few of their many activity highlights are as follows: InfoLine Sacramento and Hands On Sacramento were represented at this week's One-Stop Assistance Center which was set-up at the United Way and American Red Cross to assist Hurricane Katrina evacuees, both InfoLine Sacramento (211) and Hands On Sacramento have been working closely together as a response to Hurricane Katrina. As a result of Hurricane Katrina, InfoLine Sacramento is updating and reinstating its disaster reassurance for seniors program with the help of Hands On Sacramento's Homeland Security VISTA Volunteer. Hands On Sacramento is currently registering volunteers who are interested in helping with Hurricane Katrina into our database via our website. Current volunteer needs are updated and posted onto a separate “Hurricane Katrina” web page in hopes of forming a volunteer connection. (9/16/05)
Colorado
Metro Volunteers - Denver, CO
Metro Volunteers has recently been asked by Colorado's Lt. Governor to coordinate all the unaffiliated volunteers working with area evacuees. As a result of this recent news, Metro Volunteers is bringing a temporary team member aboard to be a volunteer manager for the organization. (9/15/05)
Connecticut
The Volunteer Center of Southwestern Fairfield County – Stamford, CT
The Volunteer Center of Southwestern Fairfield County located in Stamford, Connecticut and its satellite office in New Canaan has helped get the word out about food collections that are currently underway at their local Armory. The VC sent out a list of needed food items, recruited volunteers and helped get meals for these volunteers, some of whom worked 8-10 hour shifts. To assist the local armory in its efforts, the VC took daily trips to the Armory to find out its needs. As the Armory presented the VC with some of its many needs, the VC worked diligently to help provide them with some of their needed resources. A few of the resources the VC helped locate for the Armory included warehouse space, trucks, wooden pallets, tape, shrink-wrap and most importantly, volunteers. Additional activities of the VC are that they also networked with local churches and businesses to refer volunteers who wanted to assist the hardest hit areas to the local Red Cross. A final key role the VC played in Hurricane Katrina efforts was to be the source of updated information for local businesses, churches, the press and their local Red Cross. (9/29/05)
Florida
Volunteer Manatee – Bradenton, FL
Volunteer Manatee has been on the ground in the affected area of Mississippi opening Volunteer Reception Centers (VRC's) in Jackson County, Hancock County and Harrison County. In addition to opening VRC's, Volunteer Manatee has been busy training local residents and has been in constant contact with VRC's they have opened and are continually assisting to help fill their requests for supplies/volunteers. Most recently, a staff member at Volunteer Manatee was also deployed to Lafayette, LA to assist in the recovery process of that affected area. Some common issues of all the VRC's that Volunteer Manatee is assisting is that requests are outnumbering volunteers and that there is a lack of tools and supplies for volunteers to perform certain requests. (9/27/05)
Volunteer Jacksonville Inc. – Jacksonville, FL
Volunteer Jacksonville, Inc. is working to identify resources available for evacuees in the area of food/clothing, health, employment, shelter, education and financial assistance. They are also working with the City of Jacksonville to create a central plan for addressing the short and long-term needs of the evacuees. To accomplish these major goals Volunteer Jacksonville Inc. is working to promote local needs for evacuee families, promoting various donation drives/collections, providing volunteer opportunities to assist locally as well as in the impacted area and maintaining a list of resources for evacuee families. Among other activities, Volunteer Jacksonville has also recently facilitated the donation process for items such as animal products, kits for children and nonperishable food items and is working with moving companies to deliver these items directly to impacted areas. (9/15/05)
Volunteer Center of Alachua County - Gainesville, FL
The Volunteer Center of Alachua County has secured a warehouse where volunteers are collecting and sorting donated items on an on-going basis. As they receive a request for items, they arrange for transportation. Some items are being requested by local agencies to help with housing and placing evacuees. For those individuals, they are providing the clothing, furniture and housing items received from the community. The Volunteer Center of Alachua County has been able to reach the community through the media and has also conducted spare change drives for the American Red Cross. The VC has also been serving evacuees through the management of a store in which families can shop through donations of clothing, furniture, food, and household items in order to start over again in the Gainesville Community. In addition to providing these families with the items needed to start over in a new home and community, the VC will also offer on-site counseling through the Alachua County Crisis Center and assistance with finding jobs through the Alachua County Workforce Board. The VC also had two large school groups that created comfort kits (soap, shampoo, toothpaste and brushes, deodorant, shaving items, etc.) for women, children and men. (10/18/05)
