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The Corporation for National and Community Service has joined with the ABC television program “Good Morning America" and the Salvation Army to adopt and help rebuild the Gulf Coast town of Pass Christian, Miss., hometown of GMA anchor Robin Roberts. In late August 2005, Hurricane Katrina destroyed approximately 75 percent of the town’s homes and 100 percent of its businesses.
The rebuilding effort was launched in late September when more than 70 AmeriCorps members participated in a one-day cleanup of a small residential street. With support of heavy equipment provided by the Mississippi Department of Transportation, the AmeriCorps members removed 55 truckloads – or approximately 355 tons’ worth – of brush and debris.
Since that time, slow but steady progress has been made in helping the town recover from the worst natural disaster in our nation’s history. Among other activities, a constant presence of AmeriCorps members from the AmeriCorps St. Louis program, with regular assistance from AmeriCorps*NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps), have:
- Opened and operated an “Information and Referral Center” to answer residents’ questions and to let them know of available benefits and services in person and through free Internet access and a newsletter
- Unloaded and distributed tons of donated goods
- Readied the town’s only remaining school for re-opening
- Conducted hundreds of needs assessments in Pass Christian neighborhoods, and helped scores of local residents muck out and sanitize their homes, cut down trees, remove debris, etc.
- Operated and managed The Village tent city, first for displaced residents, then for general volunteers, and now for use by skilled volunteers.
- Recruited, housed, and managed 870 volunteers from across the country, including hundreds of college students on Spring Break, to help with activities such as home gutting, debris removal, and mold remediation.
- Assisted with vital municipal functions in areas where there is a shortage of employees or other resources, such as staffing City Hall and the Building Permits office.
- Worked in partnership with other nonprofit, faith-based, and government groups to foster collaborative volunteer efforts in the Pass and elsewhere.
Skilled Volunteers Needed
As a result of these efforts, the Pass has reached a stage in the rebuilding effort where the greatest need is for volunteers skilled in the building trades.
If you have special skills in electrical work, plumbing, carpentry, and construction, please click here to fill out form to volunteer in Pass Christian and the immediate environs.
If you do not have special skills but are still interested in helping out in other areas of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, or Texas where the demand for general volunteers is still high, go to http://www.volunteer.gov to find an opportunity. You can make a difference!
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