To gear up for the National Conference on Volunteering and Service in New Orleans this June, we have established a civic pathway through the U.S. calling it the Road to the Gulf. The “road” is a mindset towards self sufficiency and sustainable action in communities. Its purpose is to train service leaders, activate volunteers to join in service projects that address local conditions, and provide support for families and organizations in the gulf region.

The road has service “stops” in Phoenix,  Washington, DC, Kansas City, Chicago, Atlanta, Charlotte, Birmingham, and San Francisco. These service sites have deliberately focused on issues that are particularly relevant to volunteer support… issues whose very nature inherently calls for the support of people coming together to take voluntary action.

We call these four issue areas the “four E’s.”

• Education
• Environment
• Economy
• Emergency preparedness

The strategic service stops along the Road to the Gulf, have conducted projects that address these four community-specific needs, through some examples:

• Refurbishing libraries and classrooms
• Restoring parks and open spaces
• Assembling energy efficiency kits for low-income families
• Packing supply kits for New Orleans children

The service project stop in San Francisco focused on the Environment and Education and volunteers assembled 630 ecology kits (Nature Circles) for the Recovery School District in New Orleans. HandsOn Charlotte volunteers focused on Emergency Preparedness and Education and packed 200 school supply kits for kids in Mississippi along the gulf coast.

If you want to read about the specific service activities within each “stop” click here to visit the HandsOn Network blog.

If you want to learn more about the final service project in New Orleans click here to visit the NCVS blog.

The Road to the Gulf is almost complete.  If you wish to get involved click here to sign up for an online service leader training course under the ‘sign up here' tab.