VolunteerLEON - Tallahassee, FL
In conjunction with their local Red Cross VolunteerLEON had a well-coordinated community wide response to Hurricane Katrina, however did feel that the one area they needed to improve on was getting all of the Red Cross Disaster Opportunities on 1-800. Had the VC been able to have that completed, they estimate that they could have saved 87.5 hours of data entry time. Despite this fact, the VC has been busy at work recruiting over 750 volunteers through their website, and have directed hundreds more volunteers to the local Red Cross site which unfortunately does not have a referral/management feature as of yet. As of 9/28/05 some of the latest Hurricane Katrina related volunteer statistics are as follows. 1,913 volunteers have registered and participated in the recovery effort. An estimated, 2,000 local volunteers representing the faith-based community have also contributed time, funds, meals and organized relief drives. 1,074 volunteers have completed basic Red Cross training courses and are now trained, affiliated Red Cross Disaster Volunteers. Of these trained volunteers, 135 have been deployed to impacted areas. VolunteerLEON is also encouraging organizations and agencies to promote the use of the "Offer of Goods and Services" link on the Capital Area disaster Recovery Initiative website. This link allows for a coordinated approach to receiving offers of goods and services and distributing these goods and services to meet the unmet needs of displaced persons due to Hurricane Katrina and now Rita. (9/29/05)
Volunteer Center of Martin County - Stuart, FL
To date, the American Red Cross in Martin County has served approximately 40 families who have evacuated to Martin County from the Gulf Coast states. Most of them are staying with family or friends and the Red Cross is housing some families in hotels. The Red Cross and The Salvation Army are providing case management and immediate cash assistance. The Martin County Health Department is providing health-related services and the One Stop Career Center in Stuart is helping individuals file claims for unemployment benefits. The United Way of Martin County has established a Hurricane Katrina Response Fund for Jackson County, Mississippi. They will direct relief efforts there. Because so many individuals and organizations are involved in hurricane relief, they believe it is a wise strategy to focus efforts on helping this community rebuild and recover. There are several efforts underway locally to collect goods and supplies. Riverside Bank has secured a truck from Armellini Express Lines to deliver the supplies they are collecting at their branch locations. The Angel Flight Pilots are collecting supplies at the Stuart Jet Center from 6:00 am - 10:00 pm daily. The Volunteer Center will recruit volunteers to assist them in sorting and boxing supplies if needed.
Volunteer Center Heart of Florida United Way - Orlando, FL
From the communications they have received from local agencies, the biggest challenges are housing, food and mental health counseling. Jobs will actually not be much of a problem for relocated families, as there are many companies stepping up with job offers. They have had very little response regarding current volunteer needs, other than 2-1-1, the Red Cross, Second Harvest Food Bank and Mental Health Association. They are directing people to those efforts locally as they are seeing increasing numbers of displaced families coming to Central Florida. The Volunteer Center encourages donations of food, water, cleaning supplies, baby items (formula, diapers, etc.) and personal care items to their local Second Harvest Food Bank. They are discouraging donations of clothing or other miscellaneous used donations, as there is no coordinated effort that they know of locally that will benefit from used donations.
Seminole Community Volunteer Program, Inc - Lake Mary, FL
The volunteers and staff have been working with several relief agencies to provide volunteers to sort the donations being collected for victims. This agency in particular is collecting requested food items as well as clothing, blankets, pillows, coolers, generators and pet food. They have connected with shelters and churches in the gulf area and have transported and distributed several truckloads of donations. Another agency has taken a bus, previously converted to pet rescue vehicle, complete with cages, a vet and vet tech, loaded with pet food, supplies, emergency medical supplies/ vaccines items to Slidell, LA to provide items to animal owners there as well as rescue and treat animals. Volunteers have been collecting book bags, back packs and school supplies that will be provided to displaced students enrolling in the FL school system. A request was sent out for families to potentially take in displaced individuals or families or assist with transportation or feeding of those coming to Seminole County and being sheltered. To date, over 3,000 people have responded. The center will be working to provide volunteers to match the needs to the offers of assistance.
