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WASHINGTON, D.C. – AmeriCorps*NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps), the team-based AmeriCorps program for young adults, announced today that 18 teams of 10 to 12 members each have recently begun work on more than a dozen projects related to hurricane relief efforts in the Gulf Coast region.
Among the projects: building homes with three Habitat for Humanity affiliates in Louisiana and Florida; supporting the work of the AmeriCorps St. Louis program in Pass Christian, Miss., which has made a yearlong commitment to help in a variety of ways rebuild the coastal town as part of the Corporation’s partnership with the ABC television show “Good Morning America”; putting up roof tarps, performing home repairs, and mucking out flooded homes with the Christian Contractors Association and various cities and parishes in Mississippi and Louisiana; and performing environmental cleanup work with the Keys Nature Conservancy in Florida. (A complete list of project sponsors can be found below.)
The projects are in addition to more than 75 separate disaster services projects that more than 1,100 AmeriCorps*NCCC has undertaken since September in response to the hurricane. The project typically are undertaken through established local, state, and national disaster agencies and nonprofit groups such as FEMA, the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, and the U.S. Forest Service.
“Katrina relief and recovery is the highest priority of the NCCC program in fiscal 2006,” said Merlene Mazyck, Director of AmeriCorps*NCCC. “Currently, approximately 30 percent of NCCC resources are focused on supporting Katrina recovery efforts, and we expect to maintain this level of support throughout the ’06 fiscal year.”
Since the unprecedented series of storms hit last summer and fall, NCCC teams have assisted more than 900,000 people living in the disaster area. Among other accomplishments, NCCC teams have served 882,000 meals; collected or distributed 2,376 tons of food; removed 15 tons of debris; conducted more than 800 home damage assessments; supported more than 400 emergency response centers; and recruited or coordinated nearly 1,500 community volunteers.
AmeriCorps*NCCC is a full-time service program for men and women between the ages of 18 and 24. Working in teams of 9 to 12, AmeriCorps*NCCC members take on a variety of projects during their 10-month term of service. Because members are trained in first aid, CPR, and disaster services – and because they can be assigned to new duties on short notice – AmeriCorps*NCCC members are particularly well-suited to responding to national emergencies; in fact, NCCC teams have responded to every major national disaster since 1994.
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The current AmeriCorps*NCCC projects and project sponsors in the Gulf region follow. For additional information on these projects, contact Sandy Scott at 202-606-6724.
Louisiana
- Bayou Habitat for Humanity (Thibodaux): Home building, volunteer coordination
- FEMA New Adventist Warehouse (New Iberia): Donated goods collection and distribution
- FEMA New Orleans Baptist Church: Donated goods collection and distribution
- Mercy Corps Reclaim Project (New Orleans): Recycling building materials
- New Orleans Habitat for Humanity (New Orleans): Home building, volunteer coordination
- St. Bernard Parish (St. Bernard): Debris removal, mucking and home repair, volunteer coordination
- United Way of Acadiana (Abbeville): Volunteer reception, mucking and home repair
Mississippi
- Christian Contractors Association (Biloxi): Roof tarping, home repair, volunteer coordination
- City of Pass Christian: Debris removal, service referral, home repair
- City of Waveland: Debris removal, mucking and home repair, volunteer coordination
- Lutheran Episcopal Disaster Response (Biloxi): Case management, home repair, food delivery
- Mississippi Commission Joint Field Office Call Center (Jackson): Information and referral
- Rebuilding East Mississippi (Pascagoula): Home repair, roof tarping
Florida
- Keys Nature Conservancy (Summerland Key): Park restoration
- Lee County Habitat for Humanity (Fort Myers): Home building, volunteer management
AmeriCorps*NCCC is part of AmeriCorps, a network of programs through which more than 70,000 Americans each year help meet critical needs in education, the environment, public safety, and other areas. AmeriCorps is administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service, which also administers Senior Corps and Learn and Serve America. Together with the USA Freedom Corps, the Corporation is working to build a culture of citizenship, service, and responsibility in America. For more information, visit http://www.nationalservice.gov.
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