tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-274926162024-03-07T01:58:17.252-06:00Hands On Gulf CoastHands On Gulf Coast is a volunteer engagement organization working in communities across the Mississippi Gulf Coast. We house out-of-state volunteers while they work on the recovery, as well as providing volunteer opportunities for residents of the Gulf Coast in their own communities.
Come volunteer to help the Gulf Coast rebuild. It's as simple as a phone call (228.257.6094) or an email to <a href="mailto:info@handsongulfcoast.org">info@handsongulfcoast.org</a>.Hands On Gulf Coasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00850968145231599000noreply@blogger.comBlogger169125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27492616.post-29617340917395573102009-11-25T14:00:00.003-06:002009-11-25T14:21:37.459-06:00Goodbye HOGC<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-7-f2iRkf8EABTJ0dGhmbR7xbiCFt9MWzCiXDFhhQATYJ5sCSEnl8xNe56ETF3GkiR0P4jnLOuLVwB8MzL6uuvJ1ail6T45fvQCDVDY9yvrajKXftH63N4FF9bDWF9sr3v-3Z/s1600/ST831614.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408138164491817602" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-7-f2iRkf8EABTJ0dGhmbR7xbiCFt9MWzCiXDFhhQATYJ5sCSEnl8xNe56ETF3GkiR0P4jnLOuLVwB8MzL6uuvJ1ail6T45fvQCDVDY9yvrajKXftH63N4FF9bDWF9sr3v-3Z/s320/ST831614.JPG" /></a>Dear HOGC,<br /><div></div><br /><div>My year of service is over! But, as I reflect on this past year, I choose to reflect on the positive and concentrate on moving forward and continuing to advance the common good to others. This year has been an incredibly crazy one for myself but I'm proud to say that I've made it! When I was offered a Volunteer Coordinator position on Dec 12, 2008, I was nervous about accepting it. I wasn't sure whether or not I could perform all of the tasks. Boy was I wrong! I came here, I did my job, and I helped "Be The Change".</div><div></div><br /><div>The memories that I've made while being here have been incredible. The members that I have created lasting friendships with, the projects that I have been priveleged to help with, the service day that wouldn't have happened if it hadn't been for Kels & Ash, and the many networking opportunities that I've been afforded...are the best parts of this journey that I've been on over the past ten months.</div><div></div><br /><div>I wish the organization much success and I can only hope and pray that HOGC will become a powerhouse non-profit. I wish the incoming AmeriCorps members much success w/ their upcoming year of service. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Much love,</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Kevin J.</div><div>2009 AmeriCorps State Member</div><div>Volunteer Coordinator</div><div>Hands On Gulf Coast</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27492616.post-87995484192152987552009-09-17T20:35:00.002-06:002009-09-17T20:39:43.117-06:00Donation of Historic Paint Colors Makes for a “Good Neighbor” on the Gulf CoastCheck out this article from the Mississippi Department of Archives & History. They did a story on some of the historical houses that have been completed here on the Gulf Coast and Hands On Gulf Coast has been highlighted. Check it out!<br /><br /><a href="http://shar.es/1fZez">Donation of Historic Paint Colors Makes for a “Good Neighbor” on the Gulf Coast</a><br /><br />Posted using <a href="http://sharethis.com/">ShareThis</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27492616.post-40880399673327226772009-09-15T12:58:00.005-06:002009-09-15T13:02:00.593-06:009/11 Day of Service & Remembrance videoHere's a video from WLOX about our service day at North Bay Elementary. Check it out.<br /><br /><br /><script src="http://www.wlox.com/global/video/videoplayer.js?rnd=950531;hostDomain=www.wlox.com;playerWidth=410;playerHeight=300;isShowIcon=true;clipId=4120838;flvUri=;thirdpartymrssurl=;playerType=STANDARD_EMBEDDEDscript" type="text/javascript"></script>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27492616.post-83571364754844399452009-09-10T22:05:00.003-06:002009-09-10T22:26:30.541-06:00September 11 Day of Service and RemembranceOn Friday, September 11, we will commemorate the 8th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks with a Day of Volunteer Service and Remembrance. This initiative, <em>United We Serve</em>, was started by President Barack Obama, who has designated September 11 as an official National Day of Service.<br /><div></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3AIpIGRPKneuwdRGtXfzZP-wnESK6Xt3vWPOPl8pDx4OHF8Wly9hRX2PBfOSwMEI9FdvAtxrOYNNQ0fvDtXYkckWnWM_Iu6gbh6KZUXouYO9lLvzWz-yRNe7eSoPgoJ_Zk28F/s1600-h/9.11+day+of+service.