Illinois
Community Resource Network – Chicago, IL
The Community Resource Network was more than happy to accept the responsibility of being the point of contact for volunteers in Illinois after the Volunteer Centers of Illinois meeting on 9/13. Their recently established call center is being manned for as much time as possible and as many staff members that are needed are being deployed to respond to emails and voice messages. (9/15/05)
The Volunteer Center – Oak Park, IL
The Volunteer Center in Oak Park, Illinois is serving as a clearinghouse to provide volunteer services for evacuees arriving in the area. The Volunteer Center is also working with a shelter at a local mental health center, which, at this moment, is providing a temporary home for roughly 60 guests (this number may increase). The Volunteer Center is also providing volunteers for a local clothing and supply drop off site. (9/15/05)
Maryland
The Volunteer Center for Anne Arundel County – Annapolis, MD
The Volunteer Center for Anne Arundel County is acting as a reference site for local volunteers who are interested in donating time and goods in order to help with Hurricane Relief activities. The VC is referring interested parties to local projects and foundations working to make a difference in the lives of Hurricane Katrina victims. In addition to this, the VC has teenage volunteers ready to assemble kits full of essential materials currently needed in the affected region once enough goods/donations have been collected. (9/15/05)
Nevada
Volunteer Center of Southern Nevada – Las Vegas, NV
The Volunteer Center of Southern Nevada had two staff members who went to Monroe and made a heroic contribution towards putting together an entire system for volunteer matching as well as the equivalent of a Volunteer Reception Center for the Monroe VC. In addition to the great job accomplished by its two staff members in Monroe, the VC's VISTA, Kerin Schroeder, supplied all the volunteers that were requested at an intake-service center to help locally set up the evacuees who came to Las Vegas on their own. For a time, an entire planeload of evacuees was expected, and Kerin had set up a great number of volunteers to assist in receiving them. However, after numerous fits and starts, FEMA advised that no planes would be coming. Following the rush at the one-stop service center, United Way used the VC's volunteers to compile an inventory of all the services local agencies can provide Hurricane Katrina victims who come to the Las Vegas area. (9/15/05)
New Jersey
Volunteer Center of Bergen County - Hackensack, NJ
The Volunteer Center will host a meeting of the Bergen County VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster) on Monday, October 17, at 2 PM. The topic will be "What if Katrina Happened Here? Are They Prepared?" Presenters will include local representatives of the B.C. Office of Emergency Management, American Red Cross, FEMA and the State VOAD (who is with the Community Food Bank in Hillsdale). Bergen County nonprofits will be invited to attend.
New Mexico
The United Way of Southwest New Mexico Volunteer Center – Las Cruces, NM
The United Way of Southwest New Mexico has been busy assisting Hurricane Katrina evacuees that have arrived in Las Cruces. The VC has been active in helping locate resources such as household goods, clothes, and special need items (i.e. food for feeding tubes). In addition to these activities, the United Way VC is also mobilizing volunteers to help sort and process the many donations we have received. (9/15/05)
North Carolina
Volunteer Wayne/RSVP – Goldsboro, NC
Volunteer Wayne/RSVP has been connecting volunteers with agencies serving the disaster areas. Two experienced volunteers are currently deployed to Hurricane Katrina sites where they are serving in leadership roles, as they have done in past disasters across the nation. Urgent needs for medical staff, supplies and transportation have been referred to appropriate local agencies and other businesses that have responded by allowing staff to take leave to meet those needs. Families that have survived have arrived in Wayne County where the faith-based community has welcomed them and are supporting their needs. Volunteer Wayne/RSVP will work with them to determine what they can do as a VC to meet other needs as they arise. Volunteer Wayne/RSVP is also making plans to expand the national day of community service in Wayne County this year to one week, to create Make a Difference Week. The entire community including businesses, schools, civic clubs, churches, and Seymour Johnson Air Force Base will join together during Oct 15-22. Many supply drives for the Red Cross, the Salvation Army and the Marion Edwards Recovery Center Initiative during this week will focus on collecting items for hurricane survivors. (9/15/05)
Michigan
Volunteer Center of Southwest Michigan – Niles, MI
The Volunteer Center of Southwest Michigan is working most directly with the Red Cross, trying to recruit 95 local volunteers for an emergency Disaster training course. The Red Cross is waiving the requirement for First Aid and CPR training since they are in such a time bind. They are also working with a variety of agencies, faith communities, etc. who are bringing Katrina victims to the area to live. It's overwhelming for agencies, and all those affected.
