Helping Out in the Gulf Coast (Part 1 of 2)
Foundation Responds to Hurricane Katrina

By Crystal N. Hill and Kate McGill

Everyday, the Points of Light Foundation & Volunteer Center National Network engages and mobilizes volunteers who help solve serious social problems in thousands of communities. When Hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused widespread devastation in the Gulf Coast region, the Foundation immediately directed its efforts toward the impacted communities.

To support Gulf Coast Volunteer Centers in their efforts to aid Hurricane Katrina survivors, the Foundation launched the Points of Light Disaster Recovery Fund. Started with an initial grant of $500,000 from The Walt Disney Company, the Fund now totals an estimated $1,556,300 and is targeted to grow to $2 million. Recent hurricane recovery efforts illustrate the vital role Volunteer Centers play in helping communities respond to and recover from such disasters.

“The Foundation is challenging others to match Disney's generous commitment to this effort,” said Robert Goodwin, President and CEO of the Points of Light Foundation & Volunteer Center National Network.

In conjunction with the additional funding and volunteer management support that the Points of Light Foundation is providing to the states affected by Hurricane Katrina, 1-800-Volunteer.org has become critical to the management of the unaffiliated volunteers who are interested in helping with the recovery effort. Currently, a total 78,599 volunteers are listed in the 1-800-Volunteer.org system. Of those volunteers, 3,609 are registered under Emergency Response events. A national online network, www.1-800-Volunteer.org helps volunteers find local and national opportunities to serve.

“When we saw how effective 1-800-Volunteer.org was during the recovery efforts of Hurricane Emily, we knew we had a tool that would be critical to the volunteer management efforts in the Gulf States,” said Goodwin.

1-800-Volunteer.org, which is housed on servers outside of the affected areas, has allowed Volunteer Centers to drive interested volunteers to the web to register so that they can free up local phone lines. Recognizing the critical infrastructure that 1-800-Volunteer provides, Motorola has provided $50,000 for necessary phone improvements.

MissionFish, an online service that allows individuals to raise money to benefit nonprofits through trading on eBay, also offered a unique opportunity to assist in recover efforts. MissionFish staff knew they were in a prime position to leverage the eBay technology to help raise money in the wake of Katrina.

Kathleen Langheck, director of Client Development said, “We learned a lot from the tsunami last winter. We took what we learned from that tragedy and developed a disaster response plan. Because we had a comprehensive plan in place, the MissionFish team responded to Katrina in less than 24 hours.”

A new section of MissionFish.org was created that highlighted all the organizations involved in the relief efforts and items that were being sold to benefit Katrina relief efforts. MissionFish's numbers are a testament to their success: between August 31 and September 21, 38,863 items were listed on behalf of nonprofits on the Katrina Hurricane page and the expected total earmarked for Katrina relief is $997,955.93.

Supporters of the vital relief work being done by the Points of Light Foundation & Volunteer Center National Network can donate to the Points of Light Disaster Recovery Fund at www.PointsofLight.org. For more information about 1-800-Volunteer.org and the new features that have been deployed related to supporting the Gulf States, contact Katherine Watier, KWatier@PointsofLight.org or 202-729-3231. To raise money through online auctions, visit www.MissionFish.org.