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 246px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380061257437945858" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3AIpIGRPKneuwdRGtXfzZP-wnESK6Xt3vWPOPl8pDx4OHF8Wly9hRX2PBfOSwMEI9FdvAtxrOYNNQ0fvDtXYkckWnWM_Iu6gbh6KZUXouYO9lLvzWz-yRNe7eSoPgoJ_Zk28F/s320/9.11+day+of+service.JPG" /></a>Hands On Gulf Coast will answer this call from the president by having a service project tomorrow at North Bay Elementary in Biloxi, MS from 9am till 3:30pm. Please come out and support Hands On Gulf Coast, North Bay Elementary, President Obama's <em>United We Serve</em> initiative, and the Gulf Coast as we honor those who passed during the 9/11 attacks and our firefighters, police officers, coast guard officers, military officers and countless others who put their lives on the line each and every day in order to insure that we keep our freedoms.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Follow us on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/hogc">Twitter</a> (for a steady stream of updates) and stay tuned to our <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/handsongulfcoast">Flickr</a> page for photo updates from the event.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27492616.post-64875254639118506262009-08-28T09:42:00.004-06:002009-08-28T10:37:13.580-06:00Hurricane Katrina Memorial Day of ServiceI've been feeling a kind of restless energy here on the Coast this past week. Maybe it's due to the whirlwind of activity leading up to all of the Katrina Anniversary events, or maybe it's just this strange tangible emotion that inevitably exists when remembering such a devastating event; whatever the cause of this unnamed energy, it certainly makes me grateful to be a part of such a wonderful organization that embraces and addresses the needs of the communities in which it serves.<br /><br />Tomorrow, Saturday, August 29th, on the 4th Anniversary of the eve of Hurricane Katrina, Hands On Gulf Coast will be commemorating the event, as well as the citizens and the volunteers who worked tirelessly over the past few years to rebuild the Coast. On this bittersweet day, we'll honor the history of the Coast, express our gratitude to those of you who have helped us in our efforts and most importantly, contribute to the continued rebuilding efforts by committing our hearts and our hands to Hands On's first annual Katrina Day of Service.<br /><br />So we invite you: the community members, Americorps members past and present, gracious donors, sponsors and all people in between, to join us on this day of service. We'll be painting, tiling and helping to beautify City Park in downtown Bay St. Louis. The day will start at 8AM and conclude at Noon with a small lunch reception featuring the Mayor, Les Fillingame.<br /><br />Please join us on this momentous occasion (246 City Park Ave., Bay St. Louis, MS for your GPS units!) as we continue our efforts here on the Coast for growth and progress.<br /><br />Hope to see you there!<br />Ashley Cartagena, <span style="font-style: italic;">HOGC Intern<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK6ztiAqw7BQy8LsGsrymxuaq50qSTxMSa-YmiJUIafUhe8vml2HghHNVbveBNHDNgeMY9GdF88ldTm60BXZuph_8-LVLkTY0EOfU7Em7pzRyUqRsJkPHeF78FYRQlERTaVMp1/s1600-h/Katrina+Flyer-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 351px; height: 454px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK6ztiAqw7BQy8LsGsrymxuaq50qSTxMSa-YmiJUIafUhe8vml2HghHNVbveBNHDNgeMY9GdF88ldTm60BXZuph_8-LVLkTY0EOfU7Em7pzRyUqRsJkPHeF78FYRQlERTaVMp1/s320/Katrina+Flyer-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375053815491534066" border="0" /></a>Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13866811653594003391noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27492616.post-54259139951004163432009-07-02T10:25:00.004-06:002009-07-02T10:33:02.984-06:00HOGC Volunteer Job Fair<div>Hands On Gulf Coast will be taking part in a Volunteer Job Fair being held at the Gulfport WIN Center.<br /><div></div><br /><div>Date - Wednesday, July 15</div><div>Time - 9am to 3pm</div><div>Location - Gulfport WIN Center, Classroom 1</div><div></div><br /><div>There will also be two mini-workshops on how to incorporate your volunteer experience onto your resume. Times will be 10am & 1pm.</div><div></div><br /><div>If you or any other organizations are interested in attending, please do so!</div><div></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA4WMCeBxcFRFmB5l1I4oRP5OoI4ZqX1pSo3QbdZXNjxIQjnnIoh6p6e1IeT6CYaVPn5Suglm7x3qbNAejIfhAH-y1fTQC4FNX6BQxpitxfhMQErJ7OBw9GmL9LaCkcrbCm8S3/s1600-h/volunteer+job+fair.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 430px; HEIGHT: 499px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353901451727317554" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA4WMCeBxcFRFmB5l1I4oRP5OoI4ZqX1pSo3QbdZXNjxIQjnnIoh6p6e1IeT6CYaVPn5Suglm7x3qbNAejIfhAH-y1fTQC4FNX6BQxpitxfhMQErJ7OBw9GmL9LaCkcrbCm8S3/s400/volunteer+job+fair.JPG" /></a></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27492616.post-85455805526347102422009-05-22T14:49:00.002-06:002009-05-22T14:52:03.672-06:00B&N Voucher<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwib8GQoSp9kXrKeuex93N_UQCiSS8UQDnPUhtU-QjPqZL9CEQSm1jSTEflPW0El-1zgTkVe6bMd5KnjfLSc_kM0Wej5QyQmj4GxejcMd_TvG6nwZm6gG1-pwnA89XT_fJK8X3/s1600-h/bn_coupon.