Volunteer Center of Otsego County – Gaylord, MI
The Dept of Human Service reported that 5,000 individuals will be relocated in the Northern area of Michigan. DHS is in the process of contacting area rental units to see how they can help and has agreed that they will work with the Volunteer Center once they have a needs list. They have a meeting planned for all agencies interested in helping with this project. Their mayor has been contacted by the state and is hoping to attend this meeting as well.
Missouri
Voluntary Action Center - Columbia, MO
The Voluntary Action Center has worked with a number of organizations to set up a Disaster Recovery Center that is being manned twelve hours a day, seven days a week. This center is acting as a main information resource regarding services for evacuees. To date, The Volunteer Action Center has helped 198 persons who have come to their area with a wide variety of needs such as clothing, prescriptions, school supplies, transportation, birth certificates, food, gas, hygiene items, support groups, and other such services. The Voluntary Action Center is also listed with SEMA – The State Emergency Management Agency as the Mid-Missouri point of contact if local citizens are interested in volunteering to help during this time. (9/15/05)
Oklahoma
Tulsa Volunteer Center– Tulsa, OK
The Tulsa Volunteer Center has about 1100 evacuees at Camp Gruber, which is located 75 miles southeast of Tulsa. The Volunteer Center is working closely with the agencies providing services at Camp Gruber and will share any needs with the CVC (Corporate Volunteer Council of Greater Tulsa) members. As of now, the camp has all the supplies they can use and most of the volunteers are being provided through the Red Cross, Citizen Corps, SA and Medical Reserve Corps. As some of the evacuees move to Tulsa and volunteer resources become stretched, the CVC member organizations will be counted on to step up and help. The Volunteer Center has an online registration form for spontaneous unaffiliated volunteers (SUVs) who want to assist but are not credentialed and/or trained. (9/30/05)
Oregon
Clackamas County Volunteer Connection – Oregon City, OR
The Clackamas County Volunteer Connection received a request from FEMA HQS to shelter up to 1000 displaced citizens. Oregon prepared to receive these evacuees and the incident was officially named "Operation Welcome Oregon.” Clackamas County was one of the two counties that planned on being impacted. The VC assisted in setting up a shelter that would be capable of receiving 400 Katrina evacuees. Despite these efforts by The Clackamas County Volunteer Connection it was later announced that the evacuees would not be coming as had previously been planned. As a result of this event and the fact that Clackamas County looked less and less like an option to shelter evacuees, all emergent volunteer calls were referred to the Red Cross. However, this hard work may manifest itself in the upcoming housing efforts for Hurricane Rita evacuees where the VC plans on determining facilities that could potentially house elderly and disabled evacuees. If needed, The Clackamas County Volunteer Connection will also be prepared to mobilize local volunteers to help with visiting displaced citizens and looking out for some of their needs. (9/22/05)
Pennsylvania
Volunteer Center of the Lehigh Valley – Bethlehem, PA
Pennsylvania has responded in a variety of ways. A large group of engineers from PPL, an energy/electric company, has been sent to New Orleans to help restore power. Bethlehem has been receiving many families through a number of organizations: American Red Cross, The Caring Place and Salvation Army. Philadelphia renovated an entire vacant school with furniture and clothing to house families. The Volunteer Center will be working with their United Way and Red Cross to assist with the efforts. They have been fielding many calls from people who want to volunteer and/or sponsor fundraisers.
