Year 2 Volunteers Exceed Year 1 as Work Turns to Long-term Recovery;
Volunteers Urged to Go to Volunteer.gov

New Orleans - More than 1.1 million Americans have volunteered in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, giving vital help to millions of Gulf Coast residents, and more volunteers continue to be needed to sustain the long haul rebuilding effort, said top federal officials at a ribbon cutting for a volunteer camp outside New Orleans today. Altogether these 1.1 million volunteers have provided more than 14 million hours of service in what is the largest volunteer response to a disaster in the nation’s history.

“The outpouring of compassion by more than one million Americans has been a vital part of the Katrina recovery effort and is a sign of the fundamental goodness and generosity of the American people," said Chairman Don Powell, Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding. "As the rebuilding effort continues, volunteers will remain a critical source of hope and help in the Gulf, and I encourage more Americans to get involved, because the government can not bring these communities back alone."

One year ago this week, the Corporation for National and Community Service reported that more than 550,000 Americans had volunteered to help rebuild the Gulf in the year following Katrina, an historic engagement that dwarfed previous volunteer responses. Today’s report indicates that the number of volunteers continued to climb in the second year, from 550,000 to 600,000, even as the initiative received less media attention and the urgency diminished.

"The increase in volunteers in year two teaches us powerful lessons about both the determination of Americans from across the country to rebuild this region as well as the difference that National Service can make,” said David Eisner, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service. “Once the nonprofits and faith-based organizations built some capacity and secured volunteer lodging, then it was all about providing the right opportunities and the right support, and people kept responding.”

More than 93,000 participants in national service programs including AmeriCorps, NCCC, VISTA, Senior Corps, and Learn and Serve America have given more than 3.5 million hours of service and managed 262,000 volunteers – more than a quarter of the total volunteer force. The Corporation has provided more than $130 million of resources to the Gulf Coast in response to Katrina. The federal agency has made disaster preparedness and response a key focus of its five-year strategic plan and has worked closely with leading voluntary organizations active in disasters to enable smarter, faster cooperation.

Powell and Eisner announced the volunteer data at a ribbon-cutting for the new location of New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity’s Camp Hope, a volunteer shelter that has housed tens of thousands of AmeriCorps NCCC members and volunteers as they have assisted in the gutting, mucking and rebuilding of thousands of homes in St. Bernard Parish. The new Camp Hope, located at P.T. Beauregard Middle School, will house up to 500 volunteers at a time who will primarily be supporting construction of new homes with Habitat for Humanity and other groups.

Volunteers have carried out a wide range of activities in the two years since Katrina made landfall, including supporting shelter and feeding operations; establishing call centers andwarehousing sites; assisting with case work and benefits coordination; setting up school and youth programs; blue roofing, debris removal, mucking out homes. While all types of volunteers are needed, Gulf community and nonprofit leaders now say the biggest need is for skilled volunteers to assist in the construction of new homes and provide health services.

“There are still schools to repair, houses to build, children who need teachers, and friends with mental health needs. So if you are a carpenter—come. An electrician—come. A plumber, a teacher, a mental health provider—we need you,” said Eisner, whose agency has provided nearly $9 million in federal and matching grants to nonprofits to recruit skilled volunteers to come to the Gulf. "Right now Gulf Coast organizations are better positioned than ever and we encourage you to go to answer the call.

Those who want to volunteer in continuing work of Katrina rebuilding are encouraged to visit http://www.volunteer.gov, a comprehensive listing of volunteer opportunities in the Gulf and across the nation.

The Corporation for National and Community Service improves lives, strengthens communities, and fosters civic engagement through service and volunteering. Each year, the Corporation provides opportunities for more than 2 million Americans of all ages and backgrounds to serve their communities and country through Senior Corps, AmeriCorps and Learn and Serve America. For more information, visit http://www.nationalservice.gov.

###