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 167px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338753794608208322" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwib8GQoSp9kXrKeuex93N_UQCiSS8UQDnPUhtU-QjPqZL9CEQSm1jSTEflPW0El-1zgTkVe6bMd5KnjfLSc_kM0Wej5QyQmj4GxejcMd_TvG6nwZm6gG1-pwnA89XT_fJK8X3/s400/bn_coupon.JPG" /></a><br /><div>Click on the voucher, print it, and take it to a B&N of your choice. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27492616.post-31229113539774747522009-05-13T11:48:00.003-06:002009-05-13T12:11:45.072-06:00AmeriCorps Week<ol><li>What is AmeriCorps?</li><li>What is AmeriCorps Week?</li><li>What did Hands On Gulf Coast do for AmeriCorps Week?</li></ol><u></u><br /><u>What is AmeriCorps?</u><br />AmeriCorps provides opportunities for 75,000 Americans to give back in an intensive way to their communities and country each year. It consists of three main programs: AmeriCorps State and National, whose members serve with more than 2,900 national and local nonprofit and community groups; AmeriCorps VISTA, through which members serve full time fighting poverty; and AmeriCorps NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps), a team-based residential program for young adults 18-24 who carry out projects in public safety, the environment, youth development, and disaster relief and preparedness.<br /><br /><u></u><br /><u>What is AmeriCorps Week?</u><br />AmeriCorps Week is a recruitment and recognition event designed to bring more Americans into service, salute AmeriCorps members and alums for their powerful impact, and thank the community partners who make AmeriCorps possible. AmeriCorps Week provides an opportunity for AmeriCorps members, alums, grantees, program partners, and friends to shine a spotlight on the work done by members in communities across the country -- and to motivate more AmeriCorps to join AmeriCorps or volunteer in their communities.<br /><br /><u></u><br /><u>What did Hands On Gulf Coast do for AmeriCorps Week?</u><br />Hands On Gulf Coast celebrated AmeriCorps Week by holding it's 1st annual AmeriCorps Beach Bash. All of our AmeriCorps members met at the beach (across from the Biloxi Lighthouse) for food, games, and fun! After munching on delicious pizza from Papa John's, we gathered around the bonfire and told stories about our AmeriCorps experience. A few of our members are AmeriCorps NCCC Alums and they had nothing but amazing experiences during their service time. It was definitely a great bonding experience for those members in attendance. With that being said, our hope is to reach out to countless others who might be interested in devoting a small portion of their time to serving their state and their country.<br /><br />Check out our Flickr page, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/handsongulfcoast">http://www.flickr.com/photos/handsongulfcoast</a> for photos from our Beach Bash!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27492616.post-30201826544737464942009-05-05T10:29:00.008-06:002009-05-05T12:36:02.074-06:00Woolmarket Elementary Arts & Crafts - Part 2<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw4__XJSefROilqX_OMWvfd9TRSYgMgsWhAl739C-Cep-TgY1jDTbglAGToS0GnUn8G9S8Pv1DWVT2e7VAK7We9Xi_0vaqQFBHVh7tpXO73z04FleNrJMf7SeajS-wBduKtDsa/s1600-h/DSC_0192.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 133px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332382639528972642" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw4__XJSefROilqX_OMWvfd9TRSYgMgsWhAl739C-Cep-TgY1jDTbglAGToS0GnUn8G9S8Pv1DWVT2e7VAK7We9Xi_0vaqQFBHVh7tpXO73z04FleNrJMf7SeajS-wBduKtDsa/s200/DSC_0192.JPG" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3QJE5uxv4ZeUyTL8Mh9hxHbdsZMjKfdNzJOiZimUfKdU5e6vTjT8YqO9BsaBBwqqQVWCjXc6wkJ_Z0xl2NgQVHDTF903tutR8VcPt5w3Va7o-ts_L52g_hyphenhyphen-ln0iPMvP6LArn/s1600-h/DSC_0191.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 133px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332382636397516994" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3QJE5uxv4ZeUyTL8Mh9hxHbdsZMjKfdNzJOiZimUfKdU5e6vTjT8YqO9BsaBBwqqQVWCjXc6wkJ_Z0xl2NgQVHDTF903tutR8VcPt5w3Va7o-ts_L52g_hyphenhyphen-ln0iPMvP6LArn/s200/DSC_0191.JPG" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsGLC96yw3ITsESeDo-fAPIFYLXS_WnZ9Iwr_IdBHllnpvGVMZSv3XtGGR7V-TjlxCTiY_AqDmvVeevI2BP4BXLtv1KA-Ev7POmdc5mkzD9qMiNiD24PbzfEQxtzAxiIzV2ZE9/s1600-h/DSC_0189.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 133px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332382631050844306" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsGLC96yw3ITsESeDo-fAPIFYLXS_WnZ9Iwr_IdBHllnpvGVMZSv3XtGGR7V-TjlxCTiY_AqDmvVeevI2BP4BXLtv1KA-Ev7POmdc5mkzD9qMiNiD24PbzfEQxtzAxiIzV2ZE9/s200/DSC_0189.