Rhode Island
Volunteer Center of Rhode Island – Providence, RI
The Volunteer Center of Rhode Island has been making daily updates to their website regarding local donation and volunteering efforts. The Volunteer Center of Rhode Island has been stationing staff and volunteers in Middletown to provide identification to disaster relief workers involved in working with evacuees who have come to Rhode Island. They have also assisted the Rhode Island Red Cross with recruiting volunteers for a special "crash course" in disaster management, so that additional certified volunteers will be available to relieve those who have been serving since the initial days of the Hurricane Katrina aftermath. They also will be manning the Rhode Island donations hotline to help connect prospective donations to those evacuees who need it the most. Lastly, The Volunteer Center of Rhode Island has also deployed a staff member to be stationed in Alabama in order to man a 2-1-1 hotline. (9/15/05)
Texas
Volunteer Center of the Coastal Bend – Corpus Christi, TX
The Volunteer Center of the Coastal Bend has been very involved in the Katrina response effort. The Coastal Bend Community began preparing for evacuees on 9/2 with meetings of the VOAD chapter and the Emergency Operations Center group, which consists of the City of Corpus Christi and lead nonprofit agencies. As a result of Katrina, there have been 3000 displaced evacuees that have arrived in Corpus Christi in addition to a great number of pets who have also been sheltered in the area. The Volunteer Center has set up a phone bank to register/dispatch volunteers and worked hard to operate this center on extended schedule seven days a week. The VC also borrowed cell phones and additional computers from the city to assist the situation in the Coastal Bend and have processed roughly 2,000 volunteers. Evacuees that are still in Corpus Christi have been consolidated into the main shelter (which as of 9/16 has less than 200 people in it) while some have chosen to move to other places. The VC is proud of the Corpus Christi community's involvement with assisting Katrina evacuees and this hard work has been reflected in the high number of evacuees that plan to make Corpus Christi their permanent homes going forward. (9/16/05)
Volunteer Houston - Houston, TX
Volunteer Houston has been recruiting and placing volunteers in opportunities to help manage the public response they have received. At one point early on, over a 24-hour span, they had received over 3,000 emails and hundreds of calls to manage. They had shifts of volunteers (14 on a shift) working every day, including weekends and holidays. Volunteer Houston continues to be inundated with calls. New programs that that go beyond just basic needs are emerging daily and Volunteer Houston is working to connect volunteers with opportunities to help. New ideas are being considered such as designating VCs in different cities as ‘centers' for specific relief efforts. While local recovery efforts have been the primary focus of Volunteer Houston, conversations have been initiated with POLF and other VCs to start centers to help find missing people. This includes efforts to put together a Katrina victim location database. Most recently as of 9/26, Volunteer Houston has had to focus much of their efforts towards Hurricane Rita related activities such as putting together a Command Post to primarily help people from outside of Houston who have been displaced by the storm . Current plans are for this Command Post to be manned 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A report on CVC related Hurricane Katrina activities as of 9/30 are as follows: The Houston Corporate Community Relations Council (CCRC), as an official organization, did not really commit to any Katrina related activities but its companies have been very active. The first wave of Katrina evacuees were estimated at 170,000 people and 30,000 more came to Houston in the final hours. Volunteer Houston and the local Citizen Corps were given the responsibility of managing the volunteer involvement for the Astrodome. The CVC companies contributed mightily to this effort and were in communication with evacuees' daily regarding their needs. The work to be done was determined hour to hour. Volunteer Houston Chief Executive Officer Carrie Moffit believes that the network of relationships that were formed through actions of their CVC were invaluable and played an important role in relief efforts. Prudential Financial, a CVC member, granted Volunteer Houston $30,000 to help with the extra expenses that have been incurred as a result of this relief effort. (9/30/05)
Volunteer Center of North Texas Serving Collin, Dallas and Tarrent Counties – Dallas, TX
