KatrinaAdvocate

January February 08 Updates

2008-03-12T13:27:00.001-05:00

2/13 Since we're so close to St Valentine's Day, I figured I'd write in red. Is it my color?
Well, a few things I've been trying to accomplish for 2 years is finally starting to occur. Vegetable gardens! A few of us dubbed them Recovery Gardens after the WWII Victory Garden. Anyway, a friend in VA and her Master Gardener's club collected over 100 packets of seeds to send to my families (5) and any organizations I have (2).

Then, I wrote to a few other people, and a friend of one of the orgs up here in NY is donating to the cause. Woo! Her website - http://www.seedsforpeace.net/. I like the site - very direct! Very simple. No trying to figure out what page you want. Nice!

Anyway, she's going to be helping 1 family in Kiln that has pledged to use as much of their property as possible to growing veggies for the community. It's a family that has received virtually NO assistance, can't afford their insurance anymore, and yet is willing to do this for their neighbors. WOW.

If you'd like to help out, either donate to SFP directly, or contact me and I'll help direct you.

So then, I forwarded a msg from the Renaissance Garden Project in Biloxi MS to my Master Gardener friend in VA about their efforts to give out bulbs, seeds, and plants to people in an effort to get some GREEN growing again. You have to realize the tree death alone would fill a forest the size of the state of Maine. That's 33, 215 square miles of trees. Add the shrubs, green spaces, and cultivated gardens and there is still virtually no green all along The Storm's path.

She sent that email to her group and they are starting to snoop around to find more to send. WOW. How cool is that?!

This is just such a fantastic moment. Thank you to everyone.

2/1 Hey gang. A few people in my community have taken the recovery effort under their wing and are giving me stuff to send to my families and organizations. It's great!

I just got about $15 worth of labels and boxtops for education ready to send to the BWSD in Bay St Louis, MS. I send 1 of those envelopes about every quarter, so it's got to help some.

Also just got 4 bags of clothes. Have washed them and will sort them tonight to send out to a couple of families.

The magazine drive is just successful enough. LOL - I'll be able to send magazines to about 5 families every month for at least 8 months now. Hopefully, will be able to make it a full year or more, but we'll see. At least this way the kids will have something to look forward to every month, AND be educational without them really knowing it. To me, that's the real plus.
Found out my mom needs renal stents. The arteries to her kidneys are only 40% open. They generally do surgery when they're 60% open because the kidneys need full flow to detox the body properly. I'm hoping they schedule the surgery soon. My family isn't good at the waiting game. Me in particular.

So, this means I'm back on full house duty. I have to take care of the entire thing again. She had taken over a little, but it's been decreasing substantially in the last month. She'll help very little now, which I understand, but doesn't make it easier for me.

This also means I'll have to cut back on this again. I was starting to become more active again, coming back slowly rather than just jumping right back in. But, as it stands now, it'll be another month before I can start back up.

I'll still be sending boxes and such, just not any activity on the blogs. I'll try to post information, but I don't know how much will be able to be posted.

Leslie

1/25/08 Sorry it has taken so long. Been working on another quilt for pay. Speaking of which, I haven't posted the pictures of the quilt for the March of Dimes fundraiser in Biloxi. They are working toward starting a mobile prenatal unit to better serve those who still don't have access to transportation - and there are so many in that position!
It's a lap quilt with a fleece back. The center medallion is from a 200 y.o. Baltimore Album Quilt with the true spirit of the BAQ style of many different fabrics. There are no two fabrics that are the same within it, including the whites of the birds.

The fleece back shows the quilting very well, keeps the quilt much lighter.
The block framing the medallion is called "Hands All Around", which was designed around 1900 for fundraising purposes. Again, no fabric was used twice. The fabrics were from MS, NY, MD, KY, Australia, and England.

I've also been able to send magazines to 6 families - woo! Thank you to all!

I have sent seeds for a small basic garden to 4 families and would love to assist more, should anyone wish to help in the area. I've asked the schools if they'd like to start "Recovery Gardens", but they just don't have the space yet, with FEMA trailers still surrounding. I am yet again hoping for community gardens, but don't have the time to put into talking churches and volunteer centers into it. Sad, but true.

My mom is getting ready for some stents - more angioplasty. This time of her renal arteries - kidneys. Those areteries are almost completely shut off, so this is somewhat important to sustaining life. The final testing is this coming week, and then scheduling of the angio. They may end up doing one for her right arm, carotids and her legs, but that's what this next test is for - how many more arteries are affected?

1/6/08
My wonderful friend of a reporter posted in our paper that I am collecting magazines. Oop! Eep, even! I wasn't expecting THAT.

The response has been positive, but not overwhelming, for which I am thrilled! A local chain eatery - Old Country Buffet is generously offering to be a drop-off location for the magazines. That makes it much easier to collect than having my father go door to door of people who've emailed me saying they'd love to donate their magazines.

So - right now, I will be able to give 3 families (13 kids) at least 3 different magazines on a monthly basis for the next 6 months. And that's just what's up in my bedroom. That isn't counting the folks who've stated they'll continue giving me their old magazines.

It's such a simple thing. Not profound in a visible way, but with profound potential. How many kids will have their imaginations sparked by this? How many will raise their grades enough to get scholarship or even just accepted to college? How many kids will decide on a career through this? It means THAT much.

I may not be able to directly stop the cycle of this disaster, but I just might be able to stop it for a bunch of kids. The future. The future is HOPE.

November December 07 Updates

2008-02-01T11:05:00.000-05:00

12/31/07 Hey gang. I have a new picture! Now all I have to do is get it put up. LOL That'll only take another month or so.

Am feeling better, so am tickled about that.

Had a third article in our local paper this year about the blogs - woo! If it keeps the word out there that people still need help, then I'm all for it. Otherwise, just let me do my work and don't take any pictures!

Am starting 2 new drives.
#1 - magazines. If you have any magazines that you don't keep, but throw out or recycle, please consider sending them to a Katrina Family. It helps the kids with school (like a whole letter grade), it gives everyone in the family something to look forward to, and allows them to have a sense of normalcy that they most likely still can't afford on their own.
#2 - gardens. Yup, trying again. I'll keep trying until I get it right! I've ordered seeds for 1 family to have veggies throughout the year. They have access to soil, compost, containers (for raised bed/container gardening) and a real need for fresh produce. It's just financially out of reach for them, so am giving them enough seeds to do prolonged plantings to keep a steady supply of as many veggies as possible. Since there's no freezer to store for winter, we'll just have to settle for the other 9-10 months.
This too, will help the children stay healthier, allow them time to heal through gardening, teach them more life skills and save the family a huge expense.
If you want to help with either project, let me know. I could use the help!
Contact me at KatrinaCoalition @ aol.com
Thanks! Leslie

12/24/07 I've been laid up again. Hate that! I've been feeling like crap since the beginning of this month. It's time it stopped.

All of the families getting boxes have gotten them. I just heard from 1 family where all of the clothes I sent fit! Considering it was for 4 different girls, I was pretty excited. I don't always get that right.

I've sent out a request to my family and friends that if they don't otherwise recycle their magazines, to please contact me and I'll send them down to any number of families. It helps the kids with their grades SO much - particularly National Geographic. And something so simple that will help raise the potential of their future is so important.

If you'd like to help, let me know. There are many ways to reuse your magazines in your area, but we can also find ways to have you send them to a family. email me! It's Christmas. I'm dizzy. Life sucks along those lines. But the number of people who's hope is raised this season really makes it far more bearable.

Love to all. L

12/1 The difference a day makes! Woo! I had contacted a guy through our paper about some stuffed animals. I got those and much more! Clothes! Girls's clothes! So I've spent the afternoon and evening washing, ironing and sorting them. Only 3 of the pieces have small stains - the rest are pristine! I have about 8 girls on my list who can benefit, and all will get at least one new outfit. I am so excited! Plus, someone had made a baby blanket, but hadn't put any batting in - so I ripped the seams out and will quilt it up tomorrow to go with a couple of other baby things for one of the families. I don't know which one yet, but one of them! So right now, with the temperature hovering around 14 outside, 80 inside (woodstove my Dad stoked to the hilt), my livingroom is filled with Christmas Future! L

11/27 Much has been done in the last month. ...I have another update post specifically for holiday work
I've just sent out 20 letters to different churches in my radius of ability to travel. The first year I sent them out, I got a fairly large response. Last year I didn't get any response, but I worded it entirely differently. This year, with 2 articles in the paper regarding my work and wording it like the first year, I'm hoping to get a larger response again. Keep your fingers crossed.

I still have much to do on the blogs in the next few days for the holiday effort, but am making progress. I got a great deal done last night, and hope to do the same today.

Life has settled down, but hasn't, all at the same time. It remains fully overwhelming. While my mother's condition improves, issues continue to show themselves. Today she goes for an ultrasound of her arms because she has NO pulse in one arm and too high of a pulse in the other. Something is blocking the one and making the rest of the body suffer because of it.

She's also decided the diningroom floor we got her last Christmas must be installed before this Christmas. Talk about adding a little bit of effort to my growing list of work!

Dad is only so-so. His arthritis continues to worsen - as does his eating. His sugar is also getting very bad, and his cholesterol is out of sight, which never used to be. His salt intake makes him go into mild Congestive Heart Failure, but he thinks it's the arthritis that makes his feet swell so. Mmhmmm. So - he's heading for a stroke. He changed his eating habits for an entire month. But that's as long as he was able to manage, and is back to eating badly.

After Mom's heart attack April 1 - how appropriate! - she decided it was time to try to ensure my livelihood after she dies. Right now, I'm supported by them. All summer was spent building a workroom to put a long-arm quilter in. If you want to see pictures of that little project, go here That was a very high priority for her, but we're still not finished with the interior and I have yet to practise on the thing, which makes me very frustrated!

However, all of my research alone saved her over 8G, and my labor saved another 6. It got me back into shape! But it also kept me fully overwhelmed for the entire summer - and the autumn so far.

My autumn vertigo is in full force. The level of symptoms increases substantially, making daily life very difficult. I try to get work done around the house, but it's a struggle.

Am hoping to write to our 2 local TV news shows to get more coverage on the need for items for the Gulf. We'll see. And that's it for now.

It's enough for me! L

Index

2007-12-31T21:35:00.000-05:00

Commentary:
Why We Need To Rebuild

Updates From Leslie
January and February ('06)
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
1/29 December
1/29 January '07
February '07

Ways To Help
Supporting Gulf Fishermen
Starting To Help From Home
2/8 Collect Boxtops For Education
Collect Labels For Education
Children's Program - Art Felt Creations

Letters To Write
Helping Pets
Animal Crisis - Supply and Volunteer Request
Animal Shelter Assistance Request

Holiday Time Request Letters
To Churches
To Companies, Universities, Hospitals, etc.
Lagniappe Day (Boxing Day)

Police Departments
Letter to Police Departments
Letter For Police PBA's

Requesting Volunteers
2/23 Getting Gardeners Involved
Letter Requesting Medical Volunteers
Letter To Get School Teachers To Volunteer Over Summer
Letter For Medical Personnel To Assist
Letter To Culinary Colleges For Staff and Students To Assist
Letter To Local Colleges To Volunteer

Advocating
The Need For Heat
Letter To Assist Gulf Fisherman
Price Gouging Letter To States' Attorneys General
Letter To The Editor Suggesting Ways to Help

Financing The Volunteers
2/9 Getting Transportation for Materials
Major Airline Letter For Discounts To Volunteers
Campmor Letter For Discounts To Volunteers (may be sent to other camping stores)
Tax Write-Off Request To State And Federal Officials

Miscellaneous
2/16 Utilizing NonViolent Offenders For Recovery
1/29 Educate Your Volunteers on Infectious Diseases
Request For Rummage Sale Leftovers For MS
Letter To Local Habitat Restore

April-June Updates From Leslie

2007-11-28T08:04:00.000-05:00

6/6 - at least I think that's the date. Oy. Anyway, I'm trying to take a few moments every time I'm at the computer to update 1 or 2 things. It's going to take a while to get caught up, but I'm down to 121 emails, so I'm psyched!
Val, in Biloxi, is doing the great service of checking all of the sidebar links to make sure they are right - and am first fixing any on the Networking site and will correct all once she's through them all.
So - I just might be back. Not nearly to the extent I was or that I want, but I'll get there yet!
Leslie

5/31
Hey there.
I can't believe it's been nearly 2 months since I have been able to actively work on the relief sites. It's truly breaking my heart.
I've changed the index pages so they better reflect the timeless nature of the information held within it's referenced links, but it still bothers me that I just don't have the time or energy to continue researching.
My mother continues to improve, and hopefully more rapidly as she begins her cardiac rehab in earnest tomorrow. But we all know that strength will only dwindle over the coming months and years as the valve continues to fail with no hope of replacement. Anyone have a new aorta they're willing to part with? (trust me, macabre humor only)
Until then, I am working on a mutual dream of ours to start a business in hopes that she can be an active part of it for even a year before she must really slow down again. I'm also doing much of the household maintenance and all of the yard work. This leaves virtually no room for reading, research, writing and blogwork. For that I am sorry.
I will keep trying to come back. Will update the occasional page, but unfortunately will not resume my previous activity level for another month or more.
I think of and pray for all of you every day.
Leslie

5/7
Hello everyone.
I know not many are reading, but I wanted to share some information...
Gary in DC just sent me some information regarding MS cutting funding for its 15 mental health centers. We KNOW this is a very bad thing for the people of MS. If you know anyone in the mental health field - Licensed Social Worker, Psychologist, Psychiatrist, Critical Incident Stress Team, Stephen Minister, etc., please have them start contacting volunteer centers to go assist. This is VITAL to the recovery of the people - which ARE the states of MS, AL and LA.
A new round of pet food recalls is beginning. Most animal shelters haven't recovered for the first round and are now dealing with another. Val in Biloxi told me their main shelter ran out of food. Ran out! If you are an animal lover, PLEASE consider sending donations to the Humane Society of Southern MS (HSSM.org) or do a search for gulf coast animal shelters to choose your own. Adopt a pet when you volunteer. It will help take the pressure off their already over-burdened system.
Personally - my vertigo is finally easing up a bit. It usually takes my brain about 6 weeks to adjust to a new skill set and we're right on schedule. I'm hoping to start adding a little of the blog work in again as my brain improves. I have nearly 90 emails waiting for me as I remain optimistic that I can do it ALL.
Mom is doing incredibly well. She's about a month ahead in her physical recovery and the depression doesn't seem to have hit yet. They have her on an antidepressant NOW, so hopefully that portion of the post-op crap won't crop up.
My wild child Cicero died. I trapped him instead of the injured Black Guy and so took him to be neutered. He tested VERY positive for Feline Leukemia, so they put him down. He's buried under our purple martin house with 2 other cats - Markie and Porky. I miss the Cute Kiddo!
Black Guy has an injured front paw. I think it was broken, because he's starting to put some weight on it when he walks. Not when he runs, but that's ok. He's getting there. Eating like a little horse, but that's fine.

I hope to do more soon. I know I keep saying that, but it's true. Possibly more this week even! Woo.

L

4/19 Well, some of you know and some of you don't - and I have no clue who reads this. I'll try to do an email update as well, but can't promise a thing.
Mom's out of the hospital from her surgery. She came out of anesthesia 2 hours early, got the breathing tube (extubated) taken out an hour early and came home 1-3 days early.
After some generic resistance, she's doing her walking and has already moved up to the next bracket of difficulty - on the day she was scheduled to come home. WOW.
Sister is gone back to Baltimore and I'm incredibly overwhelmed. BUT, I was able to drive myself to 3 places - all less than a mile away and in 2 trips, but that's generally unheard of for me.
I've sent out 5 boxes this week and will probably send out another 5 next week. Maybe more - I don't know. One of my stops was a church rummage sale just down the road. I'll be going through the dregs tomorrow for more stuff, but got what I could afford today.
Am also sending out boxtops and labels for education to the Bay/Waveland School District tomorrow. I hope it isn't too late for this year's tally, but I truly am not sure. Mom had her heart attack right when I was planning on sending them - end of March.
Am going to do dribs and drabs on the sites as I'm able. Tonight I'm doing some, but I have to start a quilt tomorrow - Saturday at the latest, so that will take a lot of my time.
We're also looking to get a long arm quilter. I know - what is THAT? Go to Nolting.com for a better idea of the model we're seriously considering.
It means yet another out building on the property, but we've found a nice place that builds to spec for very little money. After I see HOW good they are, I'll be talking to them about getting into the transitional home business. They don't have many pictures on their site, but it's AmishWoodWorks.com to get a general idea of what they are capable of. I think it would be a great avenue for them to go in, but we'll see how our building goes first.
Mom really wants to move on that because she has seen her mortality, and it's not long. Because they couldn't do all of the work they had hoped, it appears she has 2 ish years left before the valve completely fails.
It's just incredible how PINK she is. There is blood in that body! Woo! She hasn't looked this good in a couple of years.
So, that's it for now. I miss you all and hope to be back within a few more weeks.
Leslie

July-September Updates From Leslie

2007-11-28T08:03:00.000-05:00

9/13
Wow - virtually a month since my last update to everyone.
Obviously, life hasn't slowed down at all for me. If anything, it's increased substantially.
However, I am trying to keep my hand in things a bit. I am updating a few pages every month, and am finding I'm ok with that. I'm still working on the CoHR, so that's at least once a month.
There's a new organization that has been added. Disaster Accountability Project. Please work with Ben. He's really working to make things better for the next time - because there will be a next time.
There's a new promotion through Boxtops For Education - please check it out - it's more than just the little clipout things to help the schools.
I am also trying to update the "weekly" features with items that are still of consequence, but written are year or so ago. The Letter of The Week right now is about Make a Difference Day. Read it, act!
I'm still working on things - just not nearly as visibly.
Love everyone,
Leslie
8/15 Well, it's official. I've finally admitted I can't continue. I've sent email to those I've been most active with. For all others, there's this.
It's so difficult to face the reality that I have to end this run, but I must. My mom isn't recovering as well as the docs hoped, and my dad continues to decline with his dementia.
Money is an issue with Mom's medical bills. Dad just broke his hearing aids, so there's another $4500 out. Their retirement fund is tied into stocks, and with THAT aspect of life tanking, it's difficult to say how much they'll have by year end. My DSS check is minimal at best, and while quilting is a great hobby, it sure doesn't pay the bills - especially when I just can't do anything close to FT. So, while it might help, it isn't the answer.
I'm continuing to a small extent with 2 of the families on the RPR site, along with small packages to different groups - as I can collect needed items.
I'm also hoping to continue hosting the CoHR on a monthly basis. I actually feel good about this month's. For once there is a fairly large amount of information about the children and their plight through the entire recovery process.
I will probably write editorial type posts as I get information and the ire.
If there is anyone willing to continue the work I've begun on these sites, please contact me @ KatrinaCoalition at AOL.com. We'll talk.
My contacts are VAST. I have some pretty strict rules, and because it's so closely associated with me as a person, those rules would need to be adhered to. But - the work is important. Please consider it.
Thank you to all those who've written to me supporting my decision to "resign". It means the world to me. I hope someday to meet at least a few of you - you became my family, my friends, my support, my hope.
I'll never stop thinking of you, praying for you, working for you - even if on a substantially reduced level.
Love
Leslie

7/18 Wow, my hair has grown since this picture was taken. Will try to get a new one up.
Well, I'm making a quilt for the March of Dimes fund raiser in Biloxi. I do hope it brings in a buck or two for them. However, I know what quilts usually go for at fundraisers, it isn't impressive.
Life here in NY is still hectic. I've done this week's submission of the Carnival of Hurricane Relief. There is SO little out there from emergency services personnel that I know they are suffering in silence. Well, the NOPD isn't. Which I'm glad for.
But it's very frustrating to see they have virtually no voice for them.
I'm still working on the quilt shed, and am very hopeful it'll be complete in the next month. I am getting so tired of dealing with it - on my end. The guys working on it - they could keep working on it for the next 6 months for all I care. But I'm so exhausted all the time.
Blueberries are coming on. Much sweeter than last year! Sun will do that for a fruit.
Am still sending boxes down for people and organizations, but am still just sick over not being able to do more online. One of these days life might allow me to choose this again. I don't know.
More soon....
Leslie

March 07 Updates

2007-04-19T12:31:00.000-05:00

Photo taken 3/4 in front of a mirror. Hence, poor rez.

3/31 Life just doesn't get more interesting, I'm telling you. Have had a lot of great movement on the Real People Relief site, so am thrilled about that. My dad is sending out the last 6 boxes of stuff I had collected - have sent out almost 20 this month. Enough for 1 month. I can only afford so much postage!
Speaking of Dad, he has a killer sinus infection. Finally went to the doc after 2 weeks of feeling worse every day. During that time, he infected both me and my mom. She ended up in the hospital early this AM because of it. She has 2 issues going on at once - probably lung infection and a "cardiac event". She went into congestive heart failure for no apparent reason. Blood work (except ABGs) is fine, EKG is fine, Xray showed lungs half full of fluid. So, they're not sure why it happened, but diurectics took care of it thus far. They are urging her to start a smoking cessation program. I say, this is life. She's smoked for the last 60 years. Ya think she's really going to quit?
So, I've been up since 130AM and am finally feeling like I could nap. Dizzy. Yuppers.
Oh - if anyone can give me an idea of how many dentists were in Hancock County prior to the storm, I'd appreciate it. The MS Dental Association states 13 was all the county had. Like that was enough?! I just have a hard time believing it. They're also strongly suggesting no outside help is needed for the citizens. I've got a letter drafted, but need to have somewhere to send people or 'dental kits', should I get a response to the letter. She gave me little to know assistance in that way.
So, will keep you posted! I'm thinking it's naptime.

3/28 Well, I've had one of those roller coaster days. Vertigo is just slamming me to the couch, and had a dentist appointment, BUT said appointment went far better than originally planned.
All I can say is: Get a second opinion and use Act Restore.
Doc 1 said I needed 8 fillings. Got Doc 2 for the fillings - filled one and said I was good to go, didn't need the other 7. That's an 800 dollar difference in finances.
I bought a lottery ticket. 2 even.
Restore, according to the hygienest in her best conspiratorial whisper, is more than just marketing, works better than their flouride treatment and is about 1/4 the cost of that single treatment.
So - hope to be back up and running in the next day or so - as long as I stay away from reading. LOL
L

3/24 Much going on. My vertigo is better the last couple of days. I've entered a new stage with it. At the beginning, I was just dizzy every day without escape. But, it's been 5 years and while I'm dizzy all the time, there are times I can actually ignore it for up to an hour - so that's huge progress.
But also, now, I am finding medications bother me. The first was a year ago and it took me almost that entire year to figure out it was the medication. Once I was off it, my allergies were better, my vertigo was better and my MOOD was better. This time, I started an allergy med up again - Feb/March are my worst months - and I was instantly worse with vertigo. No depression with it - GOOD - but no reading or computer work either - bad.
Quit taking it and am bumping up good old benadryl to help compensate. So, am back to being able to work on the computer again. Not as much as last week, but will build back up in the next week or so.
Went to a rummage sale - first of the season. I was able to buy about $500 for $34. WOW. Have shipped most of it out already, have 2 more boxes to pack up and another 2 to ship with them Monday and it'll all be on its way.
Generally I HATE rummage sales, but when it's for a good cause - like my families - I'll make the effort to go.
Plus, there are several people who were running the sale who want to assist, so might have gotten another church into my network of helpers. Way cool!
Have sent out over 400 letters to groups I think will listen - from all over NYS.
You know that 90,000 sq. mi. figure bantered about for destruction from Rita/Katrina? Well, if someone asks you - it's the same space as MA, ME, NJ, DE, CT, RI, MD, VT and NH being destroyed. How long would it take to rebuild that kind of area?
And considering NY hasn't rebuilt the 13 buildings that were destroyed (and 25 that were damaged), how long do you think it will take to rebuild that kind of area?
Sent out an update for folks working in Hancock County, MS. If you want to be on that list, please let me know and I'll get you there. Just let me know who you're affiliated with and the email you want used for the updates. It usually no more than 1 every 2 weeks. If I send one out every 10 days, I'm amazed.
So - that's it. I think. In a nutshell anyway. If I think of more, I'll add it.
Take care and write.

3/20 - FYI - Am not going to be posting much for the next few days. My vertigo has decompensated again and am too dizzy to do the reading necessary to update. It's spring - my worst season of the entire year - so it might be a slow one. Please hang in there with me. I'll keep doing all I can...

3/17 Happy St. Patricks Day to all. I do hope it hasn't been exclusively for drinking green beer. I do have to admit, I'm off sweets for Lent and made a banana/nut cake just for today. LOL - have only had 2 thins slices, so am doing better than I thought I might.
Wing Print and Foot Path of Crow 3/18/07

For those who like statistics - I've had roughly 43000 (42600) hits on the blogs since I began this little venture. Not bad considering I've done NO marketing and can't make phone calls to increase my networking field.
The Carnival of Hurricane Relief was being highlighted at www.blogcarnival.com this past Thursday. I was a bit disappointed there wasn't a huge uptick in hits, but about 40 more than average, so it's 40 more than I would have gotten on a Thursday.
And no, I don't post the numbers because this isn't a competition. And to me, that's all those numbers are for - to compete. It just tells me that word is spreading and people are using the resources I've posted - which is the sole purpose.
One of the groups I snail mailed 8 letters in 1 envelope to (still doing that by the way) has offered to send an open letter to ALL of that states university listservs of staff, faculty and students. WOW. Obviously, I'm taking my time with that wording. Keeping it relevent, focused, accurate AND moving all at the same time - not easily done. But, once I'm sure of the wording, I'll post it for you to send out, should you wish.
Small world note - I have a cousin in AZ who stayed with friends for a week in Phoenix. Their daughter was spending her spring break in Pearlington. He said he'd have her email me when she got back, knowing I was trying to help P-ton as well. How wild is that? I remain amazed at how connected we all really are.
I also received a note from the woman who runs Charity in Action. I had sent out a note to all of those working in Hancock County re: some local efforts to get some help rolling in. She read the letter from Suzanne Stahl about the West Hancock Fire and Rescue (Pearlington), and wrote a check for $5000, with fund raising to begin to send more down, hopefully on a regular basis.
How wonderful is that? They need the cash so badly too. Fuel is the huge cost. Some fire departments are ending up limiting their training severely because they need the fuel for actual emergencies. Very scary.
Please visit the Carnival. I have focused on the elderly. I truly tried to find some good news stories or posts from others, but they don't exist. It's tragic how horribly the elderly are being treated. I am appalled and ashamed at the way our nation, gov't and citizens alike, are choosing NOT to assist - except for a few thousand intrepid folks doing everything they can to find ways out of this mess. 3/15 - The Elderly

3/9 How do!
I'm going to harp one more time on the work we've chosen to do - first, a 10 page pdf link Keeping Our Eye On The Ball
Next - some stats isolated from other sources:
Katrina, followed by Rita one month later, were two of the most intense hurricanes ever recorded in the nation’s history.
The storms had a massive physical impact on the land, affecting 90,000 square miles – an area the size of Great Britain.
Over 80 percent of the city of New Orleans flooded – an area seven times the size of Manhattan.
More than 1.5 million people were directly affected and more than 800,000 citizens were forced from their homes – the largest displacement of people since the great Dust Bowl migrations of the 1930s.
These are the reasons we need to stay focused and not get distracted by the tragic, yet small disasters elsewhere in the country. We've given our word to help the COAST. Others in the nation can and will assist the smaller disasters that continue to occur.
You know what makes me feel rich? New socks and new jeans. I haven't bought socks in over 2 years and haven't had more than 2 pairs of jeans in at least 15 years. I still have to buy the socks since I'm down to about 5 pairs and they're pretty thing. But I now have *5* pairs of jeans. WOW. A tan pair, dark blue pair, 2 medium blue and 1 faded blue. Who knew you could actually USE that many?!
So, I've gotten through about half of my printing of letters to mail out. I'm doing the biggy first. It's 8 letters in 1. I'm sending it to a national group similar to Alternative Spring Break called Campus Compact. I've been in contact with one of the heads of the national department. The Powers That Be strongly urged him to remove Katrina from the website's home page. But he hinted that if I sent a letter or two to the different states' departments, I just might see a resurgance of assistance. I love reading between the lines!
So, I'm sending 8 letters in one envelope. I might as well overwhelm them as much as the rest of us are. But it really shows how large the need still is. To me, that's most important.
I'm continuing to break up the resource pages as they become cumbersome. I've added more than I thought I would, and am going to be breaking more out as well. But, it should make the pages less overwhelming to work with and make it so folks don't have to scroll through pages to find something.
Have made some big progress with different networking projects. If you know of anyone starting a community project within the Gulf, please let me know! We, as volunteers, as well as (and more importantly) the nation need to see what all of these folks are trying to do to help themselves.
We'll get there yet.
Please write soon.
Picture of my Fat Boy (Jaspurr), sleeping
3/4 - Am updating resource pages - have 2 done and am adding at least 2, please be patient.
3/3 Hey Folks. If this is disjointed, it's due to my vertigo having "decompensated" this weekend. I'm dizzier than a dirvish right now.
Anyway...
I've noticed a disturbing trend, especially among the Virtual Volunteers. Many are taking their efforts to a national level. While I applaude the notion of sharing the knowledge and information gained through the recovery efforts in the Gulf, I cannot applaude how it's being accomplished.
We, as a group, committed to helping the Coast recover. By using our time and nergy researching resources for states other than those in the recovery area detracts from and to the detriment of those we've given our word to helping. I know we are helping those who evacuated, and that research isn't being wasted, but Alaska?
As an example - a group I work with has an incredible amount of information on resources for every state in the nation. But they haven't spent that same energy in researching the resources available to the people in MS, AL or LA. I just sent them my list of 40+ organizations and agencies that are in just one county. And when you remember that about 100 counties were DESTROYED by Katrina, how many more are they missing?
Plus, most natural disaster strike no more than a half dozen counties in any given state, and do no more than sporadict destruction, with even more sporadic damage. Katrina destroyed all infrastructure in those 100 counties.
These are the people we said we'd help. Not the ones who still have roads, sewer, water, post offices, grocery stores, schools, and 95% of their homes liveable (vs. 95% washed away).
I have offered my information and knowledge to those who have had a disaster strike - my area was hit by a 300 year flood June, '06, and established a blog for the initial information citizens would need to start getting their lives back together. From there, I have been very much in the background and they research my sites rather than come to me directly. It allows me to remain focused on my goal of Hancock County, MS and the rest of the Gulf Coast.
[hopping off soap box]
I have found that I make an effort to update 6-10 pages on my sites. I found this out because I've begun keeping notes on what I update - I've been losing track lately. I then found out WHY I was losing track - I have more than 700 pages to keep track of.
I remain amazed that I have that much information to process on a daily basis and that it remains this constant this long after the disaster struck. I don't argue at all because I'm in the for the long haul. I just am amazed that there is this much to assimilate, colate and disseminate daily!
I also remain about 40 emails behind. That just won't change, I'm afraid.
Am preparing for a pretty big mailing binge. LOL - I can mail up to 5 pages with a first class stamp. So I am hoping to utilize this by reviewing all of my letters, printing out the relevant ones and sending them as a packet rather than a single page letter to different organizations around the state. I might as well go through a ream of paper per roll of stamps!
I'll let you know what ones I settle on in case you wish to do the same.
I've also had some help from a great friend who's also a VV in reviewing the look of the blogs. She helped me incredibly, and so the side bar has a new look that works far better than the old one. I will be doing similar work to some pages as I have the eye/brain power.
Take care.
Leslie

From CoHR Children

2007-03-14T08:12:00.000-05:00

From 2/15 with updates throughout the month

This edition's topic shall be Children. They are so fragile, so resilient and so neglected throughout the recovery. It hasn't been intentional, but even the infrastructure of child welfare was completely destroyed. Children's Homes, Shelters, Foster Homes - all wiped out. Social workers, child advocates, even police departments are working with reduced or non-existent staff. And so, they are first.