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 133px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332382622363391074" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGNOvrZBsKlPh5jGmJqBxGLi_r1RMVc-977L9gVk26Y6bLaZoOtbMcWywfMp6IGP3bcZPh_nM6gF9XKzkeuxeL2cfmdxMtFIYAefVaFyj388kBPQW_MmCdSoohPUdJiZTXRf1x/s200/DSC_0185.JPG" /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMcxY7PtDrakDTuwtcQ32HglpG2XD47mTKzdYKFwFPp7DDnIMqMMSavjC-uEZXtzjCSv3P4DXUqfRp_i16Z_rHBQlQd5dqtiAaup7SbAW3jZPOu1ZeUAh6S3l8MXIbur-lvwLr/s1600-h/DSC_0183.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 133px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332381214323428370" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMcxY7PtDrakDTuwtcQ32HglpG2XD47mTKzdYKFwFPp7DDnIMqMMSavjC-uEZXtzjCSv3P4DXUqfRp_i16Z_rHBQlQd5dqtiAaup7SbAW3jZPOu1ZeUAh6S3l8MXIbur-lvwLr/s200/DSC_0183.JPG" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbJ6L9b8IkFlaLKLRczN72bIE3B20oE6X3yWz_ObSoQuj8SHaRYjCd4VCqjUAtRy6m95hRpHm3LbM4BqseZqd706NJBwlhzSKtiEcnsap1QZd-Bzkrt3nIWvZJ_2yEGT5rJ5fd/s1600-h/DSC_0182.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 133px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332381200876682978" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbJ6L9b8IkFlaLKLRczN72bIE3B20oE6X3yWz_ObSoQuj8SHaRYjCd4VCqjUAtRy6m95hRpHm3LbM4BqseZqd706NJBwlhzSKtiEcnsap1QZd-Bzkrt3nIWvZJ_2yEGT5rJ5fd/s200/DSC_0182.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQiE755AA220DFYDnZArsQxHmy-DltyFtUs7FClosS1ppCFNy4mgHrwls8sETneeGllrOr_XBuS7mPivOoUqsgHjlKAVVK7aT1t0lO7wWs3pzIKW1mor42T52jDOnfQoV52c38/s1600-h/DSC_0180.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 133px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332381194590618514" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQiE755AA220DFYDnZArsQxHmy-DltyFtUs7FClosS1ppCFNy4mgHrwls8sETneeGllrOr_XBuS7mPivOoUqsgHjlKAVVK7aT1t0lO7wWs3pzIKW1mor42T52jDOnfQoV52c38/s200/DSC_0180.JPG" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr08_CAgSh9jbEACWACK0lxXwcGRaoAN4TByoS6kkKVBm9cDdZpfxE8j6IxmzgsRytPXcCf4kqKfz0NppvLjluO3I7ywxoyly1RzWBBV93phlr2PbNGmBOa42nGIk1Dlf1qv2u/s1600-h/DSC_0175.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 133px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332381189591382674" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr08_CAgSh9jbEACWACK0lxXwcGRaoAN4TByoS6kkKVBm9cDdZpfxE8j6IxmzgsRytPXcCf4kqKfz0NppvLjluO3I7ywxoyly1RzWBBV93phlr2PbNGmBOa42nGIk1Dlf1qv2u/s200/DSC_0175.JPG" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPi_I8AahGXT8_vw8Kz6612BTUy2PpeyD9rb2nSz0eQqU8bNOl9wKzz_GLovBzG2t44uyTvUz4GprbCX7KwkYB_LoYIUSIjisaZ4-u69JYjo26U8fyi3DNQOEKA_o4HcxdJiwv/s1600-h/DSC_0174.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 133px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332381183885419874" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPi_I8AahGXT8_vw8Kz6612BTUy2PpeyD9rb2nSz0eQqU8bNOl9wKzz_GLovBzG2t44uyTvUz4GprbCX7KwkYB_LoYIUSIjisaZ4-u69JYjo26U8fyi3DNQOEKA_o4HcxdJiwv/s200/DSC_0174.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><br /><br /><br />Today, we went back to Woolmarket Elementary to do more arts & crafts projects with the kindergarten classes. We created pop-up flower cards for the kids to take home for Mother's Day.</div><br /><div>Here's a few photos from today's adventures at Woolmarket Elementary!</div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27492616.post-9562096486341066832009-04-30T17:53:00.005-06:002009-04-30T18:14:12.567-06:00HOGC Recognition AwardJust over a month ago, our Volunteer Coordinators were contacted by a staff member from CPCA (Center for Prevention of Child Abuse) requesting volunteers to help with their Family Funfair event at the 17th annual Cajun Crawfish Festival. After meeting with her and then advertising the volunteer opportunity in our weekly email, the responses came pouring in. We had a group of students who were interested in being the characters. We also had volunteers who were interested in just helping out in whatever area they could. We also....(last one) had an AmeriCorps NCCC from Perry Point, Maryland that wanted to help out. Needless to say, the Family Funfair event was definitely a success with the volunteers.<br /><div></div><br /><div>Soooo, on yesterday, one of our Volunteer Coordinators received a call from this same staff member again and she wanted to invite us to a Recognition Ceremony at the IP Casino in Biloxi. Two of our coordinators represented Hands On Gulf Coast at the ceremony and received an award for all the help that we was able to provide to the CPCA for their event.</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghw2ZoYOp0CHcuWtzVydkexBgSMR51Yw47wzGvqUKJB8M1Wwr7yS16ce4fBG3P-ZbWpNwno4CYJ-grbk_QVE9oyN0YaxDS2qNIZbXztuteTAfvJPHOFPOI7H6wjguZPyX3ls4d/s1600-h/DSC02232.