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April 16th, 2008 Kathleen Johnson is a long term full time volunteer who has been working in Waveland, Hancock County, Mississippi, since just after the onset of the storm. She currently operates her own disaster relief agency. Her fiscal arm is the Waveland Citizens Fund - a registered 501 (c) 3. Website: http://www.reliefvolunteers.com
Not
quite sure how I met them that first time - I do remember the
overwhelming sense that they were here to help, they were a "can do"
type group, and they meant business in every sense of the word. Needham
Cares - a conglomerate community group from Massachusetts has been
volunteering down here on the Gulf Coast since just after Katrina
walked on land. More importantly they have been raising funds to meet
those critical needs that stop a house in the construction process for
the want of a nail. And help they have - raising funds for all types of grants for
residents from the purchase of land, to the purchase of a vehicle for a
volunteer camp, to the banding material that was not included in a
funding for a home. One phone call, one quick written grant
justification and the funds are on their way to where they are
critically needed. From the $3,000 land purchase to the banding pylons
- it was the difference in getting the home started and the same home
blacked in. That particular home is pictured above - it belongs to a
Bay St Louis police officer and his wife. It is this type of creative funding for these homes in the aftermath
of Katrina that has made a difference for both Katrina Relief of
Waveland and The Pearlington Recovery Center of Pearlington. If we ever
get totally stuck on funding for a home or in a "bind" as the
volunteers are here but not the funding - it is one frantic email to
Needham Cares that has saved the day. Over the past 2.5 years Needham Cares has sent team, after team,
after team down here. Teams made up of retirees and full-time employees, mothers and daughters, high school and college students, firefighters, town officials, teachers, health care providers, mean and women in various stages of life, just came to do what ever was asked of them. Whether it was gutting a home, installing insulation, putting up sheet rock, roofing, painting, landscaping, it didn't matter. Sometimes a skilled team, sometimes just plain laborers - regardless they got the job done. 2.5 years out and only 20% of the homes have been rebuilt. This is a
five year plan at best - honestly it is going to be ten years. And it is
community angels like Needham Cares that are making the difference. To
the generous donors in Needham, Massachusetts who are supporting
Needham Cares - thank you from the bottom of my heart. It is donors like
you that are the mainstay of the recovery effort here in the Gulf Coast. Kathleen Johnson Katrina Relief Waveland, Ms. Website for Needham Cares: http://www.needhamcares.org/board.htm
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