3/12 Videos from WLOX - Katrina Kids
2 part series at bottom of WLOX homepage. Go to Special report section of www.WLOX.com for more information

3/7 The Giving Circle - Is sponsoring an Easter Egg Hunt in Waveland, MS. With some extra help and work, it will excced 400 children and 3-4 organizations co-sponsoring. If you want to help - contact Sharon@TheGivingCircle.org.

Random Kid - Kids Helping Kids (2/24)

Muhlenberg Weekly - Photo Exhibit of and by Katrina Children (2/24)

Allen L. Roland - Katrina - The Good The Bad The Ugly (2/24)

Miss MS Teen - Project Mommy for Hancock County, MS (2/23)
3/7 - Picture of Ms Tasia is on the page linked above.
3/5 http://www.namiss.com/eventresults/winners/?id=2006%20State%20Mississippi - search MS and she'll be at the bottom of page

Terry - Hope Haven Children's Shelter - 3/5 he's working with BucksMont on a BIG project - more soon.

CNN's New Weekly - Gumbo helps kids tell their stories in NOLA

The Mobile Learning Institute - The Children in Their Own Words.

Mercy Corps - One Survivor's Efforts To Help Children See

Christian Children's Fund - Tsunami Children Write

Story Of A Storm - Written By Children The Week After

Boys and Girls Clubs - A dated message, but current numbers

Lori KG - An Artist Helps Her Community's Children.

Linda - Pictures and news of Pearlington's Children

Ginger - 8 People in a Single-Wide 3/5 - She's added a comment for folks to read

Our Lady Academy - MS's Only All Girls School A Message of Hope

JB - An article sent to me by a great teacher in MS

Compiled from Katrina's Angels - Financial Aid For All Students

Software Suggestions 4 Donated Computers

2007-03-08T13:49:00.000-05:00

From Microsoft's page regarding how to donate computers:

"If possible, keep the operating system intact. If you are donating
hardware with a pre-installed Microsoft operating system, keep in mind that
the license is only valid when used on the original OEM machine on which it
was first installed. Since charitable organizations usually cannot afford
to purchase and license new operating systems, a legal transfer (keeping
the machine and operating system together) can be very helpful. Linux and
Mac operating systems have different requirements, but we urge that
whenever possible, please pass on the operating system software with all
donated computers."

http://www.microsoft.com/education/TenTips.mspx

This page also has info on tools that "wipe" personal info off of the computer.

3/30 - Just heard from 2 large hospitals in Baltimore - they are incredibly frustrated by the fact they must protect the hospital and physically destroy all hard drives of old computers. Someone good at forensic reconstruction of a hard drive can bring back the information, so all HD's are put through a magnet, rendering them useless.

Anybody have solutions to this problem?

February 07 Updates

2007-03-03T17:12:00.000-05:00

2/3 I'm writing on the fly, so I hope this doesn't seem too disjointed. And while I have many projects to address, I'm leaving them out of this update in order to step up on the good old soap box.
#1 - There has been something of a row over a volunteer in Hancock County. There are those who have been uneasy with her, those have defend her to the death and those who have been robbed by her. I'm sure all of those who have worked closely with any of the survivors could share a story about a volunteer or even themselves with all 3 of those feelings being used.
So that isn't even what's bothering me. What IS bothering me is how personally some are getting in defense of their position. Lashing out at others, regardless of how strongly you feel about something, is wrong. Period. It's childish, it's unprofessional, it's uncalled for. Agree to disagree and move on. Don't work with that particular volunteer anymore if need be. But do not get personal.
The one attack that is bothering me is judging someone whether they have been to the region or not. Guess what kids? We all need each other, whether we are getting our hands muddy down south, or staying home and working the recovery effort behind the scenes. I know of more than 1 volunteer that could NOT do what they are doing without someone staying home taking care of bills, children, homes, family members, etc. I also know of more than 1 volunteer who just can't make it down for physical reasons, financial reasons, family reasons, etc. And they are doing at least as much as the person who is muddy and has a hammer in their hands.
When I say at least as much as the muddy one - I mean this: How many families have they given hope to, help to, a voice for? How many volunteers have they been able to recruit to go down, donate money, materials or time behind the scenes? Contrast this to the muddy one who is helping but one family with just their hands, with no recruiting, no finding donations or materials.
We need each other. Period. This effort is taking all of us. So practice what I try to - Principle Above Personality. We have the same goal. The same principle. We don't all have the same personality. Deal with it.
#2 - I read a statistic on a gov't site this week - every year there are 30-60 natural disasters in the US. WOW - I knew the number was up there, and am more accutely aware of their existance since starting this volunteering, but I had NO clue it was that high. So what I'm going to say is this - commit to one. Don't go trying to help everyone who has a larger sized disaster. Be sympathetic. But you can't help everyone and you can't save everyone. Save who you started out to save. Katrina's Angels has a great saying that goes something like this, "Commit to doing, and do what you commit to." Stay focused.
Also realize that tragedy isn't that far away from any of us. And if we, as volunteers, are going to continue assisting those who are in the middle of a disaster, we need to be prepared to help ourselves. In other words - practice what we preach! The following link has many links and ideas to prepare our homes, our businesses (our volunteer EFFORTS), our families and ourselves for the very real possibility of a natural disaster striking us or our area. Start working on it a little at a time.
http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2006/06/preparing-for-disaster.html
Finally - please read the Community Garden page. Then contact Lynn or me with your interest in participating.
http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2007/02/community-garden.html

2/10 Happy Almost Valentine's Day to you. We've kind of taken the Saint out of the day, haven't we?
At any rate, it's been a busy week. I'm dizzy for it, but that's not all bad. I like busy and so I'll tolerate dizzy for it.
I'm actually backed up on letters for the Letter of The Week spot! Not a bad place to be!
I've written one that is posted on the Advocate site first, and will move over to the Letter page the week of the 25th. If you'd like to work with it now, it's on getting Master Gardeners and other green thumbs to come assist with all of the opportunities that just won't quit in the recovery area.
http://katrinaadvocate.blogspot.com/2007/02/garden-and-greenspace-letter.html
This week's letter is written by Suzanne, another volunter, who has been able to maintain contact with the West Hancock Fire and Rescue Department. They are in a real bind - have been from day 1, but it's getting worse. If you'd like to preview that one to send to your local FD's, you'll find it on the Pearlington site:
http://pearlingtonrelief.blogspot.com/2007/02/west-hancock-fire-and-rescue.html
I've written a letter to send to a medium sized trucking company in hopes of getting more assistance in shipping materials and goods down. Will post that in beginning of March, if you're so inclined. I'll also be posting it on the Advocate site prior. Will be mailing it Monday.
Have started sending Spring Break letters to all NYS universities in hopes of getting any organizations going down to assist in the transport of stuff. If they're already going, might as well cram their vehicles full! That letter is up NOW and will be the second letter on the page in just a few days. Send it to your state's universities. I've sent 20 and am only through "C".
I've written a PSA for your local community calendar thing on your Public Access Channel:
The Gulf Coast Still Needs You
Help 1 or many, here or there
Contact (your first name here) (your phone number here)
(your email here)
You can then direct them to your favorite group, you can direct them to the Real People Relief site to assist a family - or another Adopt A Family program you might know about. Very little effort on your part and you could be directing hundreds of $$ worth of assistance. All for a 39 cent stamp. Very cool investment!
I've also started the gardening series, other than just posting the information on starting a community garden. Right now there the Community Gardening page and a Container Gardening page. Tonight I am hoping to post the Pest Control page. This doesn't include teen-age two-legger pests. Just mostly 4-legger types and some flappy things.
I've also agreed on being the host of the Carnival of Hurricane Relief once a month - every third Thursday. This means NEXT Thursday. Eep! I want to have 2 main foci - children and emergency services. The children will be first. Which brings me to some introspection. Another volunteer and I were talking about the series of crises in the South. This person heard of the police turning a blind eye at a very obvious abuse case and just walking away.
Tragic and enraging, right? Well, let's think about this. All buildings were destroyed. The storm didn't say, "oh, this is a children's home, I'll spare it." It nailed everything. Boys and Girls clubs, children's homes, SOS shelters, foster family homes.
Everything set up to assist the children. Next, only about 60% of any demographic is really back. Yes, populations are back up, but mostly with contractors and such. It's still not everybody. Some places are to 90% - great! But that also means 90% of the abusers are back too.
No one has real homes - over 30,000 trailers in MS alone - still. This means foster families who might take more than 1 kid in normal circumstances, are hard pressed to take even one.
Then look at the police forces. They are still working with something like 60% staffing. Violent crime is up, violent crime against police is up, domestic violence is up (where most cops get hurt).
Low staffing, higher violent crime, no where to put the kids. How enraged do you think the police are at that? How defeating do you think it is?
So I'm focusing on the children. If you know of any information - good, bad, indifferent - the Gulf kids, the kids who are helping, etc., let me know. I'll post it.
Thanks everyone.

2/17 Jello! Well, New England has survived the "Valentine's Day Storm of '07". Oy. The news always has to put a title to it. It's still colder than a well digger's you-know-what, but it's bright! A whole lot brighter than before the snow fell.
Brice from WQRZ (Hancock County radio station) emailed a whole bunch of folks to say he would be in Saratoga Springs NY for their Mardi Gras celebration this weekend. I sent him a few pointers - bring every piece of warm clothing you have. Find some balm for the INside of your nose (trust me on this). I guess he got a good chuckle out of it since he sent it to a few other people as well. I heard from one of them. Actually, I'm hoping he'll find what I feel to be true - 18 and dry feels a whole lot warmer than 30 and damp. I'll let you know if I hear anything.
I've sent out 2 mailings of the college Spring Break letter to get them to help transport materials down (that have already been collected). I've heard back from 1 of the first set's colleges. I still see real success mailing to colleges and universities. You should try it. It's a great investment.
I've also just mailed a letter to the founder, CEO, President and Exec. VP of 2 Men and a Truck. I'm hoping by combining a way for them to go "green" with assisting in the transport of materials to the Gulf, they'll like the idea and help. There are so many organizations who need assistance getting items down there that having even just one company help will be a huge asset in the progress. To help convince them, please consider mailing it as well...
http://katrinaadvocate.blogspot.com/2007/02/2-men-and-truck.html
Good and bad news to cotinue. One family from the RPR site had that NOLA tornado pass within 3 blocks of her house. She was going to be helping at the local shelter on her days off from work.
I haven't heard from another family (single person) in a few weeks. Last time this happened, she had been in the hospital for 2 weeks with an unknown respiratory infection that wasn't responding to treatment. Well, when they don't know what it is, it's hard to treat. I'm afraid she's back in the hospital or has died. I truly hope not.
One of my families is splitting up. The stress and their collective illnesses are proving too much for them.
My grandfamily is having serious trouble. The kids are being seriously harassed at school, the house is dilapidated, she hasn't found another job to replace the one that fell through. A highlight is her uncle has applied for a USDA Rural Division Elderly Home Repair Grant. Big name for a little hope.
2 families have found steady jobs, so are beginning to find a way out from under the mountain of stress and debt. I can't begin to imagine. They are staying on the site until we all know they are truly secure.
A new group is forming for future disaster assistance. It's very interesting to be on the ground floor and will be more interesting to see where the group ends up.
I've started a new feature on the Networking blog. I'm proudly becoming a host of the Carnival of Hurricane Relief (http://www.cehwiedel.com/cohr/). This link will be on the Networking blog, and will remain as a Monthly Feature. I'm calling it "Subject of The Month". I will be leaving the links on the page permanently, but each time I host the Carnival, which is monthly, I'll change the subject. The first subject is Children. The second shall be Elderly. Third - First Responders. I will rotate through these quarterly, as I feel they are all very neglected aspects of the recovery effort. http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2007/02/subject-of-month-carnival-of-hurricane.html
Please feel free to send me links as you find them and I'll post them! It will really give a great indepth look at each of these topics.
It is becoming Flea market and church Bane/Blessing sale season! Consider shopping for items for a family as so many still need the most basic of items - cookware, bakeware, towels, clothes, lamps, etc.
Please also consider writing some letters to assist. Trust me, the investment of a single stamp can produce at least $1000 worth of assistance. It feels better than winning the lottery and the odds are far better too! Go to www.KatrinaAdvocate.blogspot.com for all of the letters I've written to date. You can also follow the weekly letter feature for letters that are appropriate for the season and projects by other organizations: http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2007/08/letter-of-week.html
Thanks everyone!

2/24 I hope all are well today. A lot and nothing all at once.
My dad totalled his truck yesterday. Fortunately, no one was injured seriously and it wasn't his fault.
Have been doing a new round of research and networking, so things are a bit crazy.
First - between an active discussion with my brother and one of my families on the Real People Relief site, I finally thought to look for plans on alternative heat and hot water sources.
I found some! Between the dead wood that is everywhere along the coast, the debris that remains in every town, and these plans, I feel there is a very real possibility to give everyone heat and hot water - individuals in homes, FEMA trailers, churches, volunteer villages, etc. This is infinitely doable. I have ordered the plans for the outdoor wood burner, but not the solar hot water heater. Will let you know how the plans look.
To see what I have found thus far:
Next - I have finished the directions for the quilt! Fortitude is its name. Please review its page and email me if you'd like a copy of the directions. I will be submitting the directions to about 3 major quilting magazines in hopes of recruiting people to make these for hurricane survivors.
Fortitude - A quilt for hurricane survivors
I've added some material to the Subject of The Month - namely an effort by a Miss Teen pageant winner for her home town and county - Hancock County. It's to raise funds, awareness and materials for new and expectant mothers dealing with survival, recovery and now a baby.
If you would like to assist in this by taking the announcement to your personal obstetrician's office, I know more than just I will be eternally grateful.
I have more contacts on the Coast for the Community Gardens and greenspace revival initiative. I will be working with them more in the coming weeks to get things hashed out a bit more and get more help coming their way.
If you would like to read about one such organization trying to help 3 counties along the coast, click here
And if you'd like to join the letter writing campaign to get volunteers heading their way, click here
I have so much to write and to mail, I'm finding it a bit overwhelming! I actually have a backlog of letters that I feel need to be sent out NOW. That's always the way!
I have another family leaving FEMA and striking out on their own again. Scary, but great to hear! So many do this before they are really financially ready, but I don't blame them one bit for wanting to get out of those tuna cans/crypts. This makes 4 (about 10%) who have made that much progress since we all met.
If you'd like to assist one of them, please email me or look at their collective pages on the real people relief site
Take care and I'll write more next week.
L

Utilizing First Time NonViolent Offenders

2007-02-16T18:02:00.000-05:00

To Whom It May Concern:

Recently, it came to my attention that the US experiences 30-60 natural disasters per year. Understandably, none are the magnitude of the 2005 hurricane season, but we can learn from that season to better respond to the rest.

During my volunteer efforts with the Gulf Coast, I have been awed by the generosity of all who volunteer to rebuild the region. And yet, much needs doing a full 18 months after the storms and other disasters have occurred throughout the nation in that time frame.

This leaves me pondering how to recruit more people for all rebuilding that have yet to occur.

I would like to propose using state-housed offenders.

A program could be established similar to the “shock” or “basic training” programs within many states’ corrections systems for those who are first time, non-violent offenders wishing to be given a second chance at life through what could be a great vocational tool. It can be a 6-8 week program, working with volunteer crews experienced in whatever stage of the relief/recovery effort is occurring at that time, while under close supervision, of course.

These offenders would gain the same experiences of discipline, physical exertion, and self-worth, while also building life skills, instilling a civic connection probably never before felt and help build compassion for others.

By socializing the offenders, citizens and volunteers alike would help break the stigma that follows any person convicted of a crime, showing compassion comes from all areas of our society.
Please consider this idea. It is worthy of pursuit and study, for the number of good things that could be accomplished through a program like this is almost limitless.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Sincerely

2 Men and A Truck

2007-02-10T17:19:00.000-05:00

Dear Ms. Sheets:

I read with great interest that your company holds community service in high regard and that your company played a vital role at the beginning of the Gulf Coast recovery effort. Thank you!

I hope you will accept the following proposal: To be in the forefront of energy conservation within the transport industry and assist in the development of a relief material delivery system.

Sponsor a medium or large truck to convert from diesel to straight vegetable oil (SVO). Use this truck to haul materials collected for the recovery effort from any northern US region to existing warehouses closer to or within the Gulf region.

The conversion can be done to either a new or used truck, with mileage and maintenance remaining the same, emissions decreasing and fuel costs becoming virtually nil. Using an SVO-converted truck allows you to test the idea of alternative fuels for your franchises, increasing your “green” presence within the transport industry and decreasing possible costs for assisting in the recovery process. Assistance with the conversion might occur through a company advocating bio-fuels called Grease Car (www.greasecar.com).

Coordination would be exclusively with Citizen Action Team (www.reliefdatabase.org). CAT is an all-volunteer agency that was specifically established for the 2005 hurricane season relief effort, but is expanding to include all natural disasters and has been attempting to establish a distribution chain for both current and future needs.

Please contact me with any questions or concerns regarding this proposal.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

And their address:
TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®/ INTERNATIONAL, Inc.
3400 Belle Chase Way
Lansing, MI 48911
http://www.twomenandatruck.com/

The people to address it to...
Mary Ellen Sheets, Founder and Chair
Melanie Bergeron, Chief Executive Officer
Brig Sorber, President
Jon Sorber, Senior Vice President, Franchisee of both Grand Rapids locations and the Lansing location

Garden and Greenspace Letter

2007-02-08T19:40:00.000-05:00

To whom it may concern,

Tens of thousands of people are still living in FEMA trailers since Katrina and Rita hit the Gulf Coast. They have no homes to return to, their original jobs washed away with the hurricanes, and virtually no plant life left to hide the scars these storms inflicted on their region.

And while original soil samples were toxic beyond compare, these areas are now testing within acceptable limits for most native and vegetable plant life.
What the entire region needs is volunteer gardeners to coordinate with local ones removing dead plants, rescuing ailing ones, establishing community gardens and replanting wild spaces with native species to ward off the current influx of invasive species.

These people need ways to augment their meager food sources. This can be accomplished with community gardens located in key areas throughout all of the communities.

They need to see their old estate gardens restored to even just a semblance of their former beauty.

They need to see the wild spaces as they once were, loaded with familiar flora and fauna.

They need to see the vacant home plots covered with something other than weeds and trash.

But they can't do this alone. They need folks who know how to make all of these things happen. They need you.

Please contact:
The MS Master Gardeners Association (msmastergardener.org/)
The LS Master Gardeners Association (www.lsuagcenter.com/mastergardener/)
The AL Master Gardeners Association (www.alabamamg.org/)
For more information on helping them rebuild their coastlines, greenspaces and gardens.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Send this letter to your state's Master Gardener Association. A list of the states' orgs are here:
http://www.google.com/Top/Home/Gardening/Organizations/Master_Gardeners/United_States/
Also consider sending it to gardening magazines such as Organic Gardening, Better Homes and Gardens, Garden Gate, People Places and Plants, Fine Gardening, Horticulture, Garden Design, Country Gardens, etc.
And finally, consider sending it to your local garden clubs, horticulture societies, cooperative extensions.

2/23 - sent to me by a great lady in MS:
When you send the le-mail requesting help with restoring the green space destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, please direct any interested groups and individuals to The Mississippi Renaissance Garden web site at: www.msrengarden.org
We desperately need master gardeners, landscape architects, construction firms, corporations, funds, materials, plants and labor ors to help us restore our landscape in Mississippi. The most devastated counties are Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties. They can also call me at (228) 388-2622 or e-mail me at msbkt@aol.com. The Mississippi Renaissance Garden Foundation has been formed to help the three counties recover their green space. Many plans have been made to do this, but we need the above resources.
Thank you for your assistance in our time of need. You are doing a wonderful job.
Regards,
Martha S. Boyce,
Founder and Executive Director
The Mississippi Renaissance Garden Foundation, Inc

January Updates

2007-01-29T21:27:00.000-05:00

1/27
One of the first times I have felt like I was running backwards in this whole thing. But, I know I'm not - just feels that way.
I've done a bunch of updating on the blogs - added at least 8 sites of assistance to the side bar. Very cool to have those kinds of discoveries!
Also was contacted (on the blogs) by a man in Americorp. I'm still doing research within his contacts before I confirm he's a great find! He certainly is a caring man. That's the most important thing.
Am hoping we can establish a good working relationship in the very near future.
Have finished writing the directions for the quilt - just have to get it into the computer now. LOL Not always an easy task for me. Today is bad besides, so we'll see how soon it happens.
Most of the updates to the blogs has been within the assistance for the families. A ton of grants as well, but nothing I consider GREAT opportunities.
So, a very short update. Am working on the community gardens still - need to do research for that. Am also working on getting assistance for 3 of my families.
Am also going to work on a letter to send to the Working Families Party. While trying to find ANY type of assistance for both single parents and grand families, the only things that come up with any type of regularity are my pages! Well, that and Japan. And GB. And Canada. And Australia. Not here. So much for compassionate conservative. Or liberals. Or churches. Or anyone else. It's pretty disgusting to see.
That's it!
Update me when you can.
Leslie
PS - I forgot this last week - I feel awful!
One of my families - Ginger - is selling most of her 'stuff' on e-bay. She has no room for it, doesn't know when she will again, and isn't doing much to keep food on the table just sitting in boxes.
If you'd like to look at what she has selling:
http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZwistfullistingsQ5f369

1/20
We have snow! Trust me, you do not want to live in the north where it's so dark without snow to literally reflect what little light you do get. Forget direct sunlight!
I finished the quilt and am now getting the directions written to post online for people to use to make a comemorative quilt in honor of all the Katrina Survivors.
I have just posted 2 items to help anyone reading reduce their bills. The first is reducing debt and dealing with debt. It's generalities, but is solid since I've lived most of it.
http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2007/01/reducing-debt-and-payments.html
The second is on reducing your food bills. It has normal coupon clipping, extreme coupon clipping, cooking to save money, etc.
http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2007/01/stretching-food-budget.html
My 10-day "private" update I send to too many people dealt with the infectious diseases yet again. RSV (a child's respiratory infection) is becoming endemic. I'll be writing a letter to the editor of Gulf Coast News, the different local papers (sea coast echo, etc.) and to the schools in hopes of giving them the information they need to control the infection rate within the schools.
Go Saints! Go Colts!
Stay warm, and I hope you keep your electricity!

1/13
What can I say? The Colts won. Who would have thought it! Wow. Amazing game.
Anyway, tons to go through here.
The look on the blogs is evolving. I'm going to do major updates to all blogs on Sundays again. Information on every blog will still occur during the week, but those updates won't be reflected on the others until Sunday.
Have taken the information for "Helping Without Going Down" and made it its own page to hyperlink to from the Index. It rarely changes, shortens the index significantly, but keeps the information very accessible.
I'm using the article index as promised for all articles on all blogs. It'll get big fast, and I'll be breaking it into sub categories within that page soon, but for now Just look there for the most recent dates.
I've written 2 letters this week:
Mailed the quilting letter to quilting magazines and am getting ready to the Am. Quilting Society
Wrote 1 about the current health crisis that's occuring. It's a lot like the Invasion of The Body Snatchers. Both issues are incredibly quiet in their invasion. TB and Syphilis. Am also currently writing another one to send to ALL volunteer agencies that I can to hopefully keep their volunteers safe. Neither disease knows boundaries or intent or goodness of character. No one is safe if one is in contact with either.
Syphilis Article:
http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2007/01/syphilis-on-rise.html
TB Article:
http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2007/01/tb-on-rise.html
Am hoping to get more information on each about signs, symptoms, treatment, etc.
Have also contacted 1 person involved in the health care system recovery effort to collaborate on letter writing and hopefully getting a testing/education program going. This is very bad and needs to be addressed. If we, as volunteers, stick our heads in the sand because the topic is distasteful, we'll be building relief homes for sanitarium use rather than family use.
Please check back here to see the latest news on this.
We're moving forward on the community garden project. Lynn from Katrina's Angels is amazing! She's contacted a woman from the MS Cooperative Extension (or similar) and has gotten great news from her. Barbara (Master Gardener in VA) has made great suggestions and given contact information for the MS State MG Association and their plans.
So, things are moving right along!
Send me your updates for the Year End page as soon as you can.
Thank you!
L

1/6
Hey there! Life is moving at an ever quickening pace. Scary actually. Had 2 deaths in the family. 1 on NYE and 1 on NYD. What a way to start the year. Both were blessings for the people who died, but still a sad way to start.
Anyway, I've revamped the indexes of Networking, Hancock County, Waveland, BSL and P-ton. Will be doing the Artisan, the Emergency Services and the Real People Relief ones when my eyes straighten out.
Am going to be really using the Article Index to help abbreviate the indexes. Plus, by looking there, you'll get a far broader picture of what's going on throughout the region, from generalities to specifics.
Have created a host of new resource pages and will most likely expand to include one more. Don't ask me what they all are because I don't remember! LOL Home Repair, Home Finance, Single Parent, Medical, Disabled, Business, Nonprofit, Furnishings +, Education Financing for both adult and traditional learners, School Assistance. Now I think that's it. They're all on the new Index at the top of those blogs I mentioned earlier.
A few of us caught the idea that was floating in the air about community gardens. I've done some of the research and Lynn has already seriously considered it, so we are all communicating with one another in hopes of getting a series of them started in the Gulf. If you're interested, please email me! I'll send you what we've discussed thus far and include you in further emails.
KatrinaCoalition@aol.com
Have started posting Year-End Updates. Please send me one if you've not done so. It needn't be for your entire group - just you. That makes life much simpler for all. Send it as soon as possible, preferably prior to 1/14. View what I've got on here so far:
http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2007/01/year-end-updates.html
I've posted a request for a coat and winter supply drive as well.
http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2007/01/keep-toasty-coat-drive.html
Please look and consider it! Many of us are having a warmer than average year, and so definitely can sort through our gently used items, OR get to the great sales going on and buy a few things to ehlp this cause.
I honestly think there is more but can't think of it at the moment. I'll add if I think it's THAT important! Take care and write to me!

Advocate For Heat

2007-01-29T21:22:00.000-05:00

1/29 Letter For Editor on Lack of Heat in Trailers
This is in response to the article at:
http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2007/01/going-without-heat.html
To Whom It May Concern:
This winter has been even more difficult than last winter for Katrina survivors.
They are still living in FEMA trailers; many retired or with small children and unable to locate any housing, much less affordable housing.
Most have jobs, but not at their pre-Katrina pay, and can’t afford the Liquid Propane (LP) to heat their tiny trailers, cook on their stoves, or heat water for showers.
In MS, LP is going for $2/gallon with an average BBQ style tank costing at least $20 per fill, lasting them 2-3 days. Who can afford $10/day to heat 200 square feet? How can they manage with so few resources or options and live in trailers that leak water and air like sieves?
FEMA knows of the problem, but refuses to acknowledge it, forcing survivors to live in worsening conditions of cold, moldy and damp hovels. We treat prisoners better than these fellow citizens.
Local media are just becoming aware of this problem. Why did it take so long? Where is the outrage? Where is the good “corporate citizenship” of the fuel companies?
No wonder the survivors feel forgotten.
Help them. Write letters to your government representatives. Write to the fuel companies. Force change.
Sincerely,

Disease On The Rise

2007-01-29T21:18:00.000-05:00

1/15 For All Volunteer Agencies
This letter is intended to alarm you. MS Public Health Department released statistics on TB and Syphilis rates for 2006. The numbers are grim. While reading the following, please be mindful of 2 facts: These are only diagnosed cases and not estimates for the entire population; That consistent health care is still minimal, lowering the number of cases that would otherwise be diagnosed.

TB has increased 12% (http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2007/01/tb-on-rise.html). The factors leading to this increase are vast, from a reduction in healthcare access to unventilated small living spaces. And while TB is difficult to contract, it isn’t rare – proven by the epidemics in our nation’s history. Encourage your volunteers to be tested for TB once or twice per year after working in the Gulf Region.