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330641479147620546" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghw2ZoYOp0CHcuWtzVydkexBgSMR51Yw47wzGvqUKJB8M1Wwr7yS16ce4fBG3P-ZbWpNwno4CYJ-grbk_QVE9oyN0YaxDS2qNIZbXztuteTAfvJPHOFPOI7H6wjguZPyX3ls4d/s320/DSC02232.JPG" /></a><br /><div></div><br /><div>For those of you who don't know, April is the National Child Abuse Prevention Month. Check out <a href="http://www.mscpca.com/">http://www.mscpca.com/</a> for more information about Mississippi's Center for Prevention of Child Abuse and to possibly volunteer with them.</div><div></div><div>The picture to the left is the award that we received last night!</div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27492616.post-16478902161826280202009-04-28T23:41:00.003-06:002009-04-28T23:47:57.716-06:00Tell Me A Short Story About Your Life.Growing up in a small Connecticut town with liberal parents and a very New England education, I never imagined – in fact I never wanted – to find myself living and working in the heart of the South. For the past twenty years I stayed on track; I found the quintessential Ivy League experience and with the exception of a short term stay on the sunny west coast, I bled blue New England blood. Imagine my parents surprise then, when I presented them with an opportunity to volunteer full time on the Gulf Coast. My entire family was stunned that I would chose to spend my time-off in the South, and not in my hometown of Roxbury, Connecticut.<br /><br />Somehow I managed to put my hesitations aside and in early January I found myself racing through John F. Kennedy International Airport; with just about ten minutes before the airline stopped boarding, and with just a change of clothes in my carry-on (I was too late to check baggage), I tearfully said my goodbyes to my mom and after she forced me through security, I was on my way. After a long layover in Atlanta and a time change later, somehow I made it safely to Gulfport, Mississippi where I was greeted by a kind cab driver who helped me with my nonexistent luggage. Jeff was a native of the area; like many of the locals I’d meet in the next few months, he’d been on the coast for over forty years and weathered many storms.<br /><br />Without even asking, Jeff pulled out three books from underneath the passenger seat. He handed them to me and said, “this is my town, this is what we’ve been through, and this is where we’re going.” As Jeff drove me to Yankie Stadium, where I would live for the next few weeks, I looked through the photographic depiction of Hurricane Katrina. A few pictures, like the ones taken weeks after the storm at the Superdome in New Orleans, were familiar; others, like most of the South, looked completely foreign.<br /><br />I tried to take in as much of the scenery, and as much of Jeff’s commentary, as I could, but it was difficult. I didn’t know what to expect of my experience and even though Interstate 10 looked relatively harmless, I still felt entirely overwhelmed and unsure of what the next two months would have in store. As we rounded the corner on Division Street and pulled into the Volunteer Village, I took one last deep breath and reaffirmed my purpose: “you’re here to do good,” I told myself, “you’re here and you can make a difference.”<br /><br />I wish that my reflection on my experience in Mississippi could be cohesive, and eloquent and meaningful to anyone but me. But the truth is, the two months I spent on the Gulf Coast were probably the most exhilarating, confusing and fulfilling months I’ve ever had in my life. From the second I stepped foot on that Mississippi Mud, I was hypnotized by the people, the places, the beauty of the commitment locals had to rebuilding their home. Sometimes it was ugly, sometimes it was disorganized, sometimes inequality and evil were exposed; but mostly, what Mississippi was for me, was an infinite experience that allowed me to find myself in a very real and very genuine way. The truth is, I haven’t stopped “reflecting” on my internship since I left Biloxi in March; Hands On Gulf Coast and that experience is so much alive within me, that I just can’t find it in my heart to distance myself from it...<br /><br /><br />Which is why I'm officially coming back to the HOGC Team in June! I can't tell you how thrilled I am, and I will write more later when I don't have a midterm looming in the near future =)<br /><br />Love and heat waves,<br />AAshleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13866811653594003391noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27492616.post-4075527743219368102009-04-28T19:59:00.006-06:002009-05-05T10:33:47.992-06:00Woolmarket Elementary Arts & Crafts - Part 1One of the new partnerships that we've struck up since arriving in January is with Woolmarket Elementary in Biloxi, MS. During our initial meeting with one of the faculty members, Shirley Hartman, she told us that the school did not have an art program. I was immediately saddened by that because I think that all schools should have some type of arts program. All students should be exposed to the arts, whether that is drawing, music, painting, band, dance, or any other type of art. During that meeting, I decided (quietly to myself) that I would want to come up with some sort of art activity for the students to participate in. With a lot of Karin's help and some input from myself, we were able to start up these various art activities with the K-2nd grade students.