The Volunteer Center of North Texas has been engaged in a number of Katrina related activities. Some of the VC's activities involved being responsible for the intake of walk-up volunteers at the victim centers, via Internet and telephone. Also entering volunteer information into a spreadsheet and gathering information from second and third responder agencies on their disaster related volunteer needs. In addition to these activities, the VC deployed volunteers to sites where volunteer help was needed and conducted volunteer training when needed. Over a five-day period (9/1 – 9/5) the VC registered over 5000 volunteers and deployed over 1500 into action. The VC is currently viewed as the main point of contact for Volunteers in North Texas and plans on continuing to take the necessary steps to keep volunteers mobilized throughout all phases of assisting displaced evacuees of Hurricane Katrina. (10/18/05)
Tennessee
Hands On Nashville - Nashville, TN
Hands On Nashville has been Nashville's key volunteer resource agency and was instrumental in mobilizing volunteers in response to Hurricane Katrina. The agency partnered with the Red Cross for volunteer intake and has placed more than 1,900 volunteers into service, including 1,000 volunteers who were trained to assist in local shelters. Hands On Nashville provided volunteers at local food banks, and, with the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, organized a job fair for evacuees. As needs continue to present themselves, Hands On Nashville is partnering with public, private and governmental entities, including Volunteer Tennessee, to address issues related to evacuee resettlement. (10/3/05)
Volunteer Memphis - Memphis, TN
Volunteer Memphis, the only volunteer reception center for the greater Memphis area, received more than 1,000 volunteers via telephone calls and walk-ins. This agency was the primary source of volunteers at four key shelters open in Shelby County. Volunteer Memphis continues to work in partnership with the Tennessee Office of Homeland Security, the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, the Memphis area Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster, and the Memphis area Citizen Corps Council to anticipate and respond to evacuee needs. Volunteer Memphis developed its emergency response capacity as an outcome of a Corporation for National and Community Service Homeland Security Special Volunteers Program grant administered by Volunteer Tennessee. (10/3/05)
Utah
United Way of Utah County Volunteer Center – Provo, UT
The United Way of Utah County Volunteer Center is providing 2-1-1 staff members for the call center in Monroe, Alabama. The United Way of Utah County VC plans on having two staff members in Monroe at all times throughout the month of September. In addition to this, they have also been involved in providing supportive services in taking care of the evacuees that are stationed at Camp Williams in Utah. (9/15/05)
Wisconsin
Volunteer Center of Washington County – West Bend, WI
The Volunteer Center of Washington County, WI is coordinating information flow through a series of Fact Sheets providing current information on all forms of response. The Fact Sheets are posted on the Volunteer Center web site in addition to being made available via a large email distribution list as well as being printed in the local newspapers to keep the county informed of ways they can volunteer and donate. The Volunteer Center works closely with area Salvation Army and American Red Cross Chapters to link volunteers and contributions, as well as with community groups coordinating donations for hurricane relief. The Volunteer Center chairs Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster of Washington County and administers Citizen Corps of Washington County. Center Executive Director Betsy Wilcox is being deployed on October 5 th to assist with volunteer response in Lafayette, LA. A donation drive is set to begin to assist Volunteer Ascension in Gonzales, LA with the collection of school supplies and personal care items. (9/30/05)
Volunteer Center of Greater Milwaukee Inc. – Milwaukee, WI
A report on the Volunteer Center of Greater Milwaukee Inc.'s CVC related activities as of 9/30 are as follows: The CVC (Greater Milwaukee Business Volunteer Council) has been fortunate to have many active companies as part of its council. It should be highlighted that, Miller Brewing Co. has donated $1,000,000 to Katrina related activities and has sent eighteen truckloads of water directly to the affected area. Assurant Health - Milwaukee Foundation has donated $25,000 while the New York office has donated $250,000. In addition to these generous donations, Assurant Health is also holding several local fundraisers to help raise additional funds. Kohl's Department Stores is matching associate's contributions up to $250,000 while donating gently used clothing for children and families. US Bank has also set up a fund for Katrina relief - any donations to that fund will be donated to the American Red Cross. Rockwell Automation donated $250,000 to the American Red Cross as well and is matching dollar for dollar employee contributions up to $100,000. Northwestern Mutual donated $1,000,000 to American Red Cross while Johnson Controls collected household items and purchased twenty RVs to serve as temporary housing in the affected area. Dana Corporation had several fundraisers with all donations going to Katrina relief, while teams of volunteers have also been assisting local Milwaukee efforts. (9/30/05)
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