Please review the FAQS at the CDC’s website and give the information to your volunteers to read as well. http://www.cdc.gov/nchstp/tb/faqs/qa.htm

Even more frightening is the emergence of Syphilis. It has increased 75 % (http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2007/01/syphilis-on-rise.html). With it being known as The Great Imitator, it is easy to not visit the doctor for a proper diagnosis, creating an ever-widening infection pool. Coupled with the un-recovered health care system, Syphilis will spread that much more readily.

Using protection such as condoms helps, but is not fail safe. Studies for pregnancy show condoms 4%-10% ineffective (brand, storage and usage factors), with leakage being the main source of failure. Both Syphilis and HIV are up to 100 times smaller than sperm, making failure rate of condoms far higher for viral STDs. Syphilis makes a person 2-5 times more likely to become HIV infected (due to risky behavior and a reduction in the body’s defenses) as well as other STDs. For this reason, it is vital that people be tested if they become sexually active while visiting the Gulf Coast. http://www.cdc.gov/std/Syphilis/STDFact-Syphilis.htm

Spring Break and Mardi Gras are rapidly approaching. TB and STD transmission will be heightened dramatically due to environment and actions.

Please use common sense. Hope they practice abstinence, but educate them and give them access to protection as insurance policies. Educate your volunteers! Send information on all STDs and TB for them to read prior to traveling to the coast and leave information for them at the base camp. Urge abstinence. Require Hepatitis B vaccination and strongly urge HPV vaccination. Urge them to be tested for all STDs and TB when they return home from the coast. Discretely supply protection.

To order a copy of the Can We Talk? Kit and to learn more about program and the steps for implementing it in your community, visit the Can We Talk? Web site (http://www.canwetalk.org/) or contact the NEA Health Information Network at 1201 16th St. NW, Suite 521,Washington, DC 20036; (202) 822-7570.
· Talking with Kids about Tough Issues. This booklet was prepared by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation (http://www.kff.org/) and Children Now (http://www.childrennow.org/). For information, call 1-916-441-2444.
· Finding Our Voices: Talking with our Kids about Sexuality and AIDS. This booklet is available from Mothers' Voices (http://www.mvoices.org/), 212-730-2777.
· Askable Parent — a booklet developed by the American Social Health Association (http://www.ashastd.org/), 919-361-8419.

December Updates

2007-01-23T12:25:00.000-05:00

12/30 - barely! Well, first, there's the request for information from YOU...
I've gotten a bunch of people saying how cool it would be to have all of the organizations do a year end update. So, I've agreed to compile the information, post it and even forward it to all parties interested (or not even!).

So, here's what I need:

Name (Initials are all I'll post)

Organization Affiliation (if you're not affiliated with anyone, just put NA)

State You Reside

Area or Group You Are Assisting (ie, Waveland, Library, FD, etc.)

Single Column List of Items or Actions (if a box of clothes, just put a box of clothes - don't list individually)

Goals - if you have any for the following year, let us know. We can all help each other when we know what each other is hoping to accomplish.

Please try to keep it in this format for me. It'll make my life MUCH easier.

When I need it - By Jan 3, '07.

10 Q Berry Mud!
(thanks)

Leslie
KatrinaCoalition@aol.com

Onward!
Much has been happening. I have at least one letter to post, and will post to the different groups I'm a member of - it's to get quilting guilds involved.
Have already gotten a half dozen replies for the year-end update, so I suspect that will keep me occupied.
Have tons of photos to go through from Pearlington to post. Have already posted a bunch on the Pearlington site - www.PearlingtonRelief.blogspot.com for those who may not be in the know.
Am starting to help another family who's almost on track and another who is a long way from being on track, but I can help with the little stuff that makes the big stuff go much easier.
Heard about a police officer friend of mine that was assaulted tonight. Not sure if he was shot or stabbed, but injured just the same and a hug manhunt is ongoing.
Am sorting through a lot of my craft stuff to send to one of the families on the Real People Relief site - www.RealPeopleRelief.blogspot.com
Have got a new Resource page for finding furnishings. I have to collect info from a couple of other pages to add to it, so it's not nearly complete...
http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2006/12/resources-viii-furnishings.html

Have also started an information page on videos to coincide with articles and picture links I have as well...
http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2006/12/links-to-videos-and-pictures.html

The guy taking pictures that I'm posting will be leaving soon, but has been along the Gulf for about a week now. His updates are here:
http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2006/12/christmas-trip.html - will be adding some tomorrow AM.

As always, will let you know of anything else. Happy New Year - and I know it will be a good one.

12/23 I really am getting caught up. Well, the picture is similar to the quilt I made. Like an idiot, I didn't take a picture of it. But am hoping to get one from her when she gets back. I hate it when I get caught up in the moment.
I finished sending out boxes to as many of my families as I had stuff for. Some have gotten the boxes, so I know the postal system is working!
My families have had many mini miracles happen for them the last few weeks, so I am thrilled! Life is improving for many of them, giving them hope for the coming year.
Am almost ready for Christmas, but this week had more than 1 distraction. My left eye has had what's called 'detatched vitreous', which can lead to retinal detachment. It's trying. I had to make an emergency visit to the opthamologist. I have a honkin' huge floater now that distorts the vision and gives my vertigo fits, but am learning to ignore my left eye and read anyway. Plus meeting Gary was great, but I woke up dizzy every day this week. So, not nearly as much got done as I hoped.
I've written a new letter - go check it out and tell me what you think. Lagniappe Day - I like it!
I have to rewrite a letter I sent to CNN and the Red Cross about so many families being without heat, electricity or both. Frightening.
So, I am hoping I am now fully back and can keep up with all the sites yet again. Thanks for being patient!
L

12/19 Ooowoowoo. I'm getting back on track!
I finished the quilt, and the lady was thrilled with it! It's in memory of her mother and even I have to say it's a very pretty quilt.
I met Gary yesterday. He's taking a bunch of stuff down for me and for Laura with CAP in Birmingham to Hancock County and NOLA. He came up to get the stuff, stayed for Gumbo (appropriate!) and then got talking about my ancestors' involvement in the Civil War. He even knew what the medal my great great grandfather was wearing. How cool is that?!
I've done some more behind the scenes stuff to keep from getting too overwhelmed. I know, too late.
But, for me, that's quite an accomplishment after having someone new around for over 4 hours. I usually land on the couch for a day or two after that and I was still able to get on the computer to do some filing, do some email, do very little blog work and this update.
AND I got the tree decorated. It's only been waiting a week. I'll take a picture of it. We dug out my great grandfather's childhood sled and put the tree on that, put a sheet under it to look like snow, then the white tree skirt, a red satin ribbon for the rope to pull the sled, and a silver bell on the cross bar of the sled. It's the first time we've used it, so I'm thrilled it works this well. Dad wanted a smaller tree and we didn't. The sled fits without bumping into it and it actually fits the room much better.
I've gotten most of my stuff ready to ship out to 'my' families. I'm glad I waited as Gary stumbled upon a bunch of toys that I was able to incorporate into the packages for Christmas presents. They may not make it in time, but I hope some do. I also got the extras shipped out for the Boys and Girls club of southern Miss. They're short by at least 1000. They'll keep taking presents if you're interested.
I hope to write again before Christmas. Probably Christmas Eve, knowing me. But with any luck, I'll get back on track by then! Fully! What a thought!
L

12/13
OK - WAY late, but I am so far behind I don't think it matters much. LOL
Good news - about half of my families have had at least one person adopt them - so we're doing great there. Most agencies have done really well for their Christmas outreach programs,s o we're hopeful that the kids along the coast will have a Christmas this year. The Feds are looking at the CAT database - in a good way! - it just might get used by them! Common sense just might prevail once in a while! Who knew it could happen on that level?!
Normal News - I got the CPU fan in my computer changed. All by myself. AND it works! I felt like a god for doing such major surgery to the computer and still have it function.
Christmas here at my house is going to be minimal. I got a last minute quilt job that needs to go out in 6 days and I'm just starting to sew it today. So, not nearly as much prep will go into Christmas this year. Life goes on.
Bad news - many of my families are going without heat or electricity or BOTH, along with countless others along the coast. They can't afford the bills because little things keep tripping them up. I've sent a letter to the Red Cross, CNN and the Sun Herald. Will get to the others later today hopefully. Am also formulating a letter to go out to the major utility companies and oil industry to get their butts in gear. Will also send one to Citgo and Citizen Energy to become active in the Gulf Region. They're mostly up North but they need to be down there.
Heard that another volunteer is succombing to an unknown infection that docs can't treat. I'm going to have to start a Memorial page for the folks. Truly sad.

So, that's it for now. I'll try to get back on track this weekend.
L
12/3
A little late, but only by a day.
If you hadn't noticed, I've set up a Wishing Tree for my families, Hope Haven's current children residents, and Pickin' Up The Pieces efforts for Pearlington. There are roughly 300 kids represented directly, and about another 30 indirectly (through Hope Haven). I've got the stuff posted *everywhere!* LOL http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2007/08/wishing-tree.html. Along with it being here, I've also posted the appropriate information on the Hancock County site, in Hope Haven, on the Pearlington site and in Pickin' Up The Pieces page.

I'm also working with a local group to get baby blankets for the 17 babies that are a year or younger in Pearlington. I'll have them today or Wednesday and will ship them to Linda the following day.

I've added a ton of stuff to most of the resource pages - Medical, Family, Education, Business, Home, Nonprofit.

Remember Make a Difference Day? Well, because I pushed SO hard to get you guys to register, a whopping 4 did. BUT - 1 of those 4 is highlighted this week in the USA Weekend for their efforts http://www.usaweekend.com/06_issues/061203/061203diffday.html - It's about The Giving Circle - among other groups that worked that weekend. So - out of the thousands of groups that entered, and only having 5 (me included) sign up, I say we made a great impact on the founders by having 1 of those 5 represented in the paper this weekend.

In the coming week, I'll be posting a new letter about creating a new "boxing day" for the US. It's mostly a British 'thing', but I'm thinking it could be a great way to give and get rid of at the same time.

This week I'm also going to be sending a letter out (will post) to my state's community colleges and universities - email works best for them, and am hoping for a little last minute assistance for Christmas and hopefully some long term assistance thereafter. The letter is written, I just have to dig out my resource list for them. I urge you to contact them as well. Students are incredibly giving AND a great untapped resource.

The hits on the main site have gone up dramatically since I've been submitting the sites to search engines on a regular basis. I'm up to at least 150 hits/day in the last month - that's up from about 100 hits per day. So - word continues to spread which is perfect!

The backs are of fleece - the top is a detail of the back of the second pic. 2 and 3 pictures are to show the contrast when using the same 3 basic fabrics with different patterns and slightly different scraps. Very cool!

I've finished 2 more quilts- woo! - and am feeling much better from my last encounter with a hornet 2 weeks ago. Our area dodged a major bullet this week with more rain. The storm that slammed the midwest was aimed right at us. Well, after 2 years of record flooding, and still trying to clean up from the latest one 2 weeks ago, the last thing we needed was high wind and tons of rain. Neither happened. No flooding, no trees down, no power outages. Life is good!

BSL organizations - I've not heard from you in forever. Please contact me with some updates!
Take care and talk with you soon.
Leslie

12/1 - Just an FYI - we've got the storm that slammed the midwest coming through here today and tomorrow. If I'm offline for a few days it's because we lost power. I'll be going into massive withdrawal and my family will do whatever it can to get me BACK online! I am not pleasant to be around when I can't do my work.

Community Garden Assistance

2007-01-15T14:04:00.000-05:00

1/8 Letter for Gardeners, Gardening Volunteers
As all good gardeners know, the new growing season is only weeks away. Seeds need starting; plans made anew for vegetable gardens; tools repaired and prepared.
As all Gulf Coast volunteers know, having a place to relax is vital. They also know survivors and volunteer camps alike need fresh vegetables regularly which are expensive and can be difficult to find.
How do these things tie together? They do in two ways: The Plant A Row Program and Community Garden Programs.
Plant A Row is a national movement to have home growers intentionally plant more than they need of any or all of their vegetable gardens. They then donate the produce to soup kitchens and food pantries, where storing perishables is difficult.
For more information: http://www.gardenwriters.org/par/
Community Gardens are created on private or public land for public use to grow vegetables, herbs and flowers. This can be a temporary or permanent agreement for the land; with rent either donated by the owner or for no more than $25/plot.
For more information: http://www.communitygarden.org/
Both programs need exploring and implementation throughout the Gulf Region. Are you a volunteer who gardens at home? Start the Plant A Row program at your home and neighborhood to take the produce with you on your trips down.
Are you a gardener without soil to play in at home? Help establish community gardens within the community you are helping in the Gulf.
Either way, your skills as a gardener are needed to help the survivors in one more way. And once established, these programs will last and grow, just like the plants from Spring to Autumn.
Please talk to your group and start at least one of the programs to augment your current mission.
Sincerely,

Heat Needed Letter

2007-01-15T14:01:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to let you see the letter I wrote to Kathleen Koch of CNN and to the ARC regarding what I am seeing as a very real health crisis in the form of No Heat. Please use it to contact anyone you think might read and take note!
To whom it may concern,
There is a very real crisis occurring within the '05 hurricane season survivors. Increasing numbers are going without a combination of heat, hot water and electricity due to continued financial set-backs and FEMA discontinuing assistance for no discernible reason and with no follow-up after repeated attempts by the people for answers or appeal process. Most of these people are elderly or with small children. An entire trailer park in Pass Christian, MS, without propane due to lack of financial support and high prices.
But the need is throughout the country - NE, NC, VA, MS, AL, LA, VA, etc. It isn't just along the Gulf Coast.
Please investigate this and use your resources to help change the situation, whether by giving vouchers, or helping the media report this dire situation in hopes of gaining support from the heating industry.
LIHEAP, in most cases, has been drained, TANF gives a pittance for any assistance, and local charities just can't fill in the ever increasing needs.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Leslie Holly
www.KatrinaNetworking.blogspot.com

National Quilting Day Letter

2007-01-01T21:23:00.000-05:00

1/1 - Letter for Quilting Guilds, Quilting Magazines for 3/24/07 - National Quilting Day

To Whom It May Concern,

Thousands of children have remained victims of the 2005 hurricane season. These children have lost everything that was of comfort to them.

Hancock County, MS still has roughly 32,000 FEMA trailers housing over 85,000 people, including hundreds of foster families and families with infants, toddlers and young children that are trying to create a loving environment. These FEMA trailers have fewer than 240 square feet for up to 4 people. Multiply this county by the same number of counties that make up 12 of the original 13 states.

National Quilt Day is March 24, 2007. Please plan an event for this date that will help the children in all of these areas. Invite the public and all local quilt or sewing guilds to participate in this event. It will expose more people to the joys of quilting and show the families of the Gulf Coast they and their children are not forgotten.

For more information on delivering the finished quilts, you can contact The Salvation Army, The Boys and Girls Club, or quilt guilds throughout the Gulf Coast.

Sincerely,

Places to mail the letter to:
National Quilting Association
PO Box 12190, Columbus, OH 43212-0190

Link to state associations:
http://www.nqaquilts.org/statechapters.asp

International Quilting Association
7660 Woodway, Suite 550
Houston, TX 77063

Search for Quilting Magazines
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=quilting+magazines

Boxing Day The American Way

2007-01-01T21:03:00.001-05:00

The Dark Green portion is perfect for a letter to the editor. The black version is added to the request letter if you are sending it to church groups, industries, etc.

12/26 St Stephen’s/Boxing Day - The term “Boxing Day” came from the opening of church poor boxes that day. This arose from dissatisfaction of giving alms gathered at the Church to the poor. St. Stephen died for his attempts to keep these funds for the poor.

We can adopt this UK holiday and give it our own American word – Lagniappe, meaning “An extra/ unexpected gift/benefit.” It is now a well-known Gulf Coast colloquialism that started as a Spanish word for “gift”. Let’s make 12/26 Lagniappe Day from those of us not needing our extra items to those who have lost everything.

With disasters a natural part of history, there will always be a need for giving a hand up to our neighbors. Many of these are/were in the middle class, never expecting to be thrust into poverty with little hope of escaping, save our collective generosity.

Sort through the items you have received in the last year. Give them to those less fortunate. By giving just one thing to a person or family in need, you will give the far greater gift of hope.

You can do so by looking at the families on the http://www.realpeoplerelief.blogspot.com/ site, or literally any of the organizations I have listed on the side bar of this site, OR go to http://www.freecycle.org/ and post your extras there for help within your community. It's easy, needed, and a huge blessing to both the person you are helping AND you.

Holiday Request Letter to Industry

2007-01-01T20:59:00.000-05:00

Holiday Help Letter to Send to Businesses, Universities, Hospitals, etc...

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing on behalf of dozens of families that have been trying to recover from hurricanes Katrina and Rita. These families are still spread throughout the country, unable to bring a sense of emotional normalcy or financial stability to their lives.

Something as simple as missing a day of work, or needing a new tire is wreaking catastrophic havoc on these families; paying rent becomes impossible, having to choose between electricity and food, having to choose between needed shoes for the children or that needed tire.

If your company encourages departmental philanthropy, suggest they choose a family from the Gulf Coast. The needs vary from simple toys for Christmas to total financial crisis management.

Regardless of their situation and of your giving, your greatest gift to them will be hope. Your boxes and envelopes are filled with more hope than any number of items packed within.

There are several options you can choose from to assist these families:
Work with an organization that has case managers for the families. These include CityTeam Ministries (http://www.cityteam.org/), HANDS (http://www.hands.ms/) or The Giving Circle (http://www.thegivingcircle.org/).
Work with a more loosely knit group of volunteers representing the families. These include Katrina’s Angels (http://www.katrinasangels.org/), Impact Ministries (www.citiimpact.org/html/events.asp), or Adopt My Room (www.adoptmyroom.org/).
Work with families directly through such sites as Real People Relief (http://www.realpeoplerelief.blogspot.com/), Adopt A Family (www.adopt-a-katrina-family.com/) or Hope Haven Children’s Shelter (http://www.hopehavenshelter.org/)

No matter what method you choose, I can assure you the family will give far more to you than anything you give them.

Sincerely,

Church Letter of Request

2006-12-23T18:11:00.000-05:00

To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing on behalf of dozens of families that have been trying to recover from hurricanes Katrina and Rita. These families are still spread throughout the country, unable to bring a sense of emotional normalcy or financial stability to their lives.
Something as simple as missing a day of work, or needing a new tire is wreaking catastrophic havoc on these families; paying rent becomes impossible, having to choose between electricity and food, having to choose between needed shoes for the children or that needed tire.
If your church participates in Christmas philanthropy, please consider choosing a family from the Gulf Coast. The needs vary from simple toys for Christmas to total financial crisis management.
Regardless of their situation and of your giving, your greatest gift to them will the gift of hope. Your boxes and envelopes are filled with more hope than any number of items packed within.
There are several options you can choose from to assist these families:
Work with an organization that has case managers for the families. These include CityTeam Ministries (http://www.cityteam.org/), HANDS (http://www.hands.ms/) or The Giving Circle (http://www.thegivingcircle.org/).
Work with a more loosely knit group of volunteers representing the families.These include Katrina’s Angels (http://www.katrinasangels.org/), Impact Ministries (www.citiimpact.org/html/events.asp), or Adopt My Room (www.adoptmyroom.org/).
Work with families directly through such sites as Real People Relief (http://www.realpeoplerelief.blogspot.com/), Adopt A Family (www.adopt-a-katrina-family.com/) or Hope Haven Children’s Shelter (http://www.hopehavenshelter.org/)
No matter what method you choose, I can assure you the family will give far more to you than anything you give them.
Sincerely,

November Updates

2006-12-03T09:15:00.000-05:00

11/26
Another slightly hectic week. With Thanksgiving, I was actually able to catch up on email! I only have 30 in my In Box! Woo!
Still feeling the affects of the last bee sting. Laryngitis being one of them. Yes, my family is grateful! LOL
I've sent out another 30 letters to local churches. Am going to start an email campaign to my state's public universities in hopes of getting some support there. I've found email is far more productive for the universities than snail mail. Snail mail literally gets lost.
Many new grants have been added to the Grants of The Week post. Also added much to the family and home repair pages. Will be adding more today or tomorrow.
Woke up feeling the futility of the situation. Katrinas Angels are being recognized all over the country, and yet, it's like preaching to the choir. They are being recognized by those who are already in the recovery effort, not be those who thought everything was ok. So, while the recognition is good, it's not doing much to spread the word or improve the efforts.
I've created a poster for folks to use, should they choose to. http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2007/08/letter-of-week.html
If you couple it with the letter AND the public service announcement sent to your local cable provider, you'll get the word out very quickly. And if you want to change the website at the bottom, feel free. The picture was copyright free and since it's not being used for profit, it's ok that way as well. I just put the color to it since it was a B&W line drawing.
I've written a letter that I will be posting in another week for assistance AFTER Christmas. It gives a brief history of Boxing Day (12/26 aka St Stephen's Day) and a way we Americans can make it our own as well.
I have a few more families on the RPR site. 2 have been adopted outright, 1's children have been adopted for Christmas, and am working on another for full adoption. Plus, my letters sent thus far have highlighted each family about 4 times to my local churches. So with any luck, they'll be adopted that way as well.
I really don't think people understand how important the gift of HOPE is. That has far more impact than anything else given. Please, consider it. It's a gift that gives to you as much as to the person you gave it to.
Leslie

11/19 My Story - People have been asking.
http://realpeoplerelief.blogspot.com/2007/10/about-moderator.html

11/18
Hello.
Well, it's been a very busy week. I shipped out about 5 boxes of various items, including one 33# full of Thanksgiving. I wish I could do that for all of the families, but such is life. Someday maybe.
I've added a TON of stuff to the Family Resource post.
I've also added a Grant of The Week post.
http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2007/08/grants-of-week.html
I believe all grants will live there, freeing up from posting each one individually, and losing the nightmare of sorting through to find them all. I will still cross index as I am able to the appropriate resource posts.
I've also created, and will be adding to, 2 more resource posts for education. 1 is for families - with both high school and adult learning funding possibilities.
http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2006/11/education-assistance.html
The other is for teachers and schools grants, loan repayment, etc.
http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2006/11/assistance-for-schools.html
Another resource post that will not get AS much attention, but is incredibly valuable is for the "mature" and the caregivers of the "mature".
http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2006/11/help-for-older-and-care-givers.html
When did it become illegal to use the word "old" or "elderly"? Anyway, it gives information for distance caring, financial, medical, and emotional support for both the carer and the cared-for.
I got stung by a bee again. Crap. Twice. In the hand. It's still swollen, but the arm isn't spasming all the way to the shoulder blade today. I'm the only person in upstate NY that can get stung by a bee/hornet, wasp in mid November.
I think that's it. I could be wrong, but I think so. LOL It's enough.
Oh - finished another quilt. It's washed and drying now. Will take a picture very soon.
And, my area flooded again. The same storm that flooded the South and made tornadoes everywhere created real flash flooding - which just doesn't happen in NYS. I think this flood casued more damage than the 'record' flood in June. But, we'll see what the numbers amount to in a few weeks. Just about every bridge over creeks and streams got topped by FEET of water, so all must be checked. One collapsed under a garbage truck. The guys weren't hurt, but the truck was "disabled". LOL
So - update me when you can! And read when you get the chance. There's a ton of new stuff and it's all 'good' information.
Leslie

11/14 Good day! I got word that the newlyweds LOVE their quilt - pictured below. Also got word that one of 'my' families is getting some full time help in finishing their house! Wooohoo! I love when a non-plan comes together. Also heard that one of 'my' groups got $3000 from their local elementary school to help finish a house that needs another $10,000. They're a third of the way there! Also found a job for a friend who had volunteered in Hancock County for a long time (see the family above). And sent out 30 letters to local churches asking for both Thanksgiving help for Gulf Coast Agencies (listed them) and for Xmas help for 'my' families - each family got 2 letters sent in their name. Next week another 30 will go out for just the Xmas help for the families. If this year is like last year, it will garner assistance. I just don't know how much. And also sent out 4 boxes to 4 separate families of little stuff that wasn't being used around here that they needed badly. So - I am a happy girl! It's a good relief week!

11/12 This is the latest quilt made - another Wedding Ring. This one is slightly different in that I put the "rings" in a different location than the previous one. It's for a darker room with different colors, so it was more appropriate this way. I think I calculated 38 hours in this one. Queen size - about 90" sq.
This week has been all about preparing for Thanksgiving AND adding families to the Real People Relief site AND cross indexing. That's where my eyes cross. Trying to keep all of the relevant information on all of the blogs. Woof!
But, I figure if I can get to it about once every 2 weeks, life is pretty good.
I created a post called Second Thanksgiving - it's about making "stone soup" out of the leftovers from the First Thanksgiving. It's an easy way to make 2 separate meals for the price of one - both for those who are cooking en masse and singular families.
I've gotten many updates from different organizations. The best ones thus far are Citizen Action Team, CitiImpact, City Action Partnership and The Giving Circle. The rest I try to sort through the websites for something remotely recent and post that. That is on this week's agenda. It's a killer on my vertigo, but it's very important since I've been receiving an increased number of emails thanking me for the most comprehensive and up to date information on the recovery effort.
Otherwise, not a whole lot going on. Am continuing to prepare boxes to ship of items I have to give, plus continuing the church mailings for the holiday giving spirit to kick in and normal daily stuff (which includes a LOT of napping!) Update me as you are able!
Leslie

11/9 A GREAT Quote
This is the story of the storm. You haven't heard from someone in a year but you haven't thought about it either because the year is a big blurr ..a big smudge. (thank you Val!)

11/5
A lot to cover this time!
First, I think I found the source of the increased vertigo - I tsopped a med last week and I've been feeling better ever since. Imagine that! At least it's getting better - that's all I can ask for.
Am working on 2 quilts. Have just gotten fabric for another from a friend in Canada. The design is a knock out too! Can't wait to get started on that one.
I have submitted a press release to God and everybody about the RealPeopleRelief blog. I honestly hope someone picks it up because it's one that really needs to be highlighted. The others would be nice to have highlighted, but this one, to me, feels most important.
You know what people are lacking? Clothes. For all the clothes that were sent at the beginning and then thrown away for lack of storage space, clothes are needed yet again. Paper supplies. Napkins, TP, paper towels are all in high need. Toys. So many have yet to have Christmas or birthdays since Katrina hit that presents are really being wished for this year. Food. FEMA trailers have NO storage space, but people are still really needing food.
It's as if the storm happened last week. The basics are all badly needed.
Am working on a series of posts regarding easy ways to update readers and volunteers. It seems a bunch of us are seeing this as a real issue - but from different sides of the problem. Hopefully, this will help one aspect of the issue be resolved and not in such a crisis mode.
Am also working on a longer post for volunteers and residents alike to use to stay as healthy as possible without the health insurance they so desperately need. I'm almost finished with the first draft and will hopefully have it on the RealPeopleRelief blog in the next 24 hours.
Have written a post about avoiding infectious diseases. This is vital, and is where the above has evolved from. Please review it and print the poster provided. Click on the picture, and then save from there. It should save as 8x10 to be printed on normal paper stock to hang in all communal areas.
I need some help collecting data on relief assistance available in both AL and LA. If anyone has such a compilation, please let me know. I'll give full credit and will save my vertigo a real workout. Thanks!
I have all of the weekly features up and running.
Family of the Week - Usually updated Sundays.
Agency of the Week - Usually updated Sunday or Monday
Letter of the Week - Usually updated Mondays
The LOTW will be about asking your local churches to assist by choosing an agency or family to assist all during the holidays. I will be leaving this one up for 2 weeks, and then as the secondary letter for another 2 weeks. This is too important not to.

And on that note of assisting - BoxTops for Education has many partnerships with companies, both bricks and clicks - so please check them out on the blog page. They can be tricky to get to through the Boxtops for education site.

Animal Shelter Letter

2006-11-06T21:18:00.000-05:00

10/22
Pet Relief
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing on behalf of the Waveland Animal Shelter and all animal relief efforts in Hancock County, MS, which took the brunt of hurricane Katrina in 2005. While the primary crisis of rescuing animals before, during and after Katrina has past, several secondary crises are emerging.
Because of a significant decrease in local veterinarians, rescue groups and shelters, feral animals are increasing rapidly. The Waveland Animal Shelter is constantly exceeding capacity; turning away captured or rescued animals. There is also a significant increase in heartworm infection with both dogs and cats. Finances simply do not exist to treat those already infects, with the animals put down at diagnosis. Distemper and rabies are looming threats that will only distress an already overwhelmed animal health care system.
The 2005 hurricane season is far from over.
Please assist in any way you are able.
Food, medications, medical care supplies, cleaning supplies, crates, collars, leashes, administrative supplies, foster care, and on-site volunteers are all badly needed.