<br /><br />Our first Arts & Crafts Day was on April 7 with the Kindergartners. We had them color several Easter/spring related pictures. For the most part, they all had a great time. They were kinda all over the place but I think that they learned a few things from us and had a fun time talking to us as well. Some of them didn't want me to leave and they all wanted to know when we were coming back.<br /><br />Our second Arts & Crafts Day was last Tuesday (April 21) and we worked with the 1st graders. It was the day before Earth Day so we brought bookmarks for them to color and then cut out. We also had some little Earth Day related pictures for them to cut out and then glue to a colored sheet of paper.<br /><br />Today was our third Arts & Crafts Day at Woolmarket. This time, we were working with the 2nd graders. I handled one class alone until Kelsey arrived to help out. Today, we brought in some blank sheets of paper and had the students write their name in big letters. After doing so, they were instructed to draw things around their name that they liked. (e.g. - favorite color, sport, hobbies, etc). And they had to fill the whole page! Afterwards, I asked them to turn their page over and draw a self-portrait for everyone to see. Then, I hand-picked a few of them and asked them to stand up and show the rest of the class what they drew and why. A few were a little shy but others were more than willing to stand up. Overall, it was a great day working with them.<br /><br />Next week, we will work with the kindergartners again. Fun fun fun!<br /><br />PS - Thanks to Mrs. Brown @ <a href="http://www.mrsbrownart.com/">http://www.mrsbrownart.com/</a> for the amazing art projects. That's how I found the idea for today's art activity.<br /><br />Here's photos from today's Woolmarket Arts & Crafts Day.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxi5uiOWeauexlUxYMOHvtpDHKzK8nAkZP-NFQgk1Q2nXpEPNjBPCcW5TGeol83YBojqQHE_f2LVGxQBUIBMZ_ltyK54jXmM5jAkejVeuEwu5t1_CjlYYYoVsXh36PB-D042H7/s1600-h/DSC02198.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329933658461207154" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxi5uiOWeauexlUxYMOHvtpDHKzK8nAkZP-NFQgk1Q2nXpEPNjBPCcW5TGeol83YBojqQHE_f2LVGxQBUIBMZ_ltyK54jXmM5jAkejVeuEwu5t1_CjlYYYoVsXh36PB-D042H7/s200/DSC02198.JPG" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLZbW6yyocBwbOCIgUb9vq4nQO9Xo1MQlYZdxajo9hIaGTqg_Zt2jrZJh24pY2FscC_7EfCSG4JY7a3in9XxY1C9ZmytFHVyO7MW_Hl6rxIJxqSYJjKZusDUDk9tbsXk4X_XWq/s1600-h/DSC02190.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 150px; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329933657583327426" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLZbW6yyocBwbOCIgUb9vq4nQO9Xo1MQlYZdxajo9hIaGTqg_Zt2jrZJh24pY2FscC_7EfCSG4JY7a3in9XxY1C9ZmytFHVyO7MW_Hl6rxIJxqSYJjKZusDUDk9tbsXk4X_XWq/s200/DSC02190.JPG" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQbXIj39mP_YDOq2LDv8jydNoCS4PlAkvRKA8rol9w5ghsQSWJL2knjM5lUL9wXQO5xvm3u03xg5ZFyE5Dk5G9xJiOUt9Khsyv1AYwUd2hUAzY9J2WlPN2MCH-XZMQucZjFc-A/s1600-h/DSC02188.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329933653893488866" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQbXIj39mP_YDOq2LDv8jydNoCS4PlAkvRKA8rol9w5ghsQSWJL2knjM5lUL9wXQO5xvm3u03xg5ZFyE5Dk5G9xJiOUt9Khsyv1AYwUd2hUAzY9J2WlPN2MCH-XZMQucZjFc-A/s200/DSC02188.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_TGQuLGpsXf9L4Hj_F8tVBspwwpq3OxvVBvANfYA_g0hPv8VeATi6iRCduPW18bNluY4vT_ZX8icX4N3AaOPT3T7FlEfiLqykT9ZsJxGMuTH7LyMyFzWMER-yIk0VZ69q6WFr/s1600-h/DSC02187.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329933655658845154" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_TGQuLGpsXf9L4Hj_F8tVBspwwpq3OxvVBvANfYA_g0hPv8VeATi6iRCduPW18bNluY4vT_ZX8icX4N3AaOPT3T7FlEfiLqykT9ZsJxGMuTH7LyMyFzWMER-yIk0VZ69q6WFr/s200/DSC02187.JPG" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq_n6oh_nAVLegu-U_ueuXdu40n4R7R19vb6qqjLYhGR2xDp0LIYRby55riNvB3VrErdb50W3_CJLu3p7H6KOOCnSvVJe56LdD0_AAoGQpjKwr4D68ONUbX9A4_CvBnG1YiH0u/s1600-h/DSC02184.