Send your donations to:
Waveland Animal Shelter
322 Gulfside St.
Waveland, MS 39576
Call for volunteer opportunities: 228-467-0230

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Organizations To Write To:

URL: www.akc.org/vetoutreach
E-mail: VetOutreach AT akc Dot org
Address: The American Kennel Club
Att: Veterinary Outreach
5580 Centerview Dr.
Raleigh NC 27606

URL: http://www.ddal.org/
Address: Doris Day Animal League
519 C Street,
NE Washington, DC 20002

The American Horse Defense Fund's (AHDF) mission is to facilitate the protection, conservation, and humane treatment of members of all Equid species. AHDF works to address inhumane treatment of horses, ponies, donkeys, mules and burros, both wild and domesticated through education, advocacy and litigation when necessary in the state, federal and international arenas. Email: AHDForg AT aol DOT com
Address: AHDF PO Box 75984
Washington DC 20013

Dog Rescue Groups
http://www.akc.org/breeds/rescue.cfm alpha by breed
Bird Rescue Groups
http://lairds.org/Kyler/old_Purdue/animal_rescue/breed_rescue_organizations
Cat Resuce Groups
http://purebredcatbreedrescue.org/rescues.htm

October Updates From Leslie

2006-10-26T18:05:00.000-05:00

10/28
I've almost finished with my Make a Difference Day project. 90% of the information is posted. I still have pictures to edit and then post and then it's just about finished. I have also placed links of all the agencies I am working with on all of the relief blogs. That gives everyone 8 extra hits when they submit their sites to search engines. The more times you are linked and indexed to other sites, the higher your ranking. There are about 54 in all. I do have 1 more to add, but am getting there. I may have found a way around Blogger so I can list the organizations without having to send a thousand emails. I'll post it in the Marketing post if I am right. If not, plan on a weekly email with new agencies that are agreeing to post all of the others. If you would like to submit your site to search engines for free, I have placed the link to the site I use at the bottom of all the blogs, along side the ad I am required to have for a free hit counter. I don't post that information because it's only used for when people ask me how many hits a day I get. 100/day and rising. I have also updated the MetaTags. Ugh. I don't know why that's such a bother, but it is. I hope to have the new Agency Of The Week up tonight, after photos. We'll see what happens. If not tonight, then tomorrow. It will be the Waveland Animal Shelter, just so you know. I have about 30 photos to go through today as well, so be patient. I sent out the HTML of the agency links to all those agencies I know of. #1 - if you did not get the information and would like it - email me @ KatrinaCoalition@aol.com. #2 - if you are an agency that would like to be included on the list, email me. All I ask is that you put all of those I have listed and will send to you on your site. We could be an incredibly powerful force to reckon with if we banded together. I think the first step in that direction is to link all of our sites together. Other than that, not much going on. Weather is turning from rainy but warm, to rainy and cold. My wild cat, Cicero has decided to be completely distrustful of humans. I'm sad, but he's almost completely grown up now, so at least we got him through the critical period. I'll keep putting food out for him until he stops coming for a full week. Trapping him is out of the question, which makes me sad too. It'd like to get him indoors for the winter. Oh well. Life goes on. Take care all and update me when possible.

10/21
Well, fall is rapidly turning to autumn. Most leaves are off the trees and the weather folks are threatening snow showers for the next week. Mild winter. Uh huh.
My asthma is killing me, but ever since the "Hornet Event", that's the way life is.
I've finished another quilt. 2 down 2 to go and then start another round. It keeps me out of trouble.
I have started a new feature on the Katrina Networking blog. Since I started out by helping Hancock County, MS, I want to return some of the focus to them. It will be a post at the top of the blog called "Agency of The Week". It will feature local not-for-profits first, then the municipalities and then the agencies that have come in to assist in the recovery effort. It should take a full year to go through all I have right now, not including those that continue to pop up over time.
I am also hoping to start another this week - the "Letter of The Week". Most are already posted on the KatrinaAdvocate blog, but people are starting to ask aloud how to stir up some support. So, like the agencies, I'll post them in a more prominent way. Plus I have some that have been ruminating in the brain, but not yet made it to paper.

The new blog looms overwhelming, but the needs is huge. Over half of the families who have emailed me haven't had Christmas or birthdays since Katrina - and yet they consider themselves as "doing ok". I always end up wanting to give away the house, but I can't considering it isn't mine to give. LOL
If you know of someone who could use a little (or a lot) of assistance, have them contact me. If you work for a volunteer agency that has lists of families in need, go to www.RealPeopleRelief.blogspot.com for the questionnaire and start sending me the information. I'll post them as I receive them, or 1 a week, depending on how overwhelmed I get. The questions are basic and non-intrusive, so there should be no invasion of privacy issues.

Update me when you can. I love to hear from you.
L

10/15
Good Sunday Morning to you.
I am remaining amazed at human nature. Gina got her emergency box from me yesterday, and her gift card from a woman who wanted to help, AND Katrina's Angels chipped in and will help her from their latest shipment of supplies. WOW Life is just so incredibly good sometimes, ya know?
I also made a decision to postpone my latest blog until the MAD Day in order for the efforts of the Gulf Coast to be recognized. Since it takes a solid 2 weeks to get one up and running anyway, this is not a big deal. www.RealPeopleRelief.blogspot.com
If you are an organization who assists folks that are having any trouble and you can't supply all of their needs, please visit the blog for the questionnaire and then send it on in to me at KatrinaCoalition AT aol DOT com. I will add 1 family per organization per week, so prioritize, OK?
Also, if you are an individual, you can send the questionnaire in on your own. That's fine. You may not get posted first thing, but I'll do my best.
I sent an email to all of the groups I am working with last night @ 530. By 11, I had 3 already. It's very scary, but it just really shows how needed this work is!

Snow fell here in NYS, but fortunately, over only a 4 county area that is far away from me! I can do without 2' of snow in mid October. That's for the Rocky Mountains, not NYS.

Am almost finished with my latest quilt. Will post a picture of it next week. I hope to have it finished today - that's how close I am.

Had 2 incredibly killer dizzy days this week too. Not sure why, but the only pattern to it is Fate. So, that's life I guess.

Take care and sign up for MADD! Katrina's Angels already has, and you have 2 weeks left to get the word out through the MADD website.

10/8

Hey Everyone.
I want everyone to take note - you need to sign up for this! First, it allows you to hopefully get some funding to continue your work, but at least as importantly is that it makes people more aware that the situation along the Gulf Coast is NOT back to normal and that help is still needed so badly.

I have signed up under Katrina Networking and have included all organizations as specifically as I could so that if you didn't sign up, you're still noticed! And if you do sign up, you're in more than once.

http://www.makeadifferenceday.com/ - the home page

http://usaweekend.com/diffday/tools/entryform.html a PDF file to print out your registration form - you don't send it in until AFTER the day.

http://www.mindshares.org//MADD2006_DAYtaBANK/MindShares_Register.cfm - a Database of organizations who are doing something on that day - or highlighting their on-going work. This is where you need to put your information NOW. even if you don't enter for the funding, this is another place to make your presence known and hopefully get some volunteers/funding/materials.

Gina

You all know me. I don't take on individual causes often enough to say so. I'm here for general information and to highlight the groups who DO work with individuals. But, Gina is one of the few that I've decided to help. She's from NOLA and is a lab tech who just got laid off. Can you imagine a health care system in such disrepair that it has to lay off the very people who do the lab work to diagnose problems? Amazing.

Anyway, she's a single mom of 2 teens. She was already barely scraping by when she got laid off. She has a per diem job lined up, but that isn't every day and it isn't steady work. She is one of the vast number of very proud folks who needs a hand. I know that place because I've been there before and in many ways still am. So, I'm going to do what I can to rally a few troups and help her out.

Other than that, not much going on in life. The weather is great, but allergies are keeping me indoors, which is incredibly unusual. So, I'm sewing another quilt, doing some electrical work, and maybe start installing the handrailing that's needed to be put in for the last month.

Let me know if you sign up for the Make a Difference Day. I'll put it on your page.

10/12 From Terry with Hope Haven Comments about the need for real help:

We saw that many organizations have established case management services but have no discretionary funds to actually give out to a family or to pay to purchase a family something. It seems like the money is being spent on positions....but there is not much actual dollars to really help. People tell us they are being referred to all these different agencies...which takes time and effort and money....but little real help. I am talking about small needs...but real needs such as a baby bed or crib, car seats, emergency money to keep the electric bill on due to an unexpected shortage of funds, school clothing/uniforms...shoes, emergency food beyond the basic canned goods...that kind of stuff.

9/30
Hey everyone!

I am back from Baltimore. Dizzier for the wear, but no worse than some days.
If my spelling is off, please forgive me. I have a hard time following the spell checker thingy when the dizzies are up. And, I don't spell as well as I could when the dizzies are up as well, so it could be creative phonics here.

Even with being gone, I was able to continue working on the blogs. I'm sure it doesn't appear to be significant progress with them, but I have added or updated at least 2 items per day throughout the 8 blogs. So - work is keeping me busy and I know it's being well-read. Just not as focused on the 3 towns as it once was. More topical focus, but still working within the 3 towns and the county.

Have made several new contacts for the work with the artists and the emergency services personnel. Very cool!

I would like to take a brief moment to suggest ways of helping. Things down there are at least as bad as when the hurricane hit.
0 tax base means 0 can be done by the towns and county. No new hires, no replacing employees, no infrastructure improvement/replacement.
There are precious few jobs, very few for the skills available and virtually no way to learn new skills for the jobs that are there.
No tools and no money to buy tools makes working on your own house incredibly difficult. Trying to get a job in construction without the tools is also a wee bit difficult.
Trying to live on fast food jobs that have increased pay by maybe 50% when living expenses have tripled - not so easy.

10/4 - this is what I'm talking about! What a great way to help the area in so many ways!
Students to rebuild as they learn trades
Tuesday, October 03, 2006 By Valerie Faciane
At least 300 young adults will be trained in construction crafts as they help Habitat for Humanity build affordable homes for low-income residents, thanks to a federal grant that will be awarded to a local faith-based organization this week.
Rest can be read at http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/neworleans/index.ssf?/base/news-6/1159856671210530.xml&coll=1
-Nancy

So - life hasn't improved much, if any.

Most of the vegetation has died - all trees are dead from the saltwater. They are widow-makers, waiting to fall during a storm, a windy moment, or just because today is the day. Lumberjacks and tree removal services are badly needed. But again - training, tools, insurance, etc. means locals just can't get into the action. They still NEED portable saw mills, chain saws, safety equipment.

How can you help?

Get your church to sponsor a skilled worker. Plumbers, electricians, lumberjacks, roofers, plasterers, flooring specialists are all needed in very large numbers. The Albany, NY Catholic Diocese sponsored 6 electricians for around 3 weeks. Those guys were hugged and blessed more than they could have imagined! They also did extra work because they saw how badly they were needed.

Collect stuff. Sounds a little stupid, but so much is needed. Boxtops For Education, Labels For Education, Uniform clothing for the kids, PENS, pencils, whiteout, ink cartridges, etc. Pet supplies - collars, leashes, bedding, treats, toys, supplements, food, meds, etc. Light bulbs! Most of these items can be lightly used or new - so little or no money has to be spent.
When your church does food drives for the local food pantries, ask if they'd be willing to give 10% to a food pantry down south and that you'll pay for the shipping. Light, basic items such as cereal, dried potatoes, dried beans, oatmeal, GRITS, etc are cheap to ship and so needed.

Send a small donation. $5 is small. We all know that. $5 a month is also a small donation. So, think about it. Donating doesn't mean to JUST the Red Cross anymore. I have a list as long as your arm of local charities to donate directly to. All areas are covered, so you can take your pick. Believe me, what you send will make a huge difference.

You don't need to go. You don't need to step that far out of your comfort zone. But they really do need some more help. Imagine yourself in their position. Proud, but have lost it all. How do you graciously accept the help just to keep you in survival mode?

Take care and write when you can.

Leslie

September Leslie Updates

2006-09-24T07:02:00.000-05:00

I am in Baltimore! And WOW does it feel good! It hasn't gotten above 70 back up in Binghamton for about a month now. Just 4 hours SE and it's going to be in the mid 80's today. Eeee! Summer is back, even if for a fleeting moment!

And since I am here, I don't have to worry about sharing the computer during the week - or even today for that matter. I'll be able to do searches until my eyes cross if I want! Not that I will. Making my eyes cross is a bad thing. It does mean I'll be working very heavily on the emergency services blog - finding as much information as I can about the different departments throughout the region so I can fill in some blanks. I'll be alternating that with finding updates for all of the other blogs. It'll feel very good to be able to do that again!

A friend from my parents' church did a huge thing. She and her 2 kids took up a collection of stuff for "my" marines. I adopted a unit that was in Afghanistan over a year ago and have been sending them care packages ever since. Well, they got a chance to come home for about 6 months before benig redeployed to Iraq. I don't know where in Iraq yet, but it doesn't really matter. The Marines are taking the brunt of the damage regardless of locations. Anyway, I was able to get a GREAT box ready to ship to them before I left, plus have tons left to send in a month. Toothbrushes, soap, toilet paper, combs, nail files, etc.

She also collected kid's toothbrushes. Since I don't know where they'll be stationed - will there be children around to hand them out - I'm sending those down to MS. I figure the brushes will be needed at least as much down there as in Iraq. They're expensive! I had enough to fill an entire shoebox! That's a lot of toothbrushes! So that box will be going out when the Marine box does.

As always, would love to hear from folks. Please email when you can. Oh - that reminds me - Being in Baltimore means I don't have access the the KatrinaCoalition email. I don't remember the password - what an idiott I am! So please contact me through OneDndyLyon@aol.com That will make life much easier.

Take care everyone.

Leslie

9/17

Well, I'm busy again. And it feels good!

In my header for this blog, I state that as I am able, I will branch out to other areas for doing relief work. And that's what's happening. It's taken a full year to get the Hancock County blogs to where they are pretty much self maintaining. I still get information about them and new organizations, but not nearly what it was even 4 months ago.

So, with them stabilizing, I am starting new informational blogs. I have the emergency services one that is slow going since I don't have any contacts down there. And I now have one for artists all along the gulf. www.ArtisanRelief.blogspot.com. This has information specific to the artists as well as generic information they may not have had available to them prior to this. I have 2 great contacts - Carole Pigott and Val Cushman, plus the incredible Lori Gordon and all are supplying me with 98% of the information. I'm just making it look good! [laughing] - Seriously, that's it.

I still have about 13 emails to go through and post on the blog to be caught up, but once I do, the blog will be as up to date as it can be, and will begin posting websites for the artists to review.

If any of you know artists, or have information regarding artist relief efforts, I'd love to hear!

I would start one for the fishermen, but unfortunately, so few of them are online - particularly the lobbyists, it's something of a waste of time AND I can't get the information easily. So, it's sad, but there's just too little I can do for them. And I am truly afraid they're a dying breed.

On the household front, I have finished 1 quilt, am halfway through another, have 2 more to make, a wall hanging to do for a huge competition and then I'll be caught up. I'm ready to put a hand rail in on the stairs for my dad - bad knees - have done the necessary repairs and painting to the area to be ready. And will then begin preparing the diningroom for painting. It's been well over a decade since the interior was painted, and this is the first I've been close to able since the vertigo hit 5 years ago.

And that - as they say - is that.

As always, thanks for the support - it means more than you'll know!

Leslie

www.KatrinaNetworking.blogspot.com
www.KatrinaPoliceFireAmbulance.blogspot.com
www.KatrinaAdvocate.blogspot.com
www.ArtisanRelief.blogspot.com
www.BayStLouisRelief.blogspot.com
www.HancockCountyRelief.blogspot.com
www.PearlingtonRelief.blogspot.com
www.WavelandRelief.blogspot.com

9/11
Well, I now have something like 8 blogs. LOL Obviously 1 or 2 won't keep me out of trouble.
KatrinaNetworking
HancockCountyRelief
BayStLouisRelief
PearlingtonRelief
WavelandRelief
KatrinaAdvocate
and now
KatrinaPoliceFireAmbulance
Follow all of those with .blogspot.com and you'll have their addresses.

I added the emergency services blog because all segments feel very abandoned. They all feel the others have gotten more than they have - like fire feels police have gotten more, etc. The thing is, they've all been shafted. What normally was taken care of by the communities can no longer occur - the communities have nothing left right now and are actually turning to the ES. The rest of the country just seems to think all ES are fine and dandy and will do just fine in helping out with the rebuilding.

Truth be told - they are all at only 2/3 original staff, if that. They've all lost their homes, their possessions and everything the departments need to run, much less run effectively. They are always working under the stress of being laid off and never having enough fuel to do their jobs appropriately, and are always working with increased violence. I think NOLA FD is still having to man the truck with armed personnel at calls. That never happened before Katrina.

I'd like some help with this work. Minor research or even links to start the research myself. If you know of anyone who might be able to help me with this, please send this to them. I'd appreciate it.

Then there's the animal crisis. Most animal rescue groups are gone - all out of money. Vets are as scarce as physicians - no more than 1/3 original numbers. Many animals still haven't been caught and rehabbed, so are breeding. Heartworm is epidemic and dogs are being euthanized as soon as they are diagnosed. There's no money for treatment and virtually no money for prevention. Spay Neuter programs are trying to run, but with no money for supplies, the vets can't even give their time away - without the equipment, surgery just can't happen.

So, the secondary crises are beginning to occur with the primary ones not being resolved. So, much of the debris might be gone and things look some better, but I'd say things are probably far worse than most can comprehend. The threats to human health and life are being more violent and more insidious all at the same time. Frightening to watch and no I can do nothing about except write.

So - I have around 330 blog posts that I monitor and update as frequently as I can, and the list is slowly growing on a weekly basis. Some days it feels very futile. Other days, I know it's filling a great need.

On that note - I'd like to ask folks to peruse the blogs. There's a new format that allows you to see the index for each blog as soon as you visit the blog. You don't have the searching for items like before. I am also starting some work on the indices to make them easier to navigate as well. Please help where you can. I know it's difficult to know where to start, but even just paper grocery bags to a food pantry or distribution center will help them immeasurably.

Thank you!

Leslie

Yup - it's been a while.

Things are evolving yet again. I have started assisting folks with their websites/blogs. Very fun, fulfilling and shows the next stage of progress - people are making new lives, picking up where they left off, plus a little and showing signs of hope/healing.

I'll continue updating as often as I have updates - but I can't squeeze the updates out of people and just can't take making the phone calls anymore, so have to rely on email. It makes it difficult and less successful, but it's the only way for me. The vertigo really sucks.

On that note - it seems my asthma was doing more to my vertigo than I thought. So, am on 2 new meds to try and control it. When the meds are working, the vertigo is virtually gone. When they aren't working - I can't do anything. May try a new drug if the one doesn't start working better soon, but otherwise am fairly happy with the way I'm feeling. Minus the asthma coughing crap.

I had a friend down in Hancock County teach me something about blogging I did NOT know! It is so stinkin' cool. If you change the date on a post (through the post and comment options link), you can keep a particular post at the TOP at all times! WOW! I don't know anyone else who has figured this out so I am beyond thrilled about this information.

And she thinks I'm helping HER. Ha! Lori - you are The Best!

That one little item has made and will make working the blogs so much easier. I'll be keeping the Index at the top and will update that as I update items. This eliminates the need for weekly hours of work on Sunday to get everything updated and posted as such. As I update, I mark the index with the date that item was updated and voile'! Done-O!

As you can see, it takes so little to make me happy.

The fire fighter friend is refusing to join the newest addition to the blog family - one for emergency services in general - but he is continuing to send me items to post, so that'll work for now.

Oh! - to the person who wrote about a Baptist church in BSL - please send me that church's contact information and I'll be glad to contact them to post their information! Since I don't live down there, I have no clue who exists and who doesn't and must rely on people like you to get that information to me. So thank you in advance!

If you want to check out the newest blog - www.KatrinaPoliceFireAmbulance.blogspot.com

And if you'd like to see the newest arts blog - www.GulfCoastArtists.blogspot.com
It has a growing index of artists throughout the Gulf in hopes of bringing them more media attention as well as more assistance. The area is just rich with artistry and craftsmen and should be recognized as such!

Take care everyone.
Leslie

Animal Crisis Letter

2006-09-09T21:23:00.000-05:00

I wrote this in response to a woman who is fostering animals in Hancock County. I've written a blog post about her and the situation located on the Hancock County Relief Blog. Please send this to your local papers so word gets out about this secondary crisis from Katrina/Rita.

An animal crisis is occurring along the Gulf. As with any community, the unwanted pet population was already high prior to the storms and now the numbers are exploding. Feral and once-domesticated animals are all reproducing. So in this single year of uncontrolled pet breeding, the numbers are staggering and a health crisis for animals and humans has begun.

Heartworm is epidemic with triage occurring. Treatment is about $400, which can immunize 8 dogs for a full year, so dogs diagnosed with heartworm are euthanized.

The health crisis of which no one speaks, but looms dark on the horizon, is rabies. With the exploding pet, rat and raccoon populations, the rabies threat grows daily. One animal can infect a dozen or more, starting the epidemic and making the threat to humans very real. Most animal rescue organizations left, having done all their budgets allow. Veterinarians, like physicians, are at 1/4 to 1/3 staff due to relocating from the storm, so the need and the crisis is growing.

Last year’s hurricane season is far from over in so many ways.

August Updates

2006-08-20T16:13:00.000-05:00

8/5
Summer time is here. Just in time for it to leave. But you know, I do love August. Canadian highs come down with cooler drier air. The sky is such an intense blue, the sun still burns, and you can see the greens changing to a tired green, ready to give way to autumn splendor. But not just yet!
My veggie garden is a virtual bust. Annoying, but at least we don't have to survive off it. I'll still be able to make a whole lot of pickles, and maybe get some tomatoes out of it to freeze.
I've ordered some T-shirts! Woo! These will be for trading with others who have T-shirts, and gifts to friends, etc. The rest will be handled by a good friend who has a Cafe Press shop. Her profits go to the Bay St Louis Employee Relief Fund to keep as many of the employees working as possible. The other reason I am going through her is that people will have far more choices one what to have the graphics put on than just a T-shirt. Plus, sizes other than the L and XL I'm sticking with, and a couple more colors than Ash. So, it just makes more sense to do it this way.
Once she has the T-shirts up on the site, I'll give you the link!

The T-shirts are a story. Jeanne Brooks gave me the name of a guy she bought some through and so I called him up. His in-laws live in BSL, lost everything and is doing what he can to support them and his own family with his screen printing business. Well, after talking to him for a few minutes, he asks where I'm from, I tell him the Binghamton area of upstate NY and he comes out with the fact that he grew up near Ithaca, NY! He has family that still lives up here and even evacuated up to here for The Storm. WOW How small a world can it get?
Kenny Swayze
Cris-tees
985-882-3132
JCristees@aol.com
I know it sounds odd, but I'm really excited for the folks I am working with. I'm doing this shirt for YOU guys. It's amazing to have so many groups all in one place, being able to talk to each other if you want and me being able to facilitate that when asked. I just think it's way too cool. So, I want to honor every one by making this shirt. Plus, what a great marketing tool! Just about everyone's website is an easy-to-remember address, so if someone sees the shirt and finds a site or two intriguing, they can remember it easily enough to go home and look! Very cool
Am hearing from a bunch of groups that went in the fall and are interested in going again this fall. So, am trying to help direct them to the least expensive room and board as well as give them an idea of the needed skills. If you have a team (group of people) that is interested in going down, please contact your local remodeling store (Lowes, Home Depot, Ace Hardware, local remodelers association) and ask them to hold a few classes for some specific skills:
Mudding and Taping drywall
Laying linoleum or pergo style flooring
Light fixture installation
Outlet installation
TOILET installation (this is a skill everyone should have anyway)
Cutting moulding - another life-skill (mitre saw skills)
Basic plumbing - copper and PVC
If your group even focuses on getting good at just one of these skills, you'll still be of huge value!I'm also adding to my list of things to do by helping a couple of folks with their sites. Just because. I know I was so incredibly appreciative when Andy offered to help with mine, that what little I learned from him, I am more than willing to pass it on to others.
Tomorrow I go meet Sharon and Ron from The Giving Circle. I am so excited about this! For so long I have been "just me" in this whole thing. I sit here and do all that I can with a phone and a computer, but really have no other connection. Meeting them will really help give me a connection I haven't had yet because I've literally had no one else to talk to about this. So, it's going to be really cool!
I'll end with that.
I know there's more, but it can wait.
I hope all are well and will truly enjoy hearing from you!

8/13

Hey gang.

This summer has been something of a crisis zone. It's just been one crisis after another for me personally, within my community and within our country.

For that reason, I'm taking a week off. LOL It's actually going to be more of a behind the scenes week than a real week off.

DataBase
I have been sadly neglecting putting information in the CAT data base for the organizations I have on the blogs - which number in the dozens. SO, I will be calling people to get updated needs, and then adding them to the data base. The data base :
http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2006/06/citizen-action-team.html, is grown by leaps and bounds. Maybe too quickly to sustain itself, but for now, it's an incredible tool. Data entry is never something people jump at the chance to learn, so I will be doing the entry for now, and hopefully working with Dayle to come up with a reasonable set of instructions for folks to then be able to manage their organizations information on their own. Here's hoping!

Plus, I have much I need to do around the house. With my brain having only a limited amount of time in which to do any type of activity, there are certain things I need to get done around here before winter sets in. Gag. Just that thought makes me cringe. Anyone want to come paint for me? LOL

The T-shirts are on Kate's site! woo! The variety of items you can choose from is just astounding! http://www.cafepress.com/k8coHancock
What I love is that all of the organizations I am working with directly - or have worked with in the very recent past - are listed. It's amazing!
AND, all of the profits from these sales will be going to the city of Bay St Louis in hopes of keeping a few more of their employees on their jobs. This is Kate's mission and I'm thrilled I can be of assistance!
What I want to offer to people is that they buy a T-shirt - and then do whatever they wish to highlight THEIR orgs website. Sharpie pens, fabric markers, iron-on their logo to the front. I don't care. But this way this T-shirt can be used for all rather than having to make one and go to the time and expense. Plus, it shows you're in good company!

So, with that, I'll say "enough". Email as you wish. Would love to hear from you all.

L

Today was the first time we have ever had a Bald Eagle fly directly over the house. They are about 30 Mi North of us, but that's the closest. Mom has NEVER seen one in her entire life! So this was incredibly exciting!

8/19
Ahh yes. Another week, another crisis.

Oh well. Life goes on.

Meet Cicero. He's a kitten I am attempting to tame so that he can either go to another home or be able to have a warm place to sleep this winter with us. Either way. When he first came to our yard, he was skin and bones. He's still underweight, but gaining rapidly. He should! He eats as much as my other two combined!

He's learned how to climb trees to chase squirrels, but hasn't mastered the art of gracefully falling out of trees. And he's also wild enough that there is NO way he'd let a human pick him up to get him off the roof of the garage.

So - we propped a tall step ladder against a shed behind the garage, put some BBQ chicken on the roof of the shed, and he figured out within minutes how to manage his escape. 2 minutes later, he was trotting across the lawn to get the rest of the chicken.

Vertigo Attack

Anyway, many little things added up to one major vertigo attack. I've been out of service just about all week. It's still super easily triggered, but am feeling better.

Data Entry

So, I've discovered my brain won't tolerate data entry. Is there anyone willing to take my place for entering the organizations within the blogs onto the database? Trust me, it's SO easy! I just can't take the scrolling of information. If you think you'd like, please contact me or Dayle @ grassrootshelping at yahoo dot com

No phoning was done either. Phones just make the vertigo worse. So, I avoid them like the plague. So, hopefully, this coming week will prove a bit more productive.

Such is the life of the disabled.

July Leslie Updates

2006-07-26T09:29:00.000-05:00

7/3
Hey folks...Sorry it's late and sorry for any other delays that may have been annoying to you.We've been dealing with our own little crisis at the moment.
Our area receieved the second record flooding in 2 years. About 14 months ago we had a major flood that was, at the time, record since the floods of '35 and '36. So, hopefully this was a 70 year event and we're done for awhile. If not, life will get interesting again within the next year.
Anyway, Some pictures are at:http://pictures.aol.com/ap/myAlbums.do?includeReceivedAlbums=true&albumId=34983.2470.1151931337669.3
This is an album from the last 3 floods, but flooding is flooding after awhile. Also - http://www.pressconnects.com/ has pictures and information, if you're so inclined.
Internet has been very spotty, so I've not been able to stay on for any length of time to get information posted or the updates. I'm getting there, but please be patient! It may take all week at this rate! I do have an alternate site to get online, but it's never for any great length of time. My entire family is fine - so no worries there. But the area has lost a great many homes with 13 counties in NY having an estimated 100 mill in infrastructure damage. That's not personal. So the # is going up. And that doesn't count the 30+ counties in PA. Only 8 of the 13 counties in NY will get any FEMA assistance thus far, and it's only for municipalities. No individuals will get assistance. I guess it wasn't record enough.
I've been cooking like a fool for our local cops. They've been working 14 on, 10 off for the last week. Somedays it's 20 on 4 off, so home cooked meals are a nice thing.
Other than that, not much to talk about. I'll be back on track by week's end, hopefully.
One more thing - the following was just sent to me about a TV show that will be airing multiple times... Thanks Dangle!
Extreme Engineering - "Big Easy Rebuild"Discovery Channel (DSC) Wed Jul 05 09:00pm CDT
Extreme Engineering - "Big Easy Rebuild"DSC, Thu Jul 06 01:00am CDT
Extreme Engineering - "Big Easy Rebuild"DSC, Sun Jul 09 11:00am CDT
High Definition Broadcast only:Extreme Engineering - "Big Easy Rebuild"Discovery
High Definition (DHD) - Wed Jul 12 07:00pmCDT
Extreme Engineering - "Big Easy Rebuild"DHD, Wed Jul 12 10:00pm CDT
Extreme Engineering - "Big Easy Rebuild"DHD, Thu Jul 13 02:00am CDT
Extreme Engineering - "Big Easy Rebuild"DHD, Thu Jul 13 03:00pm CDT
Sorry for the disruption.

7/8
Hey folks. Well, we are talking major league guilt right now. I haven't had a chance to do any 'real' work on the blogs this week. I've been incredibly busy working on getting the Binghamton Flood Relief blog up and running for people - that one helps a total of 5 counties, so was pretty vast in compiling the information. BUT - it's finished save daily updates - which are relatively easy, and pulling information I've gleaned from helping you all, and putting it out there for their review and hopefully use.
A Red Cross relief worker who also worked The Storm said that while the devastation here is isolated pockets, those pockets are no less destroyed than your area. He just kept shaking his head, not believing he could see this level of destruction twice in a 12 month period.
I would like to make a request - would you be willing to go to the blog and offer any Experience Hope and Support you can think of? I'll make sure that all who need to see it, do. Right now the most affected county is Delaware. Susquehanna Co is next, followed by Tioga, Chenango, and then Broome. While Broome had the most by volume, it's not rural like the others, it isn't nearly as poor, and has far more resources to draw from than the others.
Much of Delaware and Susquehanna Co's are still closed, still have no electricity and still without phone. All of which YOU know all too well. Most infrastructure is gone in those counties - again - YOU know how that feels.
And this is why I am hoping you can leave comments for the folks of those counties. I know it will help. www.BinghamtonFloodRelief.blogspot.com.
Thank you for being part of MY community. It means the world to me!

7/16
I actually think life might be settling down some! Shh. Don't tell anyone.
Got stung this week and now am the proud owner of an Epi Pen. Still itching from the 'event' back on Tuesday, even with benadryl and prednisone, but it's getting better.
Things have settled down with the flood recovery. Am sure needs are going to start flowing in soon, but again, it's a hurry up and wait kind of thing. So, am using this time to get caught up on my real efforts - Hancock County, MS.
I did a little revamping without really revamping. I found a method on the Binghamton blog that seems to be working really well, so am applying it to the HC blogs. I have set up 6 resource posts. I think they're complete with what's on the blogs. 1 is for homeowners, 2 is for families, 3 is for non-profits, 4 is for business owners, 5 is for donors and 6 is for volunteers. It reads more like a professional journal with a summary and a link to the full information. I tried to keep it to 20 links per post, but some are over that.
I will add to it, and use my normal way, Red is new, Green is updated and will add the date of when the new stuff is added. I will continue to update as much as I can and post those updates as often as possible, but summer has slowed everyone down in responding. Hey - the least amount of energy spent means the least amount of sweat poured. I understand completely. It isn't they aren't working, or still needing money and items. It's that they are too tired fighting the heat to let me know.
So, tomorrow I hope to post updates for everyone. I have done a fair amount with a bunch of the folks I have posted and those need to be seen. Take care all. Stay as cool as possible and don't work too hard. Not in this heat!

7/22
Today I am celebrating. I was able to work a total of 6 hours today! My work is generally done is 20 minute increments, up to an hour, but no more than that for up to 4 hours max. Today was GREAT. I've cleaned and frozen blueberries; picked and froze string beans, cleaned around the house, primed and painted 3 shelves, did more work on a closet, made some bread and butter pickles and worked on the blogs. All of them. LOL So - today was a great day. I'm sure I'll pay tomorrow, but it'll be worth it. Completely!
Found some interesting articles, more grant opportunities. They're smaller, but after awhile, I get to the point where I'll fill out an application for a $20 bill. Have updated all of the blogs and am getting ready to go through all of the groups I have posted in hopes of getting them updated as well.
Have started a new the search for volunteers for the One House project in Pearlington. They have a great need for electricians and plumbers - as does everyone down there. But to finish the project as hoped by September 1, it would be a great thing to find a couple of hard workers that could accomplish the task in a couple of weeks. Please prayerfully consider it.
I've started putting data on the http://www.citizenactionteam.org/ for the more active organizations, so if you want the info put on, please visit their site, or contact me and it'll get put on both my blogs and their data base. There's a sudden swell of surplus items that folks are willing to donate, so you really need to get your information out there!
And with that, I'll end this.
Oh - not quite. 2 people to thank profusely.Leslie with Katrina's Angels has been sending me tons of information, as well as information gleaned from their forum has been of tremendous use both for NY's flooding and Hancock County.
CoHR - all of the folks who host that incredible weekly listing of blogs has given me new contacts and new networking possibilities for Hancock County. Very cool!

7/29
Well, it's been on of THOSE weeks. LOLActually, a lot of internal junk was completed - finished the revamping of the blogs so the hyperlinks on the side bar make more sense.Did a whole bunch of work that won't show for a solid month, but when it does, it should be pretty dramatic.
Did a bunch of phoning to start lining up volunteers.
Have fallen off again on the data entry. I'll get there yet!
Still doing some work on the Binghamton Flood blog. We're still in the super-crisis mode, so it will take time to get settled into the daily grind of recovery, not just relief effort. The counties North of Broome keep getting nailed with flash flooding - all of the creeks and streams in cleaning out to flow properly again, and it can't be done until the rains stop - and they aren't stopping. We're in the ultra average hot days, huge thunderstorms in the afternoons cycle and if they don't have every road wash out, I'll be very surprised.
And finally, I have created a design and am getting estimates for T-shirts. The front will look like: And the back will look like:This is everyone who is currently on the blogs, plus one, I think, that has completed their main mission in MS. Most are Hancock County. Less than a handful aren't. Eveyrone's website is put on in Alpha order so there is NO favoritism. Even mine are worked in in Alpha order. There are over 40 - so it's quite a consortium of folks!
7/31 The going theory at the moment is I'm going to order "a bunch" from a man in LA who's family lost it all and he's trying to support them all with his printing company. These will be gifts and trade for other T-shirts. The rest will go through K8Company so that I can update the graphic as needed AND people can get them in other styles than just T-shirts. It gives everyone far more choice and her profits go to the Bay St Louis Employee fund - the more that's donated, the fewer people that get laid off. So - will keep you posted!
Contact me at KatrinaCoalition@aol.com if you are interested. I still don't know the price, but if you tell me what you're able to pay, I'll be honest if I can meet it or not. OK?
I am both amazed and proud of how many individuals and very small organizations are assisting with the recovery. You're an amazing bunch and I want ALL of you recognized as the very large group of incredible individuals that you are! Hancock County would so much further behind than what it is because of YOU.

Habitat Needs Help

2006-07-22T16:54:00.000-05:00

This is where all of my editorial-style notes go and I can NOT let this go without saying something.
The article:
Habitat for Humanity Seeks More Gulf Coast Helpers
Group sets a goal of 1,000 homes by 2007
By The Associated Press
Thu, Jul. 20 2006 09:31 AM EST

AMERICUS, Ga. (AP) - Habitat for Humanity International is appealing for more volunteers to help build homes for families left homeless when hurricanes Katrina and Rita ravaged the Gulf Coast last year.
(Photo Caption Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee drives a nail and his wife Janet Huckabee, left, looks on at the Habitat for Humanity Musicians' Village in New Orleans on Saturday, July 15, 2006. On Saturday, some of the member governors in town for the Southern Governors' Association meeting and volunteers helped with the construction of a new housing community in New Orleans' Upper Ninth Ward. The project, known as the Musicians' Village, was conceived by native jazz musicians Branford Marsalis and Harry Connick Jr. in partnership with New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity. The community is just under way but plans for 300 houses as a way to help displaced musicians and others come home.)
The home-building charity is making the appeal because of ramped-up construction, not because of complaisance or a drop-off of volunteers for the group, said Ken Meinert, a Canadian engineer who is heading Habitat's hurricane recovery program.
"Thank God that Habitat volunteers have a little longer memory than some of the general public," Meinert said. "We're getting some return volunteers. Some who went early are now returning with friends and family."
With the work pace increasing, it's important to keep volunteers in the pipeline, he said, noting that some who volunteer now may not get to work on the Gulf Coast until sometime in the fall.
"People who have been there are our best advocates," he said. "When you see the devastation along the Mississippi Coast and in the greater New Orleans area, it's just overwhelming. That stays with you a long time.
"There's so much today that looks not very much different than it did 10 months ago," he said.
Habitat isn't the only charity still in search of more volunteers to help out with hurricane recovery efforts.
Red Cross officials have been working to increase their ranks of volunteers all along the Gulf Coast.
"With all of the spontaneous volunteers immediately following Katrina, chapters have been working very hard to integrate those volunteers into the ongoing chapter disaster programs, that's been a good source of recruitment," said Bob Howard, a spokesman for the Red Cross' hurricane recovery program.
In the initial surge of interest in helping with the recovery, Habitat had to turn some volunteers away because there was no place for them to stay, Meinert said. Most of the available housing was filled with disaster victims and emergency workers.
Now, there's a school at St. Bernard Parish, La., known as Camp Hope, that can accommodate about 1,000 Habitat volunteers. Bunkhouses in the Gulfport area can house another 300. Some Habitat volunteers also stay in air-conditioned tents.
Habitat has set a goal of building 1,000 homes for hurricane victims by next July.
"We're on a good path to that," Meinert said, noting that 117 homes have been completed and another 233 are under construction at 17 sites from Beaumont, Texas, to Mobile.
Following Katrina, Habitat compiled a database of about 31,000 people, groups and families willing to help in the recovery. Of those, an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 Habitat volunteers have come, some to work for Habitat for Humanity International and others for the group's 17 affiliates in the area, Meinert said.
It's hard to know exactly how many actual Habitat volunteers were there because some of the volunteers may have been members of church groups, rather than Habitat affiliates, he said.
With the work intensifying, there are occasional spot shortages of workers. "We certainly have slowed projects because we may have had 10 volunteers when we needed 30,"
Meinert said.
© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

All I'm going to say is that if they hadn't held onto their lists of volunteers for over 6 months and not allowed them to go down - that lack of housing thing is NOT true - they probably wouldn't be in the position they are in now. They didn't seize the moment and people have moved on.

June Updates from Leslie

2006-06-18T07:27:00.000-05:00

6/24
Hey folks... I think I'm getting the hang of the upload issue with Blogger. You get one a day. That's it. So, I'm going to try that theory and see what happens. I've actually gotten 2 to UL today, so I figure I'm ahead of the curve.
Well, obviously, I didn't go to Saratoga Springs to meet Tommy Longo and whomever else came up from Waveland. I'm heartbroken, but almost too dizzy to realize it. The infection is slowly getting better, but my eyes are still twitching and the brain is still twirling.
On a major upnote, a guy contacted me re: the fire departments in Hancock County. It seems he has some powerful contacts as well as him going down to assist however he can. He got to know the folks while down there with FEMA right after the storm. Well, it seems one of those contacts is already going to be down there starting this weekend and has promised to tour Hancock County on his way East to the South East District Meeting for the International Association of Fire Chiefs. Woo!
We might actually get some ink out of this for the fire departments. It's a pretty dire situation and everyone in fire service that I speak to thinks there is nothing more that needs doing. Oy! What I think we, collectively, are feeling is, all of this money has been appropriated, given, granted, etc. and yet NO one at the ground level as seen it yet. Some money has come through, but for the billions that have been handed out, you would think every police agency, fire agency, city hall, library system and school system would be completely rebuilt. And yet, they still have over 70% total destruction.
Made a bunch of phone calls, have continued my email and snail mail full court press of NYS police agencies to assist Hancock County. That will be another 2-3 week for snail mail and at least 1 more week email. Finally got my eyes to tolerate catching up on my research. I had a bunch of organizations saved up to post on the blogs, but just hadn't had the ability to tolerate it.
Next is putting the information on data base for Citizen Action Team - if anyone wants to pull the info from the blogs and add it to their data base - let me know! I'll get you set up! It's something really small to do, but will have a major impact in the very near future. Last but not least, at least I think so, if you know of an organization that would benefit from being on any one of the blogs, let me know.
If you know of an organization that is on the blogs, but hasn't been updated in awhile, prod them into sending me an update. The more frequent the update, the more often people visit the posting. I'm not asking weekly, but monthly or twice monthly would be great. The ones who update quarterly or less get lost in space - literally. My thinking is, if they can't even update their own website, or email me with a 5 minute email, I honestly don't know how much they're doing down in Hancock County. That might be the wrong attitude, but the only way to get people committed to your cause is to communicate YOUR commitment. So - that's it for now. Contact me with any information or suggestions... KatrinaCoalition@aol.com

6/17
Hello everyone! We've gone from April weather to July weather in a matter of days here. And of course, it has to be right when I'm working on a small construction project. Discovery included that my brain still won't tolerate hammering - so I guess I need to stick to the landscaping and bribe some friends to do what little needs doing inside the house. That bribe is called "Rhubarb Pie". LOL Apple pie works too, but that's more of an autumn bribe.
Oh - this picture is the most recent I've ever put on here! My sister took it a couple of weeks ago. So now you know what I look like right now. Can't promise tomorrow, but that's as close to accurate as you'll get.
A great deal has happened this week. I've heard from many people who are working throughout the Gulf Region, wanting to use the information I have posted. Which is part of the reason I am splitting things just a little more. Hancock County news, needs, updates, etc. are now on http://www.hancockcountyrelief.blogspot.com/. This relieves the Networking blog to be just that - a networking blog. It will keep general articles, articles for volunteers to be better prepared for working down along the Gulf and for financial information that is not exclusive to Hancock County. This will allow all agencies throughout the region to find the information far more quickly, as well as allow those working specifically for Hancock County to find THEIR information more quickly. Let me know if any other ideas might work better! Seriously. The blogs are getting just over 100 hits a day, so I guess something is working right! Hopefully.
I have a local church that has agreed to assist me in collecting items. Since I am the one who will be shipping the stuff, it's obviously not going to be huge quantities, but consistency is the key! They will be collecting items from a list I've given them for a number of different agencies so that all of the folks will be able to participate for their favorite cause. I have enough items for at least 7 months! They may bump up the number of Sundays they will collect, but I don't want to burden them too much. I'd rather they be around for the long haul.
I've also started sending letters of request to NYS police departments. There are over 400! Eeep. Anyway, I'm sending at least 16/day by email when they have emails listed, and am mailing about 16/week to those that don't have email listed. It'll still take an estimated 5 months to get through them all. If anyone wants to do something similar with their state, please let me know. One thing people need to remember is that the 12 NE states don't have as many counties as were severely affected by Katrina and Rita.
So, I guess that's it for now. As always, if you know of an agency that would benefit from being listed on the blog, please please please email me or give them my information. I will be adding much of what's on my blogs to a database Katrinas Angels just pointed me toward. That's next week's project. And finally, I am putting all of my past updates on the Katrina Advocate blog. If anyone is interested in looking back at all that's been done with these blogs, you can. Each month has a single post. I've not gone back to check the links within those posts, so they may not work - especially prior to all the additions of new blogs. I truly don't expect anyone to be THAT interested, but then again, you might be. I don't know.
Take care everyone.

6/11
Blogger.com has some "unexpected maintenance" issues this week, so it's still a little twitchy for posting, but reading it seems to be just fine. I just can't get pictures to load for some reason.

Continue finding more grant possibilities - this time I found for law enforcement/fire and historic buildings - which many of the municipal buildings down there are. So that might help with the budget crunch.
Glenn, from NOLA, has a blog http://soulofneworleans.blogspot.com/ He's written me several times - neither of us know how he got my email, but I don't care! I've found great info on his blog and he's linking mine to his since it has so much universally sound information on it. Good! That's the idea behind the blog!
Collaborations with Foundation Hope and HANDS is going well. Ideas keep bouncing around and with any luck, we'll make some great progress.I have finished sending volunteer requests to the schools in Broome County and some of Tioga County, so will now start working on Emergency Services again. I'm getting MORE than a little annoyed at their reluctance to assist. Considering the number of counties affected directly by Hurricane Katrina alone is the same as CA and TX combined (roughly 300), I'm curious how they'd react if the measly 62 in NYS were all wiped out - would they want assistance? I'm guessing maybe.
I cleaned up and placed promotional material for the one fishermen's group on the http://www.katrinaadvocate.blogspot.com/ site. The monies from these T-shirts goes directly to reestablishing the association since the building, records, materials were wiped out. Even with all of that, this association is doing some pretty great things to help folks out.
I called Pastor Bonnie Ringdahl with CityTeam Ministries for an update. I've not called her in a couple of months. I feel shame. But, she was able to tell me some great news about a woman who is doing long term assistance for disabled folks within Hancock County. I hope there is someone like this in every county down there. Considering ALL of the national organizations who state they are there to assist the disabled are only paying lip service to it and telling you to go talk to all of the other agencies, there needs to be more help!
A Methodist minister here in town is asking her congregation to help collect items for me to send down. I've asked her if it would be possible to have 1 Sunday a month for such collections. Since she is retiring very soon, I hope the minister coming in will be as amenable as she has been. She emailed me and thinks this is a very good thing, so keep your fingers crossed!Also heard from a nun in the area - she located about 50 math books for middle school kids. I put her in contact with a lady from the Bay/Waveland school district hoping it helps. Since my contacts for the other schools are all without Internet and out of town, Tammy was my only contact right NOW. If she doesn't pan out, I'll do what I can to find a home for the books as quickly as possible.

6/4
This week has actually been a whirlwind of activity that doesn't show.

My sister was in town for the week, so that was very pleasant and we had tons of fun working outside in the yard. When she gets her pictures on the 'net, I'll put a couple of them up.

Anyway, I have found more articles, gotten a bunch of stuff in the mail and have had tons of writing to do - most of which is finished. Only one more after this.

I am getting some requests for information from local school teachers, so my letter-writing campaign to get some of them down to assist is paying off! I still have about 1 more week's worth of letters to get out, and then have to start back in on the emergency services sector and absolutely shame them into helping.

I get so pissed at the lack of compassion. We're not suffering that badly with budget cuts that we can't help out even a little.

Contacts continue to be made, but with the onset of the new hurricane season, they are back into full blown crisis management, which means the flow of information has slowed even more than it was before. But, I'll keep plugging away and posting the information as I receive it.

Each blog has had items updated and I think even some new stuff, so cruise through.

Leslie

6/11
Blogger.com has some "unexpected maintenance" issues this week, so it's still a little twitchy for posting, but reading it seems to be just fine. I just can't get pictures to load for some reason.

Continue finding more grant possibilities - this time I found for law enforcement/fire and historic buildings - which many of the municipal buildings down there are. So that might help with the budget crunch.

Glenn, from NOLA, has a blog http://soulofneworleans.blogspot.com/ He's written me several times - neither of us know how he got my email, but I don't care! I've found great info on his blog and he's linking mine to his since it has so much universally sound information on it. Good! That's the idea behind the blog!

Collaborations with Foundation Hope and HANDS is going well. Ideas keep bouncing around and with any luck, we'll make some great progress.

I have finished sending volunteer requests to the schools in Broome County and some of Tioga County, so will now start working on Emergency Services again. I'm getting MORE than a little annoyed at their reluctance to assist. Considering the number of counties affected directly by Hurricane Katrina alone is the same as CA and TX combined (roughly 300), I'm curious how they'd react if the measly 62 in NYS were all wiped out - would they want assistance? I'm guessing maybe.

I cleaned up and placed promotional material for the one fishermen's group on the http://www.katrinaadvocate.blogspot.com/ site. The monies from these T-shirts goes directly to reestablishing the association since the building, records, materials were wiped out. Even with all of that, this association is doing some pretty great things to help folks out.

I called Pastor Bonnie Ringdahl with CityTeam Ministries for an update. I've not called her in a couple of months. I feel shame. But, she was able to tell me some great news about a woman who is doing long term assistance for disabled folks within Hancock County. I hope there is someone like this in every county down there. Considering ALL of the national organizations who state they are there to assist the disabled are only paying lip service to it and telling you to go talk to all of the other agencies, there needs to be more help!

A Methodist minister here in town is asking her congregation to help collect items for me to send down. I've asked her if it would be possible to have 1 Sunday a month for such collections. Since she is retiring very soon, I hope the minister coming in will be as amenable as she has been. She emailed me and thinks this is a very good thing, so keep your fingers crossed!

Also heard from a nun in the area - she located about 50 math books for middle school kids. I put her in contact with a lady from the Bay/Waveland school district hoping it helps. Since my contacts for the other schools are all without Internet and out of town, Tammy was my only contact right NOW. If she doesn't pan out, I'll do what I can to find a home for the books as quickly as possible.

6/17

Hello everyone!

We've gone from April weather to July weather in a matter of days here. And of course, it has to be right when I'm working on a small construction project. Discovery included that my brain still won't tolerate hammering - so I guess I need to stick to the landscaping and bribe some friends to do what little needs doing inside the house. That bribe is called "Rhubarb Pie". LOL Apple pie works too, but that's more of an autumn bribe.

Oh - this picture is the most recent I've ever put on here! My sister took it a couple of weeks ago. So now you know what I look like right now. Can't promise tomorrow, but that's as close to accurate as you'll get.

A great deal has happened this week. I've heard from many people who are working throughout the Gulf Region, wanting to use the information I have posted. Which is part of the reason I am splitting things just a little more. Hancock County news, needs, updates, etc. are now on www.HancockCountyRelief.blogspot.com. This relieves the Networking blog to be just that - a networking blog. It will keep general articles, articles for volunteers to be better prepared for working down along the Gulf and for financial information that is not exclusive to Hancock County. This will allow all agencies throughout the region to find the information far more quickly, as well as allow those working specifically for Hancock County to find THEIR information more quickly.

Let me know if any other ideas might work better! Seriously. The blogs are getting just over 100 hits a day, so I guess something is working right! Hopefully.

I have a local church that has agreed to assist me in collecting items. Since I am the one who will be shipping the stuff, it's obviously not going to be huge quantities, but consistency is the key! They will be collecting items from a list I've given them for a number of different agencies so that all of the folks will be able to participate for their favorite cause. I have enough items for at least 7 months! They may bump up the number of Sundays they will collect, but I don't want to burden them too much. I'd rather they be around for the long haul.

I've also started sending letters of request to NYS police departments. There are over 400! Eeep. Anyway, I'm sending at least 16/day by email when they have emails listed, and am mailing about 16/week to those that don't have email listed. It'll still take an estimated 5 months to get through them all. If anyone wants to do something similar with their state, please let me know.

One thing people need to remember is that the 12 NE states don't have as many counties as were severely affected by Katrina and Rita.

So, I guess that's it for now. As always, if you know of an agency that would benefit from being listed on the blog, please please please email me or give them my information. I will be adding much of what's on my blogs to a database Katrinas Angels just pointed me toward. That's next week's project.

And finally, I am putting all of my past updates on the Katrina Advocate blog. If anyone is interested in looking back at all that's been done with these blogs, you can. Each month has a single post. I'v enot gone back to check the links within those posts, so they may not work - expecially prior to all the additions of new blogs. I truly don't expect anyone to be THAT interested, but then again, you might be. I don't know.

Take care everyone.

Police Assistance Request Letter

2006-06-18T06:39:00.000-05:00

I am taking the time to send these to as many NYS police departments as possible, both by email and by snail mail. I did a search for NYS Police Departments and came up with a complete list! I'm sure it is possible for all states and commonwealths.

Dear Chief,

It has been nearly 10 months since hurricanes Katrina and Rita ravaged the Gulf Coast, and another season is upon us.

Those 2 hurricanes affected 280 counties, destroying over 60% of all structures and infrastructure, businesses and industry, public service and emergency service. The counties in all states of the North East – CT, DE, MA, MD, ME, NJ, NH, NY, PA, RI and VT – would not equal the number of counties affected in the Gulf Region.

It is highly probable for a similar weather event to occur to these states simultaneously. Are we ready? Will we need help? Would we need help beyond the first month, or beyond what states/associations have previously dictated as appropriate or allowed? I think we will.

All emergency services sectors must unify with each other in order to recover from catastrophes that, sooner or later, will befall us all.

I do not argue that budgets are tight, but I also know that budgets are padded within certain line items. I also know the goodwill generated both locally and nationally by assisting the Gulf Region will be priceless both now and in the future.

Enclosed are lists of needs for police and fire agencies in Hancock County, MS. Also enclosed is a recent article regarding the plight of Hancock County.

Please look at your budgets and assist however possible. No amount of assistance is too small.

If you have any questions, please contact me at your earliest convenience.

Sincerely,

http://208.62.60.4/40/article_237.shtml
From the Sea Coast Echo
Hancock could go ‘belly-up’
By DWAYNE BREMER
Jun 7, 2006, 17:34
In a historic meeting Monday afternoon, the Harrison and Jackson county boards of supervisors met with the Hancock County Board of Supervisors on Longfellow Drive to discuss what they could do to assist Hancock County. The meeting was organized by Jackson County Supervisor Tim Broussard.” Watching everything on television, it is obvious that Hancock County seems to be getting the short end of the stick," he said. "We feel like we are in a position to help."
Hancock County Board President Rocky Pullman was gracious in accepting the offer and produced a list of some needs, which Hancock County is having trouble with.” I cannot ask you for money," he said. "If anything," he said, "I think our governor should be helping all of us with that. It is a wonderful thing to see the people next door, who have been hit just as hard, wanting to help."
The list of Hancock's needs included a "pothole patcher," help cleaning culverts, getting grass cut along the right of ways, extra debris removal, replacing street signs and lights, and mosquito control help.
Pullman then explained to fellow supervisors just how bad the situation in Hancock County is. He said the county is about $4.5 million dollars short this budget year, which will end in October. Next year is even worse as Pullman expects a shortfall between $10 million to $16 million, of a budget that normally runs around $34 million. Pullman said of the 19,000 homes in Hancock County, 10,000 were destroyed by Katrina.
"We feel like about October 16, we are going to be belly-up," he said. Harrison County Board President Connie Rockco and Supervisor Marlon Ladner suggested the counties unify their lobbying power to go to the governor or possibly even higher for financial assistance."
We can present the problems to the governor and see if he can come up with any creative ideas on how to help," Rockco said."There is a tremendous amount of federal money here," Ladner said. "There has been no consideration made for local governments to maintain the services it provides. Why in the world would grant money not be carried over to local governments? The cities and counties have been devastated and they cannot provide the same services for the people. For years, the Coast has been the financial engine for the state. “We need some of that money back now."
Rockco suggested asking the governor and state legislation for a percentage of the sales tax revenue that is generated in each county. Currently, counties do not receive any of the sales tax collected inside of the unincorporated areas of the county. Cities receive a percentage of their sales tax back from the state.
Officials from Jackson and Harrison counties agreed to help with some of the roadwork, street signs, and manpower issues expressed by Hancock. Officials agreed to meet again, as well as use their combined voice to lobby for the good of all south Mississippi.
"We are centralized, we are the Mississippi Gulf Coast," Pullman said. "This is what we should be doing. We need to tell them (state and federal officials), just help us get on our feet, and then you will not hear from us again," Supervisor Steve Seymour said. One Jackson County supervisor warned that borrowing money is not the way to solve problems.
"We can borrow ourselves rich," he said. "Eventually we will have to pay it back, and we just do not know how long it will be before we have the ability to do that."
© 2005 Bay St. Louis Newspapers, Inc.

BSL Police Needs

Mailing Address - (All Departments),
City of Bay Saint Louis
P.O. Box 2550
Bay Saint Louis, MS 39521-2550

POLICEFile labels
correction tape
phone message pads
letter size manila file folders
file folder fasteners
storage boxes
letter and legal size copy paper
white business envelopes
91/2"x12" and 6"x9" manila envelopes with clasps
sheet protectors
liquid paper
legal pads, yellow, 5"x8" and 81/2" x 11"
Bic mechanical pencils
yellow highlighter pens
black dry erase markers
dry erase cleaner
black sharpie - fine point
3"x3" post-it notes
packing tape
lithium batters for small torches
laser printer cartridge, ML 1710D3; HP 51645A, 51641A; 4127X; C8728A; 1823T; C8727 AN; C1823D; C1816A
fax/copier/scanner cartridges HP C4920A, C4921A, C4922A, C4923A, HP C5011DN, C5010DN.One of our biggest expenses for the city is fuel. This is critical to our police and fire departments for obvious reasons.

Employee Relief Fund - donations can be made through the Bay Saint Louis Disaster Relief Fund, with checks earmarked specifically for this use. Our basic employee salary average is $22,500 per year, not including benefits. We currently have 105 employees.Donations to this effort can be made as follows: Checks made payable to Bay Saint Louis Disaster Relief Fund, check subject line: Employee Salary Fund and mailed to City of Bay Saint Louis, Attention: David Kolf, Comptroller, P.O. Box 2550, Bay Saint Louis, MS 39520.

Our city's resources are quickly drying up. There are no purchases being made that are not absolutely essential. This has been our business effort since Katrina, not just a newly instituted policy.We have been hoarding our money to keep our employees on full time with benefits. The few employees that have been added to help with the enormous workload are being paid through grant funds for six months only.

City of Waveland
335 Coleman Avenue
Bldg. 8
Waveland, MS 39576

SIRCHIE
2-PART NUMBER MLP2020A- LATENT PRINT KIT
2-PART NUMBER SK700- TAPE MEASURE
2-PART NUMBER RMT03- MEASURING SCALES- ROLLER
2-PART NUMBER PEN 15- CRIME/ACCIDENT PHOTO EVIDENCE NUMBERS 1-15
2-PART NUMBER PEN1650 CRIME/ACCIDENT PHOTO EVIDENCE NUMBERS 16-50
1- PART NUMBER- ACFUME CYANOACRYLATE FUMING ENCLOSURE
2- PART NUMBER CNA2000- CYANOACRYLATE PACKETS
2- PART NUMBER PV001B- ANTI-PUTREFACTION SINGLE MASK
2- PART NUMBER EFR200- BIG NUMBER TRI FOLD REFERENCE SCALES
DICTAPHONE
2-COMBO 2753- STANDARD CASSETTE WRITER PLUS DICTATION AND TRANSCRIPTION VERSION WITH FOOT CONTROL, HEAD SET, AND HAND MIKE
2- HANDHELD 2225 RECORDER- DICTAPHONE STANDARD CASSETTE HANDHELD RECORDER
2- TELEVISION-DVD/VCR COMBOVIDEO RECORDER
MAGNIFYING GLASS
MAGNIFYING GLASS FOR FINGERPRINTS
HEAVY DUTY PAPER SHREDDER
GUN SHOT RESIDUE KITS
RAPE KITS VICTIM/SUSPECT
5 – KODAC DIGITAL CAMERAS WITH CASES AND MEMORY CARDS (EASY SHARE Z730)
4 – LATENT PRINT KITS PART# 177L (SERCHIE)
4- PORTABLE BREATH TESTERS (CMI INTOXLYZER 300 LE307)
4 – METAL TAPE MEASURES 100 FT
6 – MICRO TAPE RECORDERS WITH CASES
8 – SETS OF LEG IRONS (S&W RS024)
4 – 15 FT TROOPER SPiKE STRIPS (LE339)
1 – BATTERY JUMP STARTER HEAVY DUTY ROLL AROUND

Gulf Fishermen Support

2006-06-05T17:40:00.000-05:00

These T-shirts are directly from the United Commercial Fisherman's Association.

To order either of the T-shirts above:

$10/T-shirt + $3 shipping and handling per shirt (total $13)

Include your name, address, phone number, quantity and size (Small-XXXL)

Make Check Payable to CFPP&S (customized fishing promotional products and services)

940 Stanford Ave. Apt #405 Baton Rouge LA 70808

To order the "Flooded" T-shirt, please include your name, address, phone number, quantity and size (small - XXXL) $15/T-shirt + $3 S&H ($18 total)

Make check payable to CFPPS and send to the same address as above.

There is also a DVD they have about the destruction that happened to the fishermen...

Letter To School Teachers

2006-05-21T10:11:00.000-05:00

As I posted in my 5/21 update, many school districts are still in session. What a better volunteer pool than school teachers for the summer? Many have second jobs during the summer, but can probably squeeze a week or two out for the recovery effort. So, skilled labor that can be tapped!

Even the schools that are no longer in session will be able to receive these letters since the teachers and staff will be cleaning and sorting and closing up their classrooms for at least 10 days, if not 2 weeks.

I address the letter to the school systems Teachers and Staff to personalize it a bit.

And as always, you may have them contact me directly, should you choose. This letter is directed toward the One House project in Pearlington, but may be rewritten to fit any particular project you wish. I have NO problems with that.

Dear School Teachers and Staff,

I am writing on behalf of the One House At A Time Project in Pearlington, MS. This project was founded by a Habitat For Humanity affiliate to be made with the same intent as international Habitat projects. It provides a small but solidly built living space that can be both permanent and temporary, depending on the needs of the occupants – focusing on the aged and disabled. If the person or persons is able to rebuild their home, the structure is moved to a new location for a new person. If the person is unable to rebuild, they purchase this structure for their new permanent home.

The cost of these houses is 1/3 the estimated $60,000 of a FEMA trailer and includes all appliances and furniture. The “kits” are shipped from New Hope Construction in TN to Pearlington, MS to be assembled on location.

I am asking that you take 1-2 weeks of your summer break to assist in building these homes for these residents. The goal is to build 100 and has a waiting list of over 200 and growing. Sleeping arrangements in a bunkhouse are available, with some room for RV’s. A kitchen is available, but you or your group must bring in food. With only 4 grocery stores for the entire county, it is easier to bring the majority of your food supplies. Tools are also supplied. All skill levels can be used as well as all skill sets.

Contact New Hope Construction at info@NewHopeConstruction.org, call them at 866-396-4673 or visit their website at www.NewHopeConstruction.org. Updates and information can also be found at www.OneHouseAtATime.com.

Please contact me at your earliest convenience regarding any questions or concerns you may have.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Commercial Fishermen Letter

2006-05-19T07:38:00.000-05:00

May 19, 2006

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing on behalf of the commercial fisherman in Hancock County, MS as well as all the commercial fishermen in the Gulf Coast Region that were put out of business by the storms of 2005.

The Federal Government is once again turning its back on the independent commercial fishermen. While it has promised millions in aid for the Gulf Coast, NONE has been given yet. No assistance in clearing out boating lanes. No assistance in loans or grants to establish the support industries surrounding the fishermen. No assistance in helping the fishermen rebuild their homes, their boats, their lives.

These fishermen, some with boats but no homes, some with homes but no boats, and many with neither need their livelihood restored. They need your help.

Seafood prices may or may not increase due to the decline in supply. There is a good chance buyers will seek out foreign markets to fill their needs, taking all North American fishermen out of the loop and out of business. By assisting the fishermen in the Gulf, the American fishing industry will remain far more secure.

I know times are difficult with rising fuel costs and declining fishing grounds. However, even the most modest assistance, couple with the show of solidarity and support will do more to assist these fishermen than huge sums of money.

You can help by sending supplies, materials to help rebuild homes, volunteers to assist in any and all clean-up, help establish new support businesses (fueling, ice, packing, shipping). The entire fishing industry has been destroyed through 3 states – Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.

Please help.

If you have any questions or comments regarding this request, please contact me at your earliest convenience.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Leslie Updates - May

2006-05-15T18:33:00.000-05:00

May 8
Well, spring is definitely here. Daffodils, fruit trees, lilacs are all in bloom. Iris, allium and peonies are all getting ready. Dry as dust, but that's why perennials are such great things. Not nearly the need to water.

Anyway, life remains busy here.

I'm back to making phone calls because all are so busy that email is just the last thing they want to do. I don't blame them one bit! Life must be so overwhelming. But - because of the phone calls, I get a far more accurate idea of what all is going on.

So, in the coming weeks, I will be adding another round of town, city and county organizations.

I donated a quilt to a cute little 4 y.o. who donated her bone marrow to her 6 y.o. brother. It's the pink one on www.FullCircleQuilting.Blogspot.com Have offered to make one for the brother once he's out of isolation, so we'll see what happens.

Met with Deb vD. Very cool lady! Very excited to be getting started on helping. There is so much to do that she's as overwhelmed as the rest of us! But, courageous enough to start anyway.

Have written letters to medical clinics in the area to hopefully get some volunteers for the Pass Christian medical clinic since the BSL Medical Clinic is no longer needed.

Am going to be taking the blog in another new direction. Since I am getting so many organizations and agencies within Hancock County AND volunteering for Hancock County, the Sunday post of needs and updates is getting incredibly big - and to me - too big.

So, the Networking blog is going to remain exclusively Hancock County organizations and agencies - such as the municipalities, the Chamber of Commerce, the schools, etc. The Advocate blog (www.KatrinaAdvocate.blogspot.com) will hold the letters that people can write, and the volunteer agencies from around the nation that are helping (and advocating) Hancock County such as City Team, One House, BRICK Layers, etc.

5/12
I changed my mind. LOL - I've added 3 new blogs - and those will work exclusively for each town I've got information for within Hancock County.
www.WavelandRelief.blogspot.com
www.BayStLouisRelief.blogspot.com
www.PearlingtonRelief.blogspot.com

I will be submitting them to the search engines once I have the information transfered, which will hopefully be this weekend. I'll alert all by email as well when it's been done.

L

I'll be starting that this week, so if some links don't work right, it's because I haven't finished the change-over. I do plan on having it changed by Sunday for the main post. I will also explain then the format - which I'm also unsure of how it's going to look. [grin] - This is definitely a matter of INVENTING the wheel - no re-invention going on here.

On the RisingFromRuin site at MSNBC, there have been statements that folks around the nation are asking the news agencies to STOP running Katrina news. We can't let that happen. People NEED to write letters to the editor, write local businesses and agencies to continue assisting, etc. this recovery will take up to a decade. And it's only been 8 months and folks are already grumbling that they've heard enough. Too bad. They need to keep hearing it.

Keep being their voice. They are still so isolated that they need us to be their voice.

more to come....

Leslie

5/21
It's amazing how quickly things start growing once the switch is turned on. The daffodils are done, the lilac are in peak bloom and the blueberry bushes are feeding our humming bird very well. This is going to be a slightly longer version since I am feeling the need to explain some stuff.
First off, I want to thank everyone who contacts me on a regular basis. Without you, this couldn't be possible. See, I'm disabled. I have been for 5 years now and this is some sort of watershed year. Dealing with the disability that isn't going away after having been something of a work-a-holic is devestating. I've improved, but not enough to get back to work. I have a thing called Vestibular Neuritis. A virus attacked my right inner ear and destroyed several nerves. It even damaged the one that works the right side of my face - so when things are flaring up, my face goes numb, I can't always talk right, I bite my lip, I choke on liquids, etc. And - it caused never ending dizziness. I can't go hiking anymore, I can't drive, I can't be in crowds, new places.

Reading is a significant challenge, as is writing. Talking on the phone with a new person is difficult, which means I shouldn't make more than 1 call a day for this project, but I usually make about 3 when I'm able. The symptoms ebb and flow and there's no cure. There are few meds that work for VN, and only mask the symptoms, they don't resolve them - even temporarily. The dizziness affects your ability to think straight, think confidently, assimilate information and do critical thinking. And it's invisible. The only thing people might see is the slurring of speech and the inability to walk a straight line. So, the natural assumption is that I'm drunk. And I really don't care if people think that. That's the least of my worries. All that worries me is improving, which must be measured in years, not days, weeks or even months. I can't even compare seasons because each season brings on new challenges. Spring and summer are my best times - I can be outside and work in the yard as occupational therapy. Autumn and Winter are the worst. I can't get outside nearly as much and the storms really screw with the vertigo. It's called "decompensation". If you don't use it, you lose it. So, every year I have to regain what I lost from the year before. Hence - annual measurement of progress.

Most people who know me don't think of me as disabled. They see how much I get done in a day. What they don't realize is that it takes me the entire 17 hours I'm not in my bed to get those 3-4 hours worth of work done. And if I don't take a nap every day, I'm laid out for the following two days. So - the reworking of the blog into individual blogs was a major effort for me. I've done additional work on them, but have needed to take most of this week off to let my brain and eyes recover from the effort.

I have started a new letter writing campaign, which I will post to the Katrina Advocate blog. Please ask people within your circle of friends who may not be able to go down that writing letters and making phone calls can be at least as effective as their 2 hands would be, working on the Coast. One letter is to the Habitat For Humanity Restores - where they sell reclaimed materials from houses being remodeled or torn down to continue funding their efforts. I'm asking that they donate a portion of these materials (that are new surplus as well as the reclaimed) to the relief effort in Hancock County. One from FL has already said yes, and I have friends in FL working out the shipping logistics.

Another letter is to the local school districts. I am writing on behalf of the One House At A Time Project in Pearlington in hopes of getting a new set of volunteers for over the summer. What better pool of potential volunteers than teachers?! Even if your school district as ended the Spring semester, the teachers will be in the school for at least 10 days after as well as having summer programs that they will attend, so reaching them as a target audience isn't gone for most locales.

And finally - Bob Putnam - a man who wrote to me because he took offense to something I wrote in a private email that was forwarded to him by one of my friends has proven yet again The God Thing. If I hadn't had the blog and if Yvonne hadn't found my blog and if she hadn't posted a comment and if I hadn't written that private email and if someone hadn't forwarded it to him and if he hadn't gotten so offended that he wouldn't email me, I never would have known he would be such an asset to the fishing community. I really think God is in the word "if". That's why, throughout this whole thing, I try to enact "Principle Oover Personality". I don't have to like the people to do good work with them. All I need is accurate information from them and I'm a happy camper. So - to all - keep the faith. Keep working. One Day At A Time. Progress. That's all we need - is progress.

5/28

Hello everyone!

Can you tell I've run out of pictures of me? Ahh well. This is a picture of a wall hanging I made for a friend's first grandbaby. The design is about 200 years old I think, and I used over 60 different pinks and about 24 different greents on a cream background. This was a GREAT project!

Anyway, this is a better week. I'm not as dizzy, but still not well enough to do as much research as I normally do. I'll be able to do more this coming week. Maybe even today.

Great news all around. Trish - of Foundation Hope (www.Foundation-Hope.org) has suggested a collaboration between her organization, an organization named HANDS (look in the 3 town's blogs for more info) and my blogs in hopes of creating a very active Family Connection Program. HANDS has started it, but the more places people can find the information, the better chances of it being highly successful. I hope to post more about it as we all communicate and firm up our respective roles. But, I truly think this will be an amazing project!

The Giving Circle people are hosting folks from Waveland to come up to Saratoga Springs NY the last weekend of June for a sister city type agreement. I can't wait! This may be my only chance to meet folks from down there. I'm so excited! And hopefully, the above named project can join in as well to really collaborate efforts.

A gentleman that Trish knows - Scot - wrote a book and is donating proceeds to the relief effort. Once I get more information from him, I'll be posting it. If you'd like to see the book before hand, please go to www.chasingsolomon.com. It looks very interesting - my kind of life.

I am considering - but not fully decided - posting information on businesses that are contributing significantly to the relief effort. This way, if people wish to support those who support the rebuilding, they have an index to refer to. I'd rather keep it as small businesses since I'm from a family of entrepreneurs, but will include the larger ones since there are partnerships being formed as we 'speak'. If you know of any, please let me know and I'll most likely make a single post that is updated as often as necessary and linked to all the blogs.

I continue to send requests to the Habitat Restores since the materials they sell are exactly what the Relief Effort needs. I'm asking they donate a portion of these materials to the effort. Since so many do not have email, I will be needing to send snail mail out in the near future. If anyone would like to take up that cause - as there are Restores in every state, please email me and I'll give you the information I am sending out.

Right now I am still sending letters of request to volunteer to the local schools - they haven't dismessed for the summer yet, so am hoping I can get some teachers and staff to come down for a week or two during the summer months. Since many have second jobs in the service sectors we need volunteers in, it may just work. I'll let you know.

As always, if you know of any organizations within Hancock County that I could post information about, please let me know. KatrinaCoalition@aol.com I want as much representation as possible to better help the county.

Leslie

Habitat Restore Letter

2006-05-15T18:25:00.000-05:00

Please go to www.habitat.org/local. You will find a link there to help you locate your state's "Re-stores" to email this letter to. Since much of what they sell at these stores is what is needed to rebuild and restore the Gulf Region, it only makes sense to donate even just a portion of those goods to the affected areas.

Did you know it's close to 300 counties that were affected? Imagine that kind of destruction on that level anywhere in the world without massive national assistance. It would be impossible.

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing on behalf of Hancock County and the entire Gulf Region for sustained assistance through your Habitat For Humanity “Re-Store”.

By donating a portion of the building supplies to church groups or other organizations in your area that are assisting in the hurricane ravaged Gulf, you are assisting them in ways that are immeasurable. All too often, rebuilding efforts are stalled for lack of building supplies that cost 2-3 times the national average.

Warehouses and storage facilities exist if the supplies you send cannot be used immediately. However, since most groups communicate with each other while in the region, the materials will not likely find their way to storage.

While you may not physically be able to assist as a group or an individual, donating portions of your Re-Store supplies will be of far more assistance than you can fathom.

Suggested donations that are easiest to transport:
Toilets – old or new
Faucets
Sinks
Plumbing supplies
Wiring – all gauges
Outlets, junction boxes, wire nuts, etc.
Light fixtures
Windows
Doors
Architectural Grade Shingles
Tyvek
Insulation
Tools
Safety Supplies (masks, goggles, gloves, hearing protection, etc.)

Obviously, all materials are needed. But knowing space is limited in any organization’s caravan to the affected region, the best approach is to take the most of what fits.

If you have any questions regarding this request, please contact me at your earliest convenience.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Letter To Police PBA's

2006-05-15T18:22:00.000-05:00

Send this letter to your county's police agencies and even your state police. The Gulf Region's police are being adversely affected by the entire catastrophe. Most are working with 30% fewer officers due to stress related issues, are seeing an increase in violent crime, with that crime becoming more violent and being directed at the police in ever greater frequency. A true emergency is developing without the assistance they need.

To PBA President,

I am writing on behalf of the law enforcement agencies within Hancock County, MS. Contrary to popular belief, all is not well on the Gulf Coast since hurricane Katrina passed through. Hancock County, the poorest county of the poorest state in the nation, was hardest hit by Katrina and has had the least news representation. The county lost 70% of all structures during the hurricane and another 15% to mold and insect infestations. They have few phones, little potable water, incomplete electric service, 4 gas stations and 2 grocery stores for the entire county. The tax base has been wiped out with no budgets for the towns and county to work with, but still in need of emergency services. Most police departments are working with at least a 30% loss of manpower and an ever increasing rate in violent crime which is being directed more and more toward police officers.

I am asking you to read the enclosed letter from an assistant to the Mayor of Bay St. Louis, MS to better understand the plight of all municipalities within the Gulf Region. I am then asking you to help. Right now, with gas prices almost at historic highs, these police agencies are in great need of any assistance possible. I ask that you carefully consider helping, at whatever level possible. They need help on a consistent basis, but even a one-time offer will be greatly appreciated. And whether you choose the BSLPD, the Hancock County Sheriff’s department, Waveland City PD, or another agency in the Gulf is entirely up to you. I will assist you in finding an agency if you wish, but my main request is that you don’t forget and that you help as much as you can. I continue assisting because I would hope someone would help us if we were in such need.

If you as individuals would like to assist in some way, but are uncertain how, please feel free to contact me at your earliest convenience. All skills are needed by all agencies and organizations within the affected region. Nothing was left untouched by this disaster. Your help, either personal or professional, is needed now and in the foreseeable future.

Thank you for your time and attention to the matter.

Sincerely,

Medical Clinic Letter

2006-05-15T18:18:00.000-05:00

Please send this to your local physician's groups. I looked for ours in the yellow pages and found far more than I thought possible! I sent to internal medicine, family practice and pediatric groups, leaving out the other specialties for now.

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing on behalf of the Pass Christian Free Medical Clinic being run by United Peace Relief of California. United Peace Relief (www.UnitedPeaceRelief.org) was started by Lynn Meadows, PA in conjunction with AIDSail immediately following hurricane Katrina to help with the overwhelming medical needs in the Gulf Region.

Those needs still exist. While some areas are progressing so that the local medical infrastructure can handle the needs of the citizens and volunteers, many are still non-existent. Pass Christian, MS is one of those places.

Lynn wrote me the following:
“UNITED PEACE RELIEF has an immediate need for medical volunteers to go to the gulf region and staff the Village Free Clinic in Pass Christian, MS. We need Nurses, Doctors, Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants, and EMTs. When the doors are open the clinic is busy. When the doors are close, we have no volunteers. Please consider volunteering as soon as you can. It is easy to get an emergency license in Mississippi. If you cannot come, please ask a medical friend who might. At this point our commitment is through June 15, 2006 and will probably extend. Fly into Gulfport, MS with no charge to stay there. We are making a national plea for medical workers, please come and help us keep the doors to the clinic open.”

Charles Beardsley, another medical clinic’s founder, wrote the following:
“In many respects, not much has changed in the sense that we still see between 90 to 110 patients per day, the vast majority having upper respiratory infections, staph (which seems to be endemic down here) and/or diabetes related issues.”

If you are interested, please contact Lynn Meadows at your earliest convenience. The need for staffing, medications and funds remains as great now as it did the day after the hurricane.

Lynn Meadows, PA Co-Founder, United Peace Relief, www.UnitedPeaceRelief.org P.O. Box 933Ukiah, CA 95482707-462-2439; 707-463-1952 FAXlynn@unitedpeacerelief.org
Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Thank You's

2006-04-24T20:55:00.000-05:00

From DJ

Thanks, Leslie!

I check your blog often, there is such a wealth of information there. I'm going down to Lakeshore, Mississippi, from April 26th-30th (flying down to New Orleans) with five other women from our church. We're excited about it - we may be cooking for other volunteers, sorting items in the warehouse (the gymnasium of the destroyed and untouched Gulfview Elementary), or even painting, if some folks have gotten to that point in their rebuilding. Or - anything we're asked to do :-)

My husband will lead another team of men the end of June.We've got to keep caring...Thank you for all you do - you keep people inspired.

D-J

A huge Thank You to the students at Chenango Valley School District for taking on Pass Christian!
http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2006/03/chenango-valley-high-school-helping.html

From Leslie Holly to:

A huge Thank You to the Binghamton Tennis Center for their ongoing donation of dead tennis balls.
Dead tennis balls? Yes! The teachers in the affected region can put them on the bottoms of the students' chairs so they don't make marks on the floors of the FEMA trailers. This way, there will be no financial penalty for permanently marring the floors from (gads!) use.

Between the BTC and Binghamton University, we should obtain our initial goal of 300 within the month! After this first initial goal, we'll take it further to other schools as we are able.

Thank you again Mr. Starke!

And Thank You to the Calvary United Methodist Church in Vestal, NY

They recently had a rummage sale with some items left over - as is normal. I called and asked, and they allowed me, to come look over the 'left overs' for any items that might be needed. I collected a number of books, some area rugs and a CRIB to send down. WOW!

These folks are so incredible - they also allowed me to leave a poster for volunteers, a business card I made so people can access this blog and are going to help spread the word for the need.

Thank you so much!

From The Hancock County Library System
A huge Thank You from the Hancock County Library System to The Ithaca NY Rotary.
They were gracious enough to make a cash donation to the library system in order to assist in rebuilding.
Thank you so much!

Direct Quote - no editing: From Jeanne Brooks of The Charles B Murphy Elementary in Pearlington

Greetings from Mississippi! Good things are happening and I'd like to share them with you! These are a few pictures of what your time, talents, and resources have provided.

There are now 5 brand new Dell computers in each classroom with an additonal 3 in our office.(Buccaneer Computers/C. Hunter Richie Elementary) Our Renaissance Place educational programs are being remotely installed at this moment. Each portable shares an overhead and TV combo. (Thanks again, Gary)

There are bookshelves in place in every room holding lots of wonderful books for our children and teachers. (Longfellow School, Portland -shelving) (books from Carbondale, Brooksville, NY, Castine, Penobscot, Kentucky, New Jersey, California, Alabama )

I created a library in one-fourth of our office portable, bought Home Depot shelving, and with the help of a volunteer from New York, have unpacked EVERY box (and there were 100's) of books,that are now alphabetized and shelved. (Shelves from Savannah and N.C) And last, but not least, as of yesterday we have an 8x8 shed buillt by Sheds of Hope (thanks, Julie!).

As you can see, from microwaves (Carol), an office refrigerator( (Chris),a coffee pot (Deb) office furniture (Keith, Darrell, Ron, Tom/Carbondale), radios(Christine), clocks, watches, bookends, library supplies(Rick), school supplies, backpacks,jackets and clothing (Ms Anne/Tee) sweatshirts (Ms Sadie) laminator (Montana), binding machine(California), office chairs (Nevada) and even the camera that took these pictures (Kelly in PA), books, umbrellas, ponchos (Linda).

We don't know how we would have managed without you. You brought Thanksgiving baskets (Linda) and treats for our kids. Christmas presents arrived by the truckloads unitl I honestly felt like one of Santa's elves! There's no way I've even covered half of all you have done for us...not just gift cards and cash, but supplies, furnishings, cards, letters, phone calls, and the friendships and volunteer hours of so many people all over this country. We have become one with Maine, and Colorado, and Pennsylvania and Virginia and Georgia, and on and on... You've all done so much for us that's it's impossible to list everything, but please know that the children of Charles B. Murphy Elementary have been blessed by your efforts and have learned powerful lessons about the goodness and generosity of others that will impact their entire lives.

Many of you spent countless hours sorting materials, books, supplies and then lugged them to the post office or UPS store to get them to me. Some of you drove hours and hours and hundreds and hundreds of miles to bring things to me...someone you had never even seen before! You've listened to me laugh, cry, rant, and rave...and you've cared enough to listen and then were brave enough to keep calling!As a teacher for the past thirty-one years, I have weathered all kinds of situations. Personally and professionally my life has been changed by the events of the year. In looking back, though, as hard as this year has been since Katrina, I would go through all of it all over again if it meant that I would have you all as friends. The hole in my roof left by Hurricane Katrina has been repaired. And each of you, in your own special way, have filled the hole in my heart. I love you all!

With profound gratitude!
Jeanne Brooks

Journaling Your Relief Effort Experiences

2006-04-24T20:23:00.000-05:00

Many people are creating journals of what they are doing with, for and in the Gulf Region. Many aren't, but should.

What I am listing here are the things I've done since I started my work for Hancock County. I have learned that documenting like a journalist is darn handy. Remember - who, what, where, when, why and how. Not all of those get covered in each entry I make, but it certainly is a great foundation to start with.

I have 3 notebooks, 3 blogs, 2 email addresses, and 3 address right now. The 3-subject notebook has MS Contacts, Local Contacts and Notes.

The Notebooks

Each contact has their own page, front and back. I have as much contact infromation as I can get, listed first: Name, Organization, Address, E-mail (s), Phone # (s), etc. Then I list what I know of them - how they got involved, how we came into contact, etc. The rest of the room is for any notes (w/dates) from further contact I make with the person as time goes on. I had to redo this notebook because I wasn't so efficient the first time around - so that did allow me to put the contact in alphabetical order. By giving each contact a full page, I have room to add other contacts on the back of pages, if it's necessary - which it has been on a few occasions.

The "Notes" section is for jotting down the date, who I contacted and why, by phone, email or snailmail. Ths way I can keep track of timing, should I need to recontact someone at a designated date.

My two smaller notebooks are for rought note-taking - when I'm on the phone with someone, I jot as much down as possible - and condense it to the pertinent info for the big notebook. It's also for writing rough drafts of letters, blog posts, etc. The first of these two is almost full, which is why the second one has come into being. Each notebook's pages are numbered, with the first 2-3 pages dedicated to being a Table of Contents. I learned this in College Chemistry and won't live without it. It might seem about as obsessive compulsive as can be, but when you need to look something up, it beats flipping through every page trying to find that 3 word phrase you just know is in there somewhere! You can add the numbering at any time, but obviously is much easier when you first start using it. I put the numbers in the bottom right corner, but that's for you to decide.

The Blogs

Having 3 blogs sounds pretty outrageous as well. And in a way, it is. But since my email is through AOL, I decided to set up 2 that are variations on this one. With the "power of AOL" being what it is, many people don't surf outside it's "borders" for their internet experience. So I created the 2 extras there. One is all of the ideas that people can use to assist in the recovery, and the other is purely the needs lists. I may make them the same as this one, but for now having them split gets different demographics of surfers and interested parties. I just copy and paste this information into the appropriate one over there, so there isn't much extra effort involved.

The E-Mail Addresses

I honestly didn't know how long I would be able to assist in the recovery effort, so didn't think to set up an email address just for this effort until about 3 months into it. I am slowly getting all of my contacts moved over to the KatrinaCoalition@aol.com address, but until then, checking the two emails isn't that big of a deal. And, it allows me to keep closer track of the requests I send out by having it separate from my 'personal' address. Obviously it isn't necessary, but for the number of people I contact, it makes life much easier.

The Address Books

Again, 3 seems a bit "out there". And it is. But all of these contacts are so valuable to me that I will not risk losing them, if I can possibly help it. So, I have the contact information in the big notebook, I have the same information in a Hand-Held - which allows me to sort by organization or person's name - which makes life great when I don't have a person's last name, or they don't really have an organization that I can put them neatly in the notebook. I also have most of the contact information in my address book online. At some point I'll put it all there as well, but I'm also something of a conspiracy theorist and don't want anyone getting some of this personal contact information just by tapping a few buttons on their keyboard.

E-Mails

I have saved almost every email associated with this endeavor. I do clean them out on occasion, but it's pretty rare. Again - like the little notebook, you never know when you'll need the information. I have 8 folders in my "saved mail" section to categorize the stuff in - makes life easier to have it sorted to begin with. In "My Files" within the computer itself, I have a folder for Katrina Work that has folders for DL'd files, articles, articles I've written, letters I've written, pictures I've DL'd, pictures sent to me, etc. This speeds up the work here on the blog considerably. Plus, with my disability involving my eyes, it makes eye strain far less likely.

Conclusion

I don't keep a journal per se. I figure I'll remember the feelings a lot more than I'll remember the details surrounding the feelings. So I keep feelings in me and the details on paper.

So there can be a lot more to keeping a journal than just sitting in bed and scribbling a few notes before you drift off to sleep. But this makes the job you're doing within such an enormous national undertaking much easier to keep track of than just jotting those few sentances before sleep. And one thing I learned while being a paramedic - if you didn't write it, you didn't do it.

Without writing down the details of what you have done, there's no way to prove or disprove what you've done or not done, said or not said. I do hope this helps folks who are already working for the Recovery, or are about to start. You don't have to put something in a daily basis, nor do you have to be quite as meticulous as I. But when you've got so many irons in the fire as I do - it makes a lot of sense to keep the notes I keep.

Comparing International Levees

2006-04-24T20:14:00.000-05:00

THIS is why we need to fix the levees.http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0112-15.htm

Here's how the British hold back the waters from flooding London:

And the Dutch solution to protecting an entire nation that mostly rests below sea level:

The Italians are defending their city on the sea, Venice:

And... Here's how the richest, most powerful and technologically advancednation on earth protected against the long-forecasted flooding of New Orleans:

Why We Need To Rebuild

2006-04-24T20:08:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm hearing new carefully worded rumblings regarding the Federal Government should be involved in the recovery of the Central Gulf Coast and whether any type of rebuilding should even occur.

Let's examine both of these topics, taking the politics right out of the fight.

Logistically, the Fed. Gov't is the only establishment large enough to command the resources required to supply the initial rebuilding. When a geographic area roughly the size of England is destroyed, can it be a reasonable request for that area to deal with the problem itself? Would England be able to? No. Europe as a whole would be needed for a disaster of that magnitude. There is no way local, county, regional or state level agencies of any kind (both non governmental and governmental) could support the logistics needed for this size endeavor. It would be absurd for anyone to think it possible.

Within emergency services, there are levels of response. If 1 town or 1 department can not cope with a particular emergency, "mutual aid" is called in. An emergency of this natur exlipses any mutual aid plan that an entire region could absorb. And so too, it goes with rebuilding. When all infrastructure is literally no longer in existance - electric, natural gas, petrolium products, phone lines, ROADS, water, sewer, rail lines - what town, county, combination of counties, state or combination of states can absorb this kind of rebuilding? Pragmatically, it can not possibly be done without federal assistance. It is for this very reason the federal government *does* exist - to handle issues that are too large for the states and that affect the entire nation.

Which brings us to the next point - whether to rebuild at all. Unfortunately, we have no choice, Closing down the central Gulf of Mexico to save money on rebuilding is penny wise and pound foolish at best. Economically, it can not occur. Oil and food stuffs from South America come through there. Manufacturing goods such as steel and wood flow through the ports found in the devestated areas. Oil refineries, oil platforms, travel and tourism are also located throughout the region, creating major economic implications.

Any type of rebuilding will require workers to support the area. Those working in the ports, the fishing industry, the oil and natural gas industries will need places to live, shop, eat and entertain. And so too, will those jobs need filling and housing. Even if the entire region became a "resort community" as some have whispered, those using and living within these communities are highly unlikely to do the service jobs that are required to support such communities. Again, with those jobs come a need for housing and support as well. Regardless of how you look at it, the Central Gulf Coast will rebuild.

So we might as well rebuild as efficiently and as safely as we can so we as a nation won't have to absorb this kind of devestation again.

Rummage Sale Letter

2006-04-23T09:54:00.000-05:00

Our paper runs a weekly events section. Within this, it also lists most of the rummage sales churches throughout the community are holding that coming weekend. This letter is written for you to send to the churches in hopes of them assisting in small but very significant ways.....

Leslie Holly
KatrinaCoalition@aol.com
www.KatrinaNetworking.Blogspot.com
www.KatrinaAdvocate.Blogspot.com

To Whom It May Concern:

I have been working exclusively with Hancock County, MS in its rebuilding efforts since October 2005.

I am asking you to get involved as well, in 2 different ways.

Enclosed are the needs lists of several agencies working in Hancock County. I also have a large file of very specific books for a Hancock County elementary school. While they have extremely limited space for books, they are requesting the books on this list. If you are interested in this file, I can email it to you or send it on a CD since it is about 49 pages long, sorted by author and title.

After your rummage sale is complete, would you please review the enclosed lists, pick out any items on the lists that are in what is left from the sale, box the items and ship them to the appropriate agencies?

Everyone in the Gulf Region is in such need and will remain so for the foreseeable future. Only about 10% of all businesses have reopened throughout the region, which makes the purchase of any item significantly challenging.

The second way I am asking you to help is by going through a website that allows for a church-to-church “adoption”. It is taking dozens of churches to help fill the needs of each affected church, and so we must reach out and help our fellow citizens and Christians. http://www.internationalaid.org/programs/Katrina/churchtochurch.htm

Please prayerfully consider these requests. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at your earliest convenience.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Sincerely

Leslie Holly

Avoiding Heat Related Illness

2006-04-22T08:58:00.000-05:00

I sent this out to all the volunteer associations I am working with in Hancock County. Please feel free to use this information to better inform your volunteers or friends...

Hello everyone.

Since summer has set in on the Gulf, but spring has barely arrived up North, I figured I’d write a small missive about Heat Exhaustion, Heat Stroke and Dehydration. These are all things you will have to watch your volunteers for as they work. I am also attaching a poster you can place where the volunteers will see it.

My medical background includes having been a paramedic and in emergency medical services for 15 years as well as having a degree in Health Science and Exercise Physiology. I have also lived in Louisville, KY and Dallas, TX so am very familiar with working in very hot, humid conditions.

Most of your volunteers are what would be called unconditioned. They aren’t athletes in any sense of the word, so their ability to deal with heat under physical stress is diminished. That’s one strike. The next strike is if they have any underlying medical conditions, which I would guess about half have. If they have high blood pressure or heart conditions, you need for them to do as little hard manual labor as possible. Any medications they are on are likely to diminish their ability to deal with heat even further.

So, since you’re only working with one strike left, you’ve got to make the most of it.

1. Strongly urge that no caffeine be taken to the work sites. Caffeine in the AM and after work is finished is tolerable, but not during work.
2. Carbonated beverages are tolerable, but not optimal during work.
3. Take breaks every 15 minutes to drink. Suggest they take their pulse.
4. Seriously consider stopping work at 2PM.
5. Urge the volunteers to alternate water with their favorite beverage.

Caffeine increases body temperature, pulse, constricts blood vessels and draws water out of the body. None of these things are good in hot conditions. Hence, no caffeine at work sites.

Carbonated beverages don’t offer much more than sugar with a little water, so aren’t of high value, but are certainly better than drinking nothing at all. Sports drinks are ok as well, as is Gatorade or Tang.

By taking breaks every 15 minutes to drink, this will help better assure hydration and will also keep Heat Exhaustion/Stroke at bay. Having them take their pulse during these breaks will also give a very quick evaluation of their status. If their heart rates are over 100 5 minutes into the break, they need to rest further. Heat Exhaustion is beginning.

The hottest part of the day actually begins after 2PM – generally around 3PM and continues well into the evening. In Dallas, temperatures would remain into the 90’s well after midnight. If you must, begin work early – say 630AM. This is generally the coolest time of the day.

Knowing that water can be very tedious, urge the volunteers to alternate their beverages with water. As I stated before, just about anything is acceptable, as long as water is included. The best test for full hydration is the color of the urine. Clear and almost colorless is perfect. If it’s cloudy and dark, the person is NOT drinking enough. This will be included in the poster. Gatorade is good. Tang might be better. It is higher in potassium, which is more important than the sodium in Gatorade. Plus, people might drink more of it due to better taste. And it can be mixed to individual strengths.

No alcohol. Heat Exhaustion/Stroke can set in well after the work is complete. Alcohol has the best potential to throw a person’s body into one of these long after the hot work is done.

Think about having things such as dill pickles and green olives available. After work in Dallas, I would eat at least a half dozen olives and then drink another gallon of water during the evening. Even with this, I would be dehydrated by the end of the week. 2 gallons of fluids each day is not unreasonable and very much favored. Expect the volunteers to be dehydrated by week’s end and not be performing as well as they should. Accidents will be far more likely the last day of work due to the brain not working quite right without its water.

Signs of Heat Exhaustion:
The signs of heat exhaustion include paleness, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, fainting, and a moderately increased temperature (101-102 degrees F). They will also have excessive sweating. This means they will look like they’ve been hit with a fire hose of water. You’ll know it if you see it.

If a person shows these signs, get them to a cool shady place that has a fan or breeze. Make them lie down and drink fluids as much as possible. If they are vomiting, they may need to seek emergency medical assistance as this can lead to Heat Stroke. They will NOT be able to work for the duration of their visit. Heat Exhaustion does not end in a day. It takes several days to weeks to fully recover.

Signs of Heat Stroke

Heat stroke is the most severe form of heat illness. It can occur even in people who are not exercising, if the weather is hot enough. These people have warm, flushed (red) skin, and do not sweat. Whether exercise-related or not, though, a person with heat stroke usually has a very high temperature (106 degrees F or higher), and may be delirious, unconscious, or having seizures. These people need to have their temperature reduced quickly, often with ice packs, and must also be given IV fluids for rehydration; they must be taken to the hospital as quickly as possible and may have to stay in the hospital for observation since many different body organs can fail in heat stroke.

Anyone suffering from Heat Stroke must not work in this type environment again for about a year and may never be able to again. Heat Stroke alters the body’s ability to tolerate hot environments. Also – if anyone in the team does suffer Heat Stroke, assume all are suffering from Heat Exhaustion and stop all work.

I know it sounds serious. And it is. But with proper hydration listed at the beginning, there will be no problems. I just want you aware of what could happen so that you can take care of yourself and your volunteers.

If you are a long-term volunteer, please consider eating yogurt daily, significantly reducing your sugar intake and even taking acidophyllus pills. Change underclothes (socks too) twice a day. These steps will help significantly diminish your chances of getting athlete's foot, jock itch or a yeast infection - which are all basically the same thing.

The Following is a poster I made for you to put where your volunteers will be able to read it and educate themselves:

Avoid Heat Related Illness!

No Caffeine While Working

Drink Fluids Every 15 Minutes While Working

Rest 5 Minutes Every 15 Minutes

Take Your Pulse Before Starting Work Again.

IF:

Your pulse is over 100, REST until it’s below 90.

You feel nauseous, STOP working.

You stop sweating, STOP working.

You feel dizzy, STOP working.

Find the coolest spot possible, lie down, and drink copious amounts of fluids. If, after 30 minutes you continue to feel ill or worse, seek medical attention NOW and alert your team leader. No work for the rest of the day.

After work, continue drinking every 15 minutes until your urine is clear and pale yellow. Dark and/or cloudy means you’re dehydrated. It’ll only get worse tomorrow if you don’t keep drinking.

If you don’t like water, alternate it with another fluid. NO ALCOHOL

Preparing For The New Season

2006-04-08T09:55:00.000-05:00

The Red File

www.TheRedFile.com

This is probably the single best thing you can do to help yourself and the rest of the country.

Sounds corny huh?

Well, think about it. This hurricane season is supposed to be equally destructive, but aiming more at the East Coast. We've already had a record tornado season and it has only just begun.

By following the directions on The Red File's website, you can save everyone huge amounts of trouble, cost and immediate assistance. It will also save you from the disaster so many have faced this past year of losing everything and not being able to get to what little savings they have by not having the paperwork in another spot.

The Red File explains how to set up this file or box of paperwork that is basically your identity. Anything that has a number associated with your name needs to be in this file. You need to make 2 copies. One for you to store near you and one you send out of town to a family member or friend so that if the entire region is destroyed (ie The Gulf Coast), you'll still have access to your information!

PLEASE take the day and create this file. It'll save you if you have a fire in your home, a tornado, flood, hurricane, earthquake, or even the Bird Flu comes through your area.

Spread the word. Everyone needs to do this. The weather this past year has proven no area in the country is without significant risk to destruction due to Mother Nature.

The Red File.
www.TheRedFile.com

Editorial Letter Finding Ways To Assist

2006-04-06T19:31:00.000-05:00

I wrote this letter to my paper and it was published. Please use it with my permission to send to your paper...

To Whom It May Concern,

The Hurricane Season is long over, but its effects are still massive and far reaching. In order for the Gulf Region and its multitude of industries to recover, we as a nation must assist.Individuals must seek out ways to help, either at home or by going to the region and volunteering directly.

Our schools need to help the affected school districts that have been damaged or have taken in the thousands of displaced children.

Our emergency services organizations and hospitals must look outside the box in order to help the affected towns and fellow agencies.

All local volunteer and non-profit organizations should look to their national affiliates for guidance, but should also be flexible enough to find avenues to assist in all ways possible.

Our local, county, state and federal governments need to find ways to assist - even if only by sending surplus items to 'sister' governments. This includes 'adopting' a locale of similar demographics. What if it were our town, county or state that had been devestated? We too would hope for the assistance.

This recovery will take at least 10 years without a national effort.

Let's do what we can to halve that number.

Sincerely,

Leslie Updates, April

2006-04-06T19:24:00.000-05:00

4/30
Hello all! It's been a busy week of writing and waiting. Hurry up and wait kind of thing.

But, I have gotten several new rounds of contacts that are putting me in touch with folks who can give me more info about the needs of the municipalities.

I have to say I am falling in love with the folks at Gulf Coast News! They are incredible about putting out accurate and thorough information as often as they can. If only all news media were so diligent. Check them out at www.GulfCoastNews.com.

I'm noticing that the municipalities are in a new stage of crisis. I know these last 8 months have had them putting pieces back together, and now they are finding that the pieces are held together with bubble gum wrappers and baling wire. And with a new hurricane season about 30 days away, that's a scary proposition. BUT - the difference is, things have settled down enough that they have the time and the emotional wherewithall to speak out. That alone is far sooner than expected.

So - anticipate some new needs lists and updates this coming week.

A woman here in my area has taken up the torch and we're hoping to accomplish great things with each other's help. I've made the contacts, and now she's going to try to connect the dots between folks here and folks in Hancock County. How cool would that be?! Needless to say, I'm excited! It also seems she has worked with a governmental program for the elderly that gets them some sort of grant. It's a once in a lifetime kind of application and awarding, but hey! - If it's there, we'll take it! So, once she gets the full information out, I'll either give her the contacts to send it to, or forward it for her. Either way works for me!

I'm working on a letter to construction crews and contractors in an attempt to get them to the Gulf Region in the next 60 days. Most regions have a deadline this summer before new building codes begin which are far more stringent (and expensive). So, if building can begin prior to the deadline, (July 1 in Hancock County), people stand a far greater chance of being able to move back in.

A God Thing happened this past week. A man I do NOT know emailed me from the Biloxi area. It seems he, like hundreds of others, was drawn to the area to become a long-term volunteer. He read my personal update that I send to friends and family, and contacted me regarding the commercial fishermen who are getting KNOW help. He stated he could help! WOW. I gave his contact info to Yvonne, she contacted him and it seems he truly CAN help. I'm beyond ecstatic! How he got my personal update is beyond me. All I care about is that he can help this group of people that are so vital to the region and that no one else has taken up the torch for.

I wrote about a child with leukemia getting a bone marrow transplant and needing a clean house, but even the FEMA trailer is being invaded by mold (as well built as they are, really!). Well, the transplant went incredibly well, but the rebuilding of the house isn't. The woman in BSL who took charge thought she had a group of 50 skilled workers to come in and whip the place in shape. NONE of them showed. How sad is that? How can all of them be so irresponsible? She's at her wits end trying to figure out how to finish the house and I have no answers. Everyone I know down there can't break away to go to Slidell and help. Very sad indeed. If you would like to help this family, you can still assist by helping pay for the appliances through a Home Depot registry. Contact me for the full information.

On a discouraging note - well, another discouraging note - I have run into more people with delusions of grandeur through this ordeal that I am completely astounded. We all have a story to tell about our work, but to think what we have done, are doing, or plan to do is so important that it is worthy of publishing over the stories of those who lived through this disaster and then hoping to PROFIT off it disgusts me. Can no one do the right thing for the right reasons anymore? It can be so disheartening to see the sanctimony, the narcissism, arrogance and gall to see how important they think they are. No tragedy of this magnitude has been summed up in books of singular actions. Yes, there are stories of actions and people that go completely beyond all expectations. And sometimes they are even found out by the public at large. But the history that stands through it all, that which does not get lost in the chaff, is the history told through compilations of little stories that give the grand picture rather than a singular microcosm told ad nauseum.

I am saddened by this portion of our human nature. I know it exists, but it still saddens and disgusts me.

4/23
It's been a quiet week - still not a whole lot going on since Holy Week - which is fine. The people need to take small breaks once in awhile.Found out that Disaster Corp is leaving come June 1. I honestly don't know how large of an organization they are, so have to assume they are very small and they all need a break if they are going to be of any use in the future. That's what pacing yourself is all about.
It seems like there are FINALLY grants coming through for the folks in the Gulf Region. I know it takes time to set these things up, but it also feels like forever when it takes 8 months! However, I'll continue looking and posting them as I find them in hopes they help the folks down there. I know there are a few who read my blog and pass the info along to those who don't have internet access yet.
Have finally finished writing to all the NYS Universities. My next ongoing project is to start writing to Medical Clinics for continued assistance at the free med clinics, Police Departments to assist their choice of any of the PD's in the affected areas and the few paid Fire Departments for the same reason.
There are a whopping 4 gas stations and 2-3 grocery stores in ALL of Hancock County. Imagine your county operating with such minimal service. I've got 4 gas stations within 5 miles of my home - probably more. So think about it and then think about helping these folks.
So, this week has been mostly internet work. Not many phone calls, which will start up again this week.
Take care, if you have any good information to pass along, please do - I'll post it!

4/15
Who says you can't have a little fun doing serious work?

I sent out 2 boxes to the Humane Society of Southern MS (HSSM for those in the know). I have sent them boxes before, but this time I actually had something for the dogs. Tennis balls! I figured I could spare a few from the elementary school project and give them to some needy dogs. So, that box was labeled, "Attn Dogs". The other box was catnip bags I made from some 'nip I harvested last year. I felt like I was stuffing "dime bags" or something. That box - of course, was labeled, "Attn Cats". So hopefully they'll get a kick out of it. I sure did.

I was also able to acquire 38 pillow cases from a local cleaner - Bates Troy - for an art project at CBM Elementary (Pearlington). If you know of anywhere to get some more, they could use another 30 or so. I may call the university in hopes of hitting up some of the outgoing students for extras or whatever. Dorm life can make for good donations.

On the college note, 2 SUNY (State University of NY - aka Soonie) have contacted me re: posting the information to volunteer in Hancock County. So that would mean at least 4 are posting the information. Staying at my 10% return, which is way too cool! Plus, I have contacts at a bunch of the universities, so am able to get the information in through non-official lines. Life is good.

Doing my weekly search on grant possibilities, I found a couple more. I really hope folks are taking advantage of this information. Money is NOT easy to come by since so many are in such deep need. And grants tend to be a form of lottery, that the sooner you apply, the better your chances.

A temp. agency dealing with construction workers contacted me. He is very graciously offering to spread the word about the needs of the area. I would think those who aren't working at the moment would do this - it's tax deductible AND it could lead to a full time job. So many are finding this to be true.

There's a post on the www.KatrinaAdvocate.Blogspot.com site that you need to look at. It's called The Red File. I'm posting it because there's a saying in Emergency Services - don't become a victim. Those living in the Gulf Region, those helping in the Gulf Region and those who are at risk this year of major weather NEED to seriously consider creating a Red File. If you've protected yourself, you're far less likely to become a victim during a natural disaster, allowing resources to be used for those who truly need help. PLEASE - do it. www.TheRedFile.com

I've heard from one of my medical people about trouble in NOLA. It seems FEMA is threatening to pull out all tent cities that have, until now, housed the thousands of volunteers that are making clean-up and recovery possible in that city. FEMA has reconsidered and is at least leaving the tents up until June 1 - the official start of Hurricane Season. THAT makes sense. I wouldn't want the liability of having people in my tents during any hurricane or even tropical storm. But to pull out any earlier is foolish at best.

Beware other areas! - if they do this in NOLA, plan on them doing it in your area too - Pass Christian - listen up!

And finally, I received this email - I'll be doing some more research and getting the website's info up, but probably not until after the weekly Needs List. She and I still need to talk some so I can be far more comprehensive in what I post!

Leslie,

I was referred to your website/blog. I am amazed by your efforts and so very thankful for you. You are the perfect example of what I shout from every mountaintop....."One Person Can Make A Difference". Thank You.

We are Foundation Hope, Inc., a non-profit organization providing disaster relief to the residents of the MS Gulf Coast. This is my hometown. I have lived north of the coast in Hattiesburg for the last 11 years, but my mom, uncles, aunts, brothers, best friends, etc.... all still live on the coast.

I made my way with my friends Jessica Beane and Mike Smith, Jr. back to the coast via vehicle and ATV to start distributing supplies that my friends and relatives from across the country started sending to us. With the help of our friends at the Air McNair Foundation and The Brett Favre Fourward Foundations and the personal assistance of their volunteer-extrodinaire, Rick Maddox.....we started a POD (point of distribution). This turned into what is now known as Foundation Hope, Inc. Since, we have been granted a $5 million dollar In-Kind Donation from The People of Saudi Arabia to rebuild damaged homes....which we started Feb 13th, 2006.

There is a short synopsis of our efforts.....I would love to talk with you about what you are doing and how we can collaborate. "More hands make lighter work, Grandma told me!"

Thanks again Leslie and please contact me if you can,

--Patricia Bayles-Myrick Executive Director/Founder
Foundation Hope, Inc.
414 Hwy 90
Bay St. Louis, MS 39520

April 2
Spring has sprung and I'm loving life. The dizzies are so much better when I'm able to get outside and work. This indoor crap is for the birds.

Anyway, things here remain busy.* I've gotten all of the tennis balls requested by the Charles B Murphy Elementary, collected, punched, boxed and mailed! With any luck, they'll be getting the first 2 boxes early this week. I'll be continuing the collection of the tennis balls since there's serious rumors stating CBM is going to be merged with the other displaced elementary school and I would guess they'd be wanting the new chair feet as well. Thanks to my dad, Dave for going to the 2 places to collect said balls! And thanks to Marilyn W for her contribution of 50 from her daily walks!
4/4 update - the balls arrived and WOW are they happy!

The tennis balls are popped onto the feet of the chairs to make the quieter and to keep them from damaging the floors of the FEMA trailers since the trailers need to be returned in like new condition or face unspecified penalties. This is an easy, cheap and fast way to assure the floors are kept as pristine as possible.

* I've started putting out requests of fire companies to help the new "FEMA-villes", starting with Pearlington. These people need to learn basic fire suppression skills since there is so little in the way of organized protection. No buildings to house equipment and not nearly the trained volunteers back yet to staff a fire department makes these areas particularly vulnerable to the ravages of fires. And if 'normal' folk can learn how to do CPR and work a defibrillator by watching videos and doing an hour or so of hands on practice, I'm sure they can be taught the basics of working a fire extinguisher and the best way to fight the fire while staying safe in a similar fashion. Anyone want to take this challenge on?

* I started writing letters to culinary institutes in hopes of getting some kitchen relief for all the volunteer organizations that are trying to house and feed the multitude of volunteers coming in to help with the rebuilding. With any luck, some of these students and staff will make some trips down there and if nothing else, teach other volunteers the most efficient way to staff and work the kitchens. Efficiency is all!* This month, instead of making potholders, which I should, I'll be making teddy bears. Got a cute little pattern and have a ton of great fabric to make them with, so am making them to go with the quilts the Vestal United Methodist Women made to send down. It makes a great little Baby shower present for folks who have NOTHING.

* Have run out of postal money this month. LOL - I've sent a good number of boxes. The stuff inside was free, but postage isn't. So, I need to cut back a little. I could go bankrupt (like i'm not now) on sending boxes of stuff.If you want to help similarly (not by going bankrupt), watch your newspapers for church rummage sales (aka trash to treasure sales, bane and blessing sales, etc). Call them and ask if you can go through whatever didn't sell to send down to the Gulf Region. Then, make a bsic list of items that are needed from the lists I've provided and go hunt! It's actually a lot of fun and the stuff doesn't end up in the landfill and gets used! Just make sure it's CLEAN and WORKS before you send it.And as always, check the other 2 blogs -http://www.katrinaadvocate.blogspot.com/ for new entries - have added several and will add at least a couple more this week.
http://www.fullcirclequilting.blogspot.com/ - Same 2 quilts but hope to have another on within the next month.

There has been a host of other things that has happened over the course of the week, but this is enough reading for now.

Leslie Updates - March

2006-04-06T08:53:00.000-05:00

March 19
Hello Folks.
For those NOT living in upstate NY during March, just let me tell you that it's cold one hour and hot the next. Just part of living in post glacial territory!

Much continues to occur.

More and more people are emailing me for guidance on how they can help! Woohoo! I swear it's the Spring air that is bringing out the best in people again. Winter was far too long and now people are back to their normal selves.

As I tell these people, once they understand the need is still great and still everywhere, they should focus their area to assist and then we can discuss needs lists. I contacted a gent named Craig at the Center For Prevention of Child Abuse and he stated they've done wonderfully! They've reopened their Bay St. Louis doors, and are just getting ready to reopen their Pascagoula doors (forgive me on spelling). A friend's donations from here in Vestal are what made the Pascagoula reopening possible. Way to go Daryl!

Anyway, Craig stated he had BOXES of childrens clothes that he had no clue what he was going to do with. I directed him to my 2 main child contacts in Hancock County - Jeanne and Amy. I am hoping the clothes are making their way from Biloxi to BSL/Waveland and Kiln/Pearlington. I'll keep you posted.

I'm getting back in touch with all my organizations that don't have updates on their websites in hopes of getting additional information - unfortunately, with it being Spring Break Season, they are probably up to their eyebrows in volunteers, trying to keep things working as smoothly as possible.

I also sent an email out to all the orgs re: some bug/pest control ideas from a site I like to use. http://www.campmor.com/ has the best prices for mossie control, etc. But please also check out http://www.rei.com/ and http://www.sierratradingpost.com/ for price comparisons. If you'd like the information, please email me at KatrinaCoaltion@aol.com

I figured out why Clayton stopped using his blog. He filled it up. I've done the same. I'm in the process of moving information to a new blog. One just for those like me, who can't get down there, but can help by writing letters, collecting stuff, telling others what to do. [grin] For those who don't know Clayton, his blog is what got my sister to light a fire under my butt and start this little crusade of mine. http://www.operationeden.blogspot.com/ if you want history with a flare.

As you'll see there are a ton of new entries. Read them all. They're all important. What one isn't, right?

But that's the way this goes, as I've found. It'll be quiet for a few weeks, and then a huge flurry of activity. Then quiet, then activity. So, sometimes you'll see tons of additions, and sometimes there won't really be anything new to add. But, I'll keep plugging away for those who are as caught up in this as I am.

I found a bunch of books for the school (off a very specific list) at a church rummage sale. They were going to be throwing these books out! I also found a crib that I'll be getting fully ready and sending down. Baby stuff is still so needed, so think about it.

My mom's getting into the act - telling everyone what 'we' are doing. They help by giving her ideas of places to go ask for stuff. Woo! So, we're getting there!

March 12
Well, I'm still waiting to hear from a couple of folks just back form Pearlington. I heard from one during the week while he was there, and was amazed at how things are nearly 7 months after the storm hit.

Was too dizzy to go to the local Home Show, so I have about 100 business cards with agency names and contact numbers on them. I'll just start handing them out until the cops come talk to me. And since I know most of them, I should be ok. LOL

Have started a new letter writing campaign - to universities within NYS. Public ones for now, will branch out to the private ones later. I want to try and capture the student market that didn't go down for Spring Break during Summer Break.

If you're interested in sending out the letter and poster, please email me at KatrinaCoalition@aol.com

Am also going to be writing to culinary institutes for volunteer opportunities at relief kitchens. It might help ease some burden and allow the students some very practical experience with very limited food supplies.

People down in the Gulf are seriously thinking about their gardens. Normally by now, they have blooms everywhere and there are precious few. So - if you have any seeds you would like to donate, you can start by sending them to the PearlMart- 6098 First Street, Pearlington MS 39556 (I think that's the right zip). Mail is sporadic at best, even with the agreement in place with the PO, so try UPS.

Had a great Friday - made a bunch of phone calls with all enthusiasm at the other end. I usually do have that reaction, but not always. So it feels good when it does happen. I have found a couple of sources for tennis balls for the feet of school chairs - those schools in FEMA trailers must return the trailers in "like" condition or face penalties. So, one way to do that is keep the chairs from scratching the floors by putting tennis ball "shoes" on them. If you'd like to help with the tennis ball drive for the school of your choice, call local high schools, community colleges and universities athletic departments. They are generally willing to give them up at semi-regular intervals - which I found out on Friday!

The tennis balls are almost finished for the Charles B Murphy school, but there are so many other school in need that you'll easily find one thrilled to take them!

March 12
Well, I'm still waiting to hear from a couple of folks just back form Pearlington. I heard from one during the week while he was there, and was amazed at how things are nearly 7 months after the storm hit.

Was too dizzy to go to the local Home Show, so I have about 100 business cards with agency names and contact numbers on them. I'll just start handing them out until the cops come talk to me. And since I know most of them, I should be ok. LOL

Have started a new letter writing campaign - to universities within NYS. Public ones for now, will branch out to the private ones later. I want to try and capture the student market that didn't go down for Spring Break during Summer Break. If you're interested in sending out the letter and poster, please email me at KatrinaCoalition@aol.com

Am also going to be writing to culinary institutes for volunteer opportunities at relief kitchens. It might help ease some burden and allow the students some very practical experience with very limited food supplies.

People down in the Gulf are seriously thinking about their gardens. Normally by now, they have blooms everywhere and there are precious few. So - if you have any seeds you would like to donate, you can start by sending them to the PearlMart- 6098 First Street, Pearlington MS 39556 (I think that's the right zip). Mail is sporadic at best, even with the agreement in place with the PO, so try UPS.

Had a great Friday - made a bunch of phone calls with all enthusiasm at the other end. I usually do have that reaction, but not always. So it feels good when it does happen. I have found a couple of sources for tennis balls for the feet of school chairs - those schools in FEMA trailers must return the trailers in "like" condition or face penalties. So, one way to do that is keep the chairs from scratching the floors by putting tennis ball "shoes" on them. If you'd like to help with the tennis ball drive for the school of your choice, call local high schools, community colleges and universities athletic departments. They are generally willing to give them up at semi-regular intervals - which I found out on Friday! I hope this last week has found you well, and as always, if you wish to help but don't know where to start, contact me.
Leslie - KatrinaCoalition@aol.com

March 6
This week has been far better, but no less overwhelming. It always feels as if I need to do more, I'm not doing enough, and how to get it all done in the time I have.

First - I am trying to locate a woman in my area that does photo restoration for Katrina victims. She was highlighted in our paper about 2 weeks ago, but of course, their archives don't go back that far with their new website format. When I have that information, I'll post it for those who might be interested. I didn't find her, but found the folks doing the work:
http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2006/03/operation-photo-rescue.html

Second - I almost met 2 incredible men named Steve. I say almost because I had trouble with my vertigo and wasn't able to meet them at the Cracker Barrel. Rochester Steve and his daughter brought 7 bags of clothes fro Albany Steve with the Capitol District HFH to take with him to Pearlington. I know have to get Jeanne to pick them up and give to the family she has found who needs the stuff badly.

Third - a local school district - Chenango Valley - has been doing some great fund raising for Katrina Relief. I've emailed the superintendant to get the details, and again - the paper doesn't carry the story on their website because it was too small - but at least 2 teachers got their heads shaved for making the fund raising goal. How cool!
You can read about their work:
http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2006/03/chenango-valley-high-school-helping.html

Fourth - am continuing to mail out letters to local churches in hopes of scaring up volunteers for construction and medical assistance. The return rate for interest is 10% that I hear about directly, so that's a good thing! You hope for a 2% return, so the Gods must be on my side!Fifth - our local Home Show is this weekend - will be making up business cards to hand to the vendors with information on how to help. Since the head of the home builders association is stalling on getting the info out, I'll do it myself. It's going to be deadly for me - too many people, too many noises, etc. - but it needs to be done.
I ended up not getting there. Just got too dizzy by the time my driver felt up to going. LOL That is life in my lane.

Sixth - Help! I need anyone who is considering volunteering or has volunteered to go down, has been down there to call their local and the national headquarters for Home Depot, Lowes, and any other home building type store to give classes on basics the volunteers are going to need now. How to properly install a toilet, an outlet, a light fixture, how to run wire, how to put a faucet in, how to use PVC pipe, etc. The days of unskilled labor are over. The need for slight and high skilled people is here and in a huge way. So please - make the calls. It would be great PR for these stores and a no cost PR opportunity as well.
You can also read about the letter I wrote and the reply I received from Home Depot. But still call your local HD and Lowes for assistance. Every little bit helps!

Seventh - my interview aired 3 times! Woo! But that doesn't warrant getting onto their website. If you want, contact http://www.wbng.com/ and ask them for it to be put on the website. It just might shame them into it. LOLI think that's it. 1 for every day of the week. Woof. Oh - Eighth - LOL - I'm back in potholder making mode. Once a month - needs to be done. 50 at a time. I send about 10 to each organization that houses and feeds people. I've made around 300 so far - I think. Anyway, life remains full of this work. And there's nothing I'd rather do. I thank God daily that I am able to do this and ask for the continued strength to do what needs to be done as the needs increase.
It never got onto their website, which pisses me off. I'm still trying to figure out how to make a CD of the file I need to make from the tape. I'll keep you posted.

Any time anyone wants to help - just let me know! There's no shortage of need for others to be advocates from a distance...

Updates From Leslie - Jan and Feb

2006-04-06T08:32:00.000-05:00

February 25
Just a quick one.
I have been getting some of the best email lately! Life feels so good to have so many people think the blog is good AND from those who have been able to go down and help being so psyched that they are planning on going again.

I'm hoping to have updates from at least 2 of them in the very near future. The previous post - with the link to the pictures, is one of the people just back from the trip. She's done a great job with her photos - I just looked at every single one!

I just finished - and mailed out - 50 potholders to various organizations. It's a small thing, but WOW when you don't have good pot holders, the kitchen work is a real drag! So, they're each getting 8 or 9 - I don't remember. Will be making more this week.

Also just sent out 6 of the baby quilts from ABC Quilts. I believe their website is http://www.abcquilts.org/, but will double check when I can get IE working right.

And I also just sent 2 wall hangings for the Charles B. Murphy Elementary's library - half a trailer. I'll get a couple more done as soon as I get a couple more paying jobs out the door, but am pretty happy with the way they turned out.

And finally - I am being interviewed tomorrow (Sunday) with our local CBS affiliate for a tie in story on Pearlington and Hancock County. I'll add more about it after it happens. Wish me luck.

Sunday here.
Had the interview. It went very well! Mike is a great guy and if I could remember the videographer's name, I'd say he's cool too, but I don't remember it, sadly.

The whole thing took about a half hour, was edited down to about 2 minutes, got the point across far more effectively than I ever could and I'm dizzier than a dirvish from it all! If I find it on their website (http://www.wbng.com/), I'll post it for folks to see. I'm also hoping to send a tape or CD of it down for Pearlington folks to see that they are not forgotten.

But until my head slows down, I can't do my weekly update. Sorry folks.

I'll get to it Monday.
I just can't today.
Leslie

February 17
Hey folks!
A lot has happened, a lot of new pictures and such, so I figured I needed to get this information up tonight.
I went to my parents' church and asked a group that makes "ugly quilts" if I could have 3-4 per month for babies in Hancock County as I heard of the need. They gave me a baker's dozen to start! 13 in all, plus 6 teddy bears and 8 hand made baby hats. I remain astounded at the generosity of Methodists! And as often as I need more, I can have them - as long as they have them made.

This is Jaspurr, my Quality Assurance Director. And yes, they've been washed since QA has been performed. What's that musical - Once Upon A Mattress?

Anyway, I'll be sending 6 out this coming week and will await further orders!

I feel so blessed!

Second - I got a note from a very nice gent named Paul who has been to Gulfport, Bay St. Louis and Pass Christian back in October. He's going again in March (from VA) and will be giving an update from there. He flattered me highly when he stated the blog was the most accurate he had found. And that's thanks to all the people I talk to! I couldn't be this accurate without the updates from volunteers, residents, etc. As you've seen, I rely very little on 'mass media' to tell the story.

Third - I've started sending letters out to some Baptist Churches in my area. There are 2 Baptist organizations in Hancock County that I know of, and so am hoping by focusing my requests to 2 or 3 agencies per demographic, it will help fascilitate a higher volunteer rate. I'll be posting the letters in the near future for folks to copy and send in their own neighborhoods.

Trust me, it works and it takes no time when someone else does the writing!Fourth - Great news! Hancock County is going to be scrutinized on CBS Evening News the week of February 20th! Part of it will be on the One House At A Time project, which is where I started this whole mess. I'll be able to put faces to the names of all the people I "know". Ronnie and Jake primarily.
I've not had the pleasure of meeting Buster yet.

So please watch! I believe it will be enlightening to see how little has happened with all that HAS happened. Drops in a bucket. But at least eventually, the bucket does fill. We're getting there!

And a final picture, taken by Ben Moore of the Kansas East UM Conference - If I remember correctly, it wasn't taken but a few weeks ago - note the condition of the tree, the debris, the roofs.

January 30
It's been a busy week for me.
I've finished a queen-size quilt in record time, established 2 new blogs (on AOL), found a website for schools affected the hurricane season, emailed all the schools listed within Hancock County's borders requesting needs lists, sent out requests for medical personnel, requests to Catholic schools for Catholic schools, and requests for 1 of the 4 remaining radio stations in the Gulf Region.

The 2 blogs on AOL are a brainstorm that leaves you feeling like an idiot - "Why didn't I think of that sooner?" But AOL is so self sufficient that most users don't go beyond it's "borders". I'm splitting the information on my http://www.katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/ one between http://journals.aol.com/onedndylyon/WaysToHelpHurricaneKatrinaVictim/ and http://journals.aol.com/katrinacoalition/KatrinaCoalition/

The Katrina Coalition one has the needs lists, while the Ways To Help one is just the different low-impact ways of helping. Please forward these to AOL users you know - just to get the word out. Thank you!

I have heard from 3 schools thus far and have posted their needs as best I can. I'm also trying to focus requests to the proper demographics to better assure a higher response rate. I think it's working! Eventually, I'll branch out to other counties/states, but for now, I'm busy enough with just Broome County.

The radio station found me - so I tidied up their letter, posted it and also sent it to B.U.'s radio station. Students, being what they are, haven't replied, but I'm not concerned. I have the rest of the SUNY system to tackle. The radio station is actually very cool. It's run by a couple, both of whom are disabled and lost EVERYTHING. They moved the station in with the Hancock County Emergency Operations Center to assist with communications and have ended up being a national model for assisting with disaster management. Equipment, however, is expensive and needs both upgrading and replacing in order to serve more folks in the affected region. Radio is still the only communication they have with the outside world in many parts. Phone, cable and internet are still rare commodities, but FEMA did hand out portable radios for people to better know what is going on in both the region and the world.

Oh - and one more thing. A friend of mine is seriously considering 'adopting' a teacher or family. If this is something you would like to do, please let me know at your earliest convenience. You can contact any of the organizations I have been in contact with and you can either work with one of their people directly or they can most likely point you toward someone in need.

Remember - all of the teachers, the students, the families, the firefighters, the police officers, the nurses, doctors, etc. have lost everything - so finding even just one person to help is both easy and needed.

A Letter To Involve Culinary Students

2006-04-01T19:53:00.000-05:00

This letter must be written very soon as the Spring Semester ends in mid May. I believe they also have classes through the summer, but have a few weeks off between each term. We need to sieze those moments!

You can locate a list, by state, of culinary schools at the following site:
http://www.cookingschools.com/

I placed the logos of all the organizations I am assisting at the top similar to a letter head, and then placed my name and address. You may use any and all of this information in your letter...

KatrinaCoalition@aol.com
http://www.katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing on behalf of the people in Hancock County, MS and the volunteer agencies assisting in the recovery effort.

While the Red Cross and Salvation Army continue to close their relief kitchens, the need for the citizens to be fed remains. The need is also great for the volunteer agencies feeding the thousands of volunteers that come to help every week.

With this in mind, the opportunities for your culinary students and staff to volunteer and make a significant impact in the lives of both the residents and volunteers are incredible.

I am willing to work with you and the agencies to make available internships for any students interested in real life experience to enhance their classroom studies. Most of the above listed agencies have established kitchens while the rest are working toward establishing kitchens for both volunteers and residents. If an internship is not an appealing option, the students and faculty can volunteer for as little as one week and as long as they wish to remain, having both room and board available for the duration of their stay.

If you are interested in helping, please contact me for a full list of agencies that would welcome you with open arms.

I thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Letter To Involve College Students

2006-04-01T19:48:00.000-05:00

You can obviously write this for any of the groups. I happen to have written for the One House project in hopes of getting some very enthusiastic people involved in the relief effort. You can leave my information there, but please take out Shannon's information since that is exclusively for the One House project. I have also made a poster which I can't get to post correctly on the blog. If you'd like it, contact me at the address below. This letter needs to be sent out NOW since the Spring semester will be ending by mid-May.

College Letter on Behalf of One House At A Time

KatrinaCoalition@aol.com
http://www.katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/

Shannon Erwin 850-835-0067

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing on behalf of Hancock County, MS and the One House At A Time Project in Pearlington, MS.

While Pearlington was hit hardest by hurricane Katrina, the entire county has been devastated, with only 10% of businesses reopened and over 70% of all buildings destroyed.

I am requesting you call or email Shannon Erwin at the Walton County FL Habitat for Humanity to verify their One House At A Time project before you suggest students volunteer 1 or 2 weeks of their summer break to this incredible need.

Room is available with work toward a relief kitchen in Pearlington in order to give both room and board to all volunteers. Tools are also available through an Albany NY Habitat and other NYS Habitats. The goal is to make this as inexpensive as possible for all volunteers so their only expense is travel, which is tax deductible.

You may visit a number of websites to learn more about Pearlington, Hancock County, and the One House project, along with other volunteer agencies assisting in the rebuilding of Hancock County:
http://www.onehouseatatime.com/ - basic information regarding the OHAAT project
http://www.newhopeconstruction.org/ - the company making the housing kits for OHAAT
http://www.katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/ - A blog with many other agencies’ needs and addresses
http://www.baystlouis.us/ - created by a volunteer from VA
www.PatHolt.com/Pearlington - these pictures were taken at the end of February 2006 by a lady from Dutchess County NY.

You may also contact me with any questions or concerns regarding this request. I truly appreciate your time and attention to this very important matter.

Sincerely,

Write To Major Airlines

2006-04-01T19:45:00.000-05:00

6/24

I wrote these letters MONTHS ago. I received a letter from AA right away and just now received a letter from US Air. That cracks me up. Anyway, with the rising fuel costs and so many of them on the verge of bankrupcy, I doubt we'll get anywhere with possible discounts for volunteers to fly to the affected region. That doesn't mean DON'T write - it just means, don't expect miracles.

Major AirlinesAddresses:

US Airways
2345 Crystal Drive
Arlington, VA 22227
336-661-0061

Delta Airlines
1030 Delta Blvd
Atlanta GA 30320
800-221-1212

American Airlines
PO Box 619612 MD 2400 CPII
DFW Airport, TX 76021
800-433-7300

Please consider giving the people a small jpg of your logo from your website and to put the web address under their name when addressing this like a business letter. It will give a more professional appearance as well as make the companies recognize this isn't just another mass mailing effort.

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing on behalf of all the volunteers working in Hancock County, MS as well as all of the volunteers participating in the relieve effort in the Gulf Region.

Please consider a 25% reduction in airfare for anyone traveling to the Gulf Region through either the New Orleans Airport (MSY) or the Gulfport/Biloxi Airport (GPT) for relief work.Travel can be limited to low volume days such as Tuesdays and Thursdays with a minimum stay of 5 days.

By doing this, you will be aiding the relief effort significantly while also improving flight volume on “off” days by filling seats that would otherwise remain empty. The goodwill you garner with this assistance will be immeasurable.

Please do not hesitate contacting me if you have any questions or concerns regarding this matter.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. It means the world.

Sincerely,

4/5
I received this email and wanted to share it with you. Use the email form she suggests for the best response:

April 5, 2006

Dear Ms. Holly:

We received your letter about discount tickets for volunteer work and were eager tosend you a reply as quickly as possible. Accordingly, I noticed the email addressincluded in your letter and I have taken the liberty of responding to youelectronically.

Thank you so much for your comments. We always appreciate hearing our customers'
perspective about any issue pertaining to our business and we are glad you took the time to share yours regarding the relief work along the Gulf coast.

Ms. Holly, it is a privilege to have your continued business. We'll look forward towelcoming you aboard soon.

I hope you don't mind that I've sent my response via email. Please continue to send us your comments through any communication channel that is most convenient for you. However, we'll get to your feedback faster and respond more quickly if you contact us again via http://www.aa.com/customerrelations .

Sincerely,
Michelle R. Walden
Customer Relations
American Airlines

A Letter To Home Depot and Lowes

2006-04-01T19:37:00.000-05:00

You may mail your letter to the following addresses:

Home Depot
2455 Paces Ferry Rd SE
Atlanta GA 30329-4024
770-433-8211

Lowes
1605 Curtis Bridge Rd
Wilkesboro, NC 28697
336-658-4000

Please consider giving the people a small jpg of your logo from your website and to put the web address under their name when addressing this like a business letter. It will give a more professional appearance as well as make the companies recognize this isn't just another mass mailing effort.

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing on behalf of all the volunteer agencies working in Hancock County MS.As you are aware, the need for volunteers is as great as ever. The skills needed are changing as the recovery effort evolves into the rebuilding phase.

The current skill set needed is in basic construction, which the vast majority of volunteers lack. I am asking that you advertise, and run either at regular intervals or on a by request basis, courses on skills that include:
Proper installation of a toilet
Wiring a light fixture
Wiring an outlet
Running wire for an electrician
Plumbing a faucet
Soldering copper pipe
Working with PVC pipe – both gluing and compression fittings

These simple skills, when offered to volunteer groups preparing to go into the Gulf Region, will greatly increase the efficiency of the relief effort.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this matter, please do not hesitate contacting me at your earliest convenience.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

As an aside, I did receive a post card from Home Depot. You can read the results on the Katrina Networking blog at:
http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2006/04/home-depot-grants.html

A Letter To Campmor For Volunteer Discounts

2006-03-27T20:39:00.000-05:00

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing on behalf of all volunteers in the Gulf Coast.

As you can imagine, life is still very basic, with camping and that goes with it the rule rather than the exception.

I am asking you to search within yourselves for the reaction you would hope others would take on your behalf and then act.

If someone calls to order equipment and states it is for a volunteer trip they are taking to the Gulf Region, please allow them a discount since they are already giving so much to an area in so much need.

There could be obvious exclusions, such as winter gear, or limited inclusions, such as small selections in each category. The important thing is to help, and when there is a good chance the volunteers will leave at least some of their gear for the locals or other volunteers coming to the area, you would be truly enhancing that gift giving ability.

Please contact me at your earliest convenience regarding this very important idea.

I thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Send to:
Campmor
400 Corporate Drive
PO Box 680
Mahwah, NJ 07430

The ArtFelt Program For All Ages

2006-03-27T13:54:00.000-05:00

http://www.artfeltconnections.com/

I honestly don't remember how I got the ArtFelt website. I think it was from someone involved with the New Waveland Cafe, but don't hold me to that.
To whomever sent me the link - thank you! This is the perfect way to get kids involved for kids.

An aside - I'm laughing because my mom calls me the perfect Methodist. I am constantly finding new ways for people to donate time, money, effort, items or all of the above! What can I say - I'm blessed. LOL

Anyway, this discovery is definitely one of the best ones I've had dropped in my lap. Go to http://www.artfeltconnections.com/ and check them out. They have started a program specifically for relief to schools affected by Katrina - either helping rebuild and cope with the daily influx of returning students, or helping the schools that have been swamped by displaced students.

They will sell to participating organizations, heart line-drawings for $10/100. The organizations then sell each heart for $1 each to each member wishing to participate. The member decorates in the medium of their choice. The $1 goes to a school of the organization's choice - which ArtFelt will help find if the organization doesn't have one chosen already.

The program was designed with primary ed schools in mind, but they are willing to open it up to any organization with a large number of people. The more the merrier as they say. With more participants comes greater creativity and involvement, making it a far more enriching experience than you might otherwise have with a limited number of participants.

I have sent the following letter out to the school districts, senior centers, nursing homes and colleges within my county. I am asking you to send just one. It can be to the school system your child attends, it can be a senior center you or your parents visit, it can be a nursing home you visit, it can be a scout troop you're involved in, it can be the university/community college you attend.

School District - Send to the Superintendent's Office - Addresses are in your phone book.
Senior Center - Send it to the attention of the Activity Director.
Nursing Home - Send it to the attention of the Activity Director.
Scout Troop - Call the Troop Leader and email or hand deliver the information.
University/CC - Send it to the attention of the Student Activities Department head - the name should be in your student handbook or on their webpage.

I put my contact information in as a way to assure the organization that this is not a common solicitation - which is a sure fire way of getting it filed in the trash. You may change the wording to fit the type of organization you are dealing with - school/students, nursing home/residents, etc.

To Whom It May Concern,

I am writing to you a request of assistance for Hancock County MS and its school district with an idea that is both obtainable and a highly enjoyable activity for the participants.

I have contacted ArtFelt Connections (http://www.artfeltconnections.com/) to confirm the particulars of this program that was designed specifically to assist the school districts affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

ArtFelt will supply a simple heart outline for your members to color and decorate in the medium of their choice for a small donation of $1.00 per drawing. This dollar will then be donated to the school relief efforts.

There are several choices on what to do with the art once it is completed. It may stay at your location – to inspire others to be included in this creative manner as well as to have a visual reminder of all the help you have been able to supply; It may go to the school district, along with the collected money, as a symbol of support for the students and staff to be inspired by; It may go back to ArtFelt to be imprinted on any number of items that can either be donated to the relief effort or kept by the person (and then returned to your location).

If the participant wishes to donate the items, ArtFelt will significantly reduce the price. If the person keeps it, ArtFelt will charge the regular price, which is still greatly reduced. Items of particular need in the affected region include backpacks, coffee mugs, mouse pads and quilts. The item will be either returned to your location to mail, or ArtFelt will send the items down in bulk to help reduce postage.

[The $1 charge for the original heart will go to the school of your choice, regardless of whether any items are ordered.]

You may know the parent company through PTA’s – Art Ware By You, which is well versed in the networking and delivering of aid.

If you are interested in assisting through this incredible program, please contact ArtFelt:
by email at Info@ArtFeltConnections.com
by phone at 1.800.609.8337
by mail at 151 Forest St Montclair, NJ 07042

If you have any other questions or concerns, please contact me at your earliest convenience at [enter your email and your phone number here].

Sincerely,

Giving Talks

2006-03-27T13:42:00.000-05:00

Well, I went to Vestal Senior High today to thank a student organization for making dry erase boards for Hancock County as well as to tell them about the entire Gulf Region.

The students were typical high school students - you don't want to show too many emotions in front of strangers. BUT - you could see the little light bulb go on in their heads with different analogies.

Like using a US map to show how far the destruction spread, and a picture Clayton (Siege) took of a debris field that spreads for miles.

Like telling them about 8' storm surge 10 miles in. That's a LOT of water.

Like losing everything in your bedroom, your house and then living in a FEMA trailer with no privacy.

Things like this really strike home.

So - Starting in mid-January, they will be doing a month long drive for "labels for education" and "boxtops for education" that includes all of the schools in the district.
http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2005/12/box-tops-for-education.html
http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2005/12/collect-campbell-labels-for-hancock.html

I think they started understanding that even saving pennies matters. If everyone saved pennies and sent the money - there would be no shortage.

Attorney's General Letter

2006-03-21T08:38:00.000-05:00

6/24
It seems our voices are being heard. Prices are slowly returning to a more respectable level. While not fully at the national average, they certainly aren't 2-3 times the national average. I don't expect them to be able to support national average, or their historic averages due to the constant need and the difficulty shipping supplies in. But as long as the prices remain close to the national average, I'm happy!

Thanks to all who took the time to write!

The more I hear regarding price gouging and usury down there, the more important this letter becomes. Please send it to your state's AG, the affected states' AGs and the US AG.

You can find your state's attorney general at:
http://www.naag.org/ag/full_ag_table.php
US AG -http://www.usdoj.gov/contact-us.html
Please send to the LA, MS, AL, USAG and your state's AG.
Also consider sending it to the major news organizations. If they start reporting this, we may catch a break in getting the AG's to do something.

The Letter
Dear Attorney General (insert their name),
As you know all too well, the 2005 hurricane season ravaged more states in our nation than any other season on record. These states are now being ravaged by the cost of rebuilding.Cost of materials is reported to be two to three times higher than the national average. Nationally established volunteer organizations and citizens alike are paying far too much for all goods and services to repair and rebuild the Gulf Coast Region. And while some price increases were expected immediately following a storm due to decreased infrastructure and access, this is no longer the case. And yet, the prices continue to rise to double and triple the national average a full 6 months after the most severe storms. This is obviously price gouging and predatory in nature. This is unacceptable.
These volunteer organizations are asking people from around the nation to start shipping supplies in because it’s cheaper than buying locally. This hurts everyone. The monies wasted on shipping could go toward direct rebuilding, but must be used instead to ship cheaper goods in. The monies aren’t being spent locally, further hurting the local economies of our poorest states, hindering their recovery even further. The only ones benefiting from this price gouging are the companies supplying the goods and the stores selling the goods – both of which claim to be assisting in all ways possible to help with the recovery effort.
Investigate the prices of all construction materials as well as basic life goods such as food, clothing, durable goods and basic construction services such as roof repair/replacement. Hold these companies, stores and individuals accountable for their actions. The Gulf Coast is counting on you to be their voice, their advocate during this incredibly difficult time.
Sincerely,

A Letter To State, Federal Officials

2006-03-21T08:33:00.000-05:00

Yes, I do enjoy my letters. BUT - they are effective. The more, the merrier too. Print it as is, email it or send it to both your state and federal representatives AND the White House. If we all send this - we'll be far more likely to make a difference.

It's an election year - they'll listen whether they are up for a vote or not.

http://www.senate.gov/http://www.house.gov/
The above links are where you find your federal legislators.
http://www.statelocalgov.net/index.cfm
The above link will help you locate your state representatives
.http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
The above link will allow you to contact the White House as well as give you the snail mail address, should you choose to send a hard copy.

The Letter
Dear State and Federal Legislators (put the name of your reps in here)
I am asking you to create a tax deduction for those people who give their time so freely in the hurricane ravaged Gulf Region.
This deductible should be similar to a real money donation since their skills, time and travel are far more valuable than any dollar donation could be.
Please consider a deduction of $500/week, but not to exceed $2000 total. This kind of incentive will help those who are giving more than they truly can and will allow others to donate their efforts when they otherwise might not be able.
We must find ways to help the Gulf Region rebuild as quickly as possible. It is far too valuable of a national asset to let languish as we are. The ports, the fishing industry, the oil industry and the tourism all depend on rapid, efficient and effective rebuilding of the infrastructure and communities that support these industries.
Creating a tax deduction for those whose compassion runs deeper than their finances allow will create a deeper, more skilled volunteer pool from which to draw such valuable resource as nursing, teaching, construction and adjunctive staff.
We, as a nation, need this small but effective donation on the part of our government. By creating this tax deduction, the government can save the nation billions in reconstruction costs and halve the time it will take to rebuild the Gulf Region to the robust asset it has always been.
Sincerely,

Letters to Write

2006-03-21T08:19:00.000-05:00

I'm putting 4 letters into 1 post since they all pertain to the same program and same result - helping the hurricane affected schools.

Letter #1 Write or Email to the Box Tops For Education Program:
E-mail
Use our contact form to e-mail Box Tops for Education about program and technical questions.

Write
Box Tops for Education
P.O. Box 8998
Young America, MN 55551

Letter:
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing on behalf of all school districts affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. While I am working directly with Hancock County, MS School System, I know the need extends much further and the nation’s ability to help is far greater than a single school district.
For that reason, I am asking you to begin a campaign on your Box Tops For Education website (www.boxtops4education.com) that states you will match all Box Tops sent in by the affected school districts for one calendar year.
Word will get out to the nation, more affluent schools, communities, PTAs, etc. will participate as well as individuals such as myself. The request for your help includes you placing an interactive map of the affected region so that organizations and individuals can choose to assist a particular school district by need or by affiliation. With this map, it would be helpful to have a tally of what each school district has had submitted – being updated on a monthly basis. An address for each school district would also be made available – as it is now – in order that the Box Tops be sent to the correct address and then submitted to you in the traditional manner.
The only additional work would be the initial website inclusion of this campaign, while any tallying and addresses would be pulled from existing databases. Any increase in activity in the Box Tops For Education Program would be directed to a single region, and may actually reduce activity in other regions of the country, making for no net increase in work on your part.
Please consider this request as quickly as possible so these school systems might recover more rapidly and completely for the children and communities in the Gulf Region.
If you have any questions regarding this request, please do not hesitate to call me at your earliest convenience.
Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.
Sincerely,

Write to Labels For Education at:
Labels for Education
PO Box 3130
Grand Rapids, Minnesota 55745-3130

Email them through their contact page:http://www.labelsforeducation.com/contactanne.aspx

Letter
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing on behalf of all school districts affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. While I am working directly with Hancock County, MS School System, I know the need extends much further and the nation’s ability to help is far greater than a single school district.
For that reason, I am asking you to begin a campaign on your Labels For Education website (www.labelsforeducation.com) that states you will match all Labels sent in by the affected school districts for one calendar year.
Word will get out to the nation, more affluent schools, communities, PTAs, etc. will participate as well as individuals such as myself. The request for your help includes you placing an interactive map of the affected region so that organizations and individuals can choose to assist a particular school district by need or by affiliation. With this map, it would be helpful to have a tally of what each school district has had submitted – being updated on a monthly basis. An address for each school district would also be made available – as it is now – in order that the Labels be sent to the correct address and then submitted to you in the traditional manner.
The only additional work would be the initial website inclusion of this campaign, while any tallying and addresses would be pulled from existing databases. Any increase in activity in the Labels For Education Program would be directed to a single region, and may actually reduce activity in other regions of the country, making for no net increase in work on your part.
Please consider this request as quickly as possible so these school systems might recover more rapidly and completely for the children and communities in the Gulf Region.
If you have any questions regarding this request, please do not hesitate to call me at your earliest convenience.
Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.
Sincerely,

This letter is to your state PTA. I found NYS's PTA org very easily, so the search shouldn't be difficult if you just type in your state's name followed by "PTA" and you should get it in the first 5 hits.

Letter
To Whom It May Concern:
I would like to take a moment of your time to request information dissemination to your affiliates.I am asking that all PTAs choose a school system affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and spend one quarter to one year collecting and sending both Labels For Education (see www.labelsforeducation.com) and Box Tops For Education (see www.boxtops4education.com) to that school system/PTA in order to recover more completely and rapidly than they otherwise would without the assistance.
I am also asking that the attached letters be made available to request the affiliated companies to assist by matching the submitted Labels/Box Tops for one calendar year.
In the grand scheme of things, the amounts given (rather than kept) by local PTAs will be insignificant compared to the invaluable assets they will become to the receiving schools.
If you would like more information regarding this proposal/request, please contact me at your earliest convenience.
Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.
Sincerely,

And finally - make a second copy of the above letter and send it to the national PTA. They need to understand that this disaster requires us as a nation to think outside the box. They claim they can't condone or advocate for any single program, but this isn't like any other time in our history. So write the letters.

This one needs to go to the National PTA Org. It is the exact same letter as the one to your state, but this will make the national organization aware that people throughout the country want to help the affected region and it would be very good policy to make the information available to their state affiliates.

By sending to the states first, you are insuring they get the information in case the national organization tries to ignore the requests.

Send To:
Send email to the National PTA.

You may also contact the National PTA via mail, phone or fax:
National PTA
541 N Fairbanks Court
Suite 1300
Chicago, IL 60611-3396
Phone: (312) 670-6782Toll-Free: (800) 307-4PTA (4782)Fax: (312) 670-6783
Please send faxes and correspondence to the attention of the Customer Service Department.

National PTA Washington DC Office
1090 Vermont Ave. NW, Suite 1200
Washington, D.C. 20005-4905
Phone: (202) 289-6790Fax: (202) 289-6791Hotline: (888) 425-5537

Contact Names:
Kimberly Barnes-O'Connor, Deputy Executive Director - Programs and Public Policy
Sheri DeBoe Johnson, Program Director

Public Service Announcements

2006-03-18T14:25:00.000-05:00

Please consider sending this to your local Public Access Channel.

Most have announcements during the daytime and off hours when programming is sparse. They also have strict rules about what can be posted and how large the post can be.Ours needs a local contact, needs to be no longer than 4 lines and no more than 32 characters per line, needs to be sent in at least 3 weeks in advance.

So - with all of that in mind, if you are willing to be your local contact, please first call Walton County Habitat so they are familiar with your name and location as well as to give permission and then put yourself down as the local contact - that will be used only by the Public Access Channel folks for verification - not as a contact for the public to call.

11/19
Regift to the needy in the US
Adopt a Family This Christmas
For More Information:
RealPeopleRelief.blogspot.com

Help Katrina Victims Help Themselves
Able Bodied People Of All Ages Needed
1 Week to 1 Month Intervals Call
Walton County Habitat @ 850 835 0067

You may use this wording ver batim or something very similar - this was approved for use by the Walton County Habitat, so I would strongly urge using this wording as is. If you need help shortening it for your PAC, please email me and I will do what I can to help you.

Similar One For Electricians

Please send the following announcement to your local Public Access Channel. They all have times every day where they post announcements for not-for-profit groups and needs such as this. I've written this one for our PAC and is conformed to their specifications, so should need little editing for your PAC.

Help The Gulf Coast Help Itself
Licensed Electrictians Needed Now
KatrinaCoalition@aol.com or
www.KatrinaNetworking.blogspot.com