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329933650284044498" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq_n6oh_nAVLegu-U_ueuXdu40n4R7R19vb6qqjLYhGR2xDp0LIYRby55riNvB3VrErdb50W3_CJLu3p7H6KOOCnSvVJe56LdD0_AAoGQpjKwr4D68ONUbX9A4_CvBnG1YiH0u/s200/DSC02184.JPG" /></a> </div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27492616.post-77631486689088534602009-04-27T14:32:00.004-06:002009-04-27T14:59:00.836-06:00Global Youth Service Day 2009On Saturday, April 25, Hands On Gulf Coast held its 2nd service day project and collaborated on a park beautification project with the city of Bay St. Louis Parks Department, an AmeriCorps NCCC team from Perry Point, Maryland, and the Hancock County Boys and Girls Club. As part of Global Youth Service Day, the largest service event worldwide, the project promoted and celebrated service and leadership among youth ages 5-25. The event brought together both local community members and non-locals, including a group of junior high and high school youth that traveled from Ridgeland, MS to participate.<br /><br />Over 70 youth and adults contributed to various projects at 7th Street Park, including creating a mural, adding a layer of mulch underneath the playground equipment, painting a basketball court, building/decorating birdhouses, and decorating tiles. As they reflected on the day, participants mentioned that they had fun and felt like they had made a difference in the park. One parent was pleased to see that her children were able to learn responsibility and could see the results of their efforts when they returned to the park to play.<br /><br />The photos below are from GYSD 09. They're just a sneak peek of all the fun and excitement from that day. If you wanna see the rest of the photos, check out our Flickr page at <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/handsongulfcoast/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/handsongulfcoast/</a><br /><br />Also, for all you "Double F's" (Facebook Fanatics), check out our Facebook group at <a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=53098801658">http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=53098801658</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrSnwtbupZG-Jo9yrdOXfWmpYsComxvGFbcUjSzYIB6VJhMFbSApDrvC0QkZ95sPUagQlE9P2XrfKr6KjdD5HbUj_xqesyWva6ySL89uZt_cGJqGkAaLyEC38HDmjPlDWQBQ-x/s1600-h/DSC02128.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329474795236018098" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrSnwtbupZG-Jo9yrdOXfWmpYsComxvGFbcUjSzYIB6VJhMFbSApDrvC0QkZ95sPUagQlE9P2XrfKr6KjdD5HbUj_xqesyWva6ySL89uZt_cGJqGkAaLyEC38HDmjPlDWQBQ-x/s200/DSC02128.JPG" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhTKVf3rAhtIjyHYcQ9Ycu81aI8TKKiFmKj1wkRtmTOI8zQC9w5LGAnjiqdjpDCMPtHBnQSxtF9R0HRfNG_S6vabCnmu7XTiLG5MGRUSkIrTU5i1gkpX6OSIi9uTbtPr9DeAfY/s1600-h/DSC02115.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329474791420521618" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhTKVf3rAhtIjyHYcQ9Ycu81aI8TKKiFmKj1wkRtmTOI8zQC9w5LGAnjiqdjpDCMPtHBnQSxtF9R0HRfNG_S6vabCnmu7XTiLG5MGRUSkIrTU5i1gkpX6OSIi9uTbtPr9DeAfY/s200/DSC02115.JPG" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpawgw00zAROdgcUZjCj7z3Ckb1LO22To4f6TrkkOMe3scvDmY-pwXrGfbChVb6Ss697UXKc0y00TYRpkxGE1fWYzXh2zg7HdXvMSGsyMqOO8nJDjDBi5eBC5cy4Brz-cvYnTS/s1600-h/DSC02106.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329474790588607490" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpawgw00zAROdgcUZjCj7z3Ckb1LO22To4f6TrkkOMe3scvDmY-pwXrGfbChVb6Ss697UXKc0y00TYRpkxGE1fWYzXh2zg7HdXvMSGsyMqOO8nJDjDBi5eBC5cy4Brz-cvYnTS/s200/DSC02106.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1c1TqblxT_BCB1ary5CewKdcf4wpSntoLemy5SrZDvDy9NG7TClkOADY13xyCUX-CQIJGHm6QrKplqOB3t_eQHY7i4EC1mNysu1s_WzQJKTof6sWAUF5A493nDbRc2hv9GSbA/s1600-h/DSC02103.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329474786976824450" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1c1TqblxT_BCB1ary5CewKdcf4wpSntoLemy5SrZDvDy9NG7TClkOADY13xyCUX-CQIJGHm6QrKplqOB3t_eQHY7i4EC1mNysu1s_WzQJKTof6sWAUF5A493nDbRc2hv9GSbA/s200/DSC02103.JPG" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijb8_k4UP5FUkCwS5VOJWkIN7fPGm_xynbjHAKBLB3ToEIuoI_Loorp5BGe5r1R2QtMUk2LXl9fPqaU4JId8aacMJkFuw3qtOBGZZ0C3k0Ly-SLBAvAgdc9yr-vBld3BLEEEND/s1600-h/DSC02102.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329474783435280770" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijb8_k4UP5FUkCwS5VOJWkIN7fPGm_xynbjHAKBLB3ToEIuoI_Loorp5BGe5r1R2QtMUk2LXl9fPqaU4JId8aacMJkFuw3qtOBGZZ0C3k0Ly-SLBAvAgdc9yr-vBld3BLEEEND/s200/DSC02102.JPG" /></a><br /><div> </div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27492616.post-57679668659869293782009-02-27T17:23:00.002-06:002009-02-27T17:34:27.839-06:00The Big Picture<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">As the public memory of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina fades, and the recovery of the Mississippi Gulf Coast moves along, I've gotten many questions about what Hands On Gulf Coast will be doing in the next few years. I'd like to share a little bit of the programmatic vision for HOGC, and emphasize that the full recovery from Katrina is far from complete, and the ways in which the damage manifests itself in this community have been ever-changing. One of HOGC's core values is to continue to keep a pulse on these changes and think creatively about how we can engage volunteers to address the most pressing needs here.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">What our recovery work looks like has evolved over the past three and a half years, and as the community's needs have shifted HOGC has worked hard to adjust to these rapidly changing needs. We remain committed to getting the job done, and are working with several other organizations to provide programmatic support and volunteer project management throughout the long term recovery from Hurricane Katrina and beyond. The largest investment we've made has been through our AmeriCorps*State program. Continuing our construction work, we currently have members placed at five sites with three partner organizations: the Hope CDA (formerly East Biloxi Hope Coordination Center), Fuller Center Disaster Rebuilders (formerly Project REHAB), and Lutheran Episcopal Services in Mississippi (at Camp Victor in Ocean Springs, Camp Coast Care in Pass Christian, and Mission on the Bay in Bay St. Louis). These partners provide full project management for construction projects, including case management, funding, and skilled supervision, while HOGC provides management and administration of the AmeriCorps*State program and volunteer coordination support. Meeting the need for affordable, safe housing as a nonprofit along the Gulf Coast has become increasingly challenging with the current economic climate, new building requirements and rising insurance costs for homeowners, and the accumulating elapsed time from the disaster. HOGC's movement toward addressing the affordable housing issue through partnerships has proven both necessary and successful, and we will continue to support the rebuilding effort in this way.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">HOGC's work has always been focused on facilitating a holistic recovery, recognizing that while rebuilding housing has been the most pressing need in the aftermath of Katrina, it is far from the only factor in restoring the community bonds that have made the Gulf Coast such a compelling place to live. Rebuilding community infrastructure can be a perplexing challenge for volunteers coming in from outside the community. HOGC has worked to create volunteer programming to bring the community back together through revitalization projects and special events. We have also turned to our partners and supporters for opportunities to support local nonprofits and volunteer organizations. Local service providers are the best equipped and most knowledgeable resources to continue providing long term case management, mental health, environmental rehabilitation and youth development services to the community. Our role has been to restore these providers to their pre-storm functionality, and help them expand their ability to provide high quality services to more clients. We have been working with the Biloxi and Gulfport school systems, the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Gulf Coast, city governments across the Gulf Coast, Coastal Family Health Centers, state and national parks, neighborhood and civic groups, and cultural organizations since the very beginning of our time here. We will build on these initial relationships to develop regular volunteer opportunities that build capacity for these organizations, provide volunteer management and recruitment, as well as training, for our partners, and provide support through our AmeriCorps*State program to develop a robust volunteer community.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Hands On Gulf Coast, and Hands On USA before us, were founded by volunteers, and have relied on the thousands of passionate, dedicated people from all over the world who have given their time, and in most cases, a piece of themselves to the Gulf Coast. The folks who came down worked hard, but they surely gained the satisfaction of helping someone, a new friend (or 140 as I counted my own via the Facebook today), and the empowering feeling that "everyone can be great, because everyone can serve" (MLK, Jr.). HOGC will continue to engage volunteers in the vital work of restoring the Gulf Coast, and we will build on our legacy of volunteerism to establish an engaged, empowered local volunteer community here. In seeking to rebuild and reunite a community fractured by the most destructive storm in US memory, we will use service as a platform to bring estranged populations together, to heal, to learn about each other, and to restore a sense of ownership, and home.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Kind of a big vision, but that's what we are hoping to accomplish over the next few months, years, and beyond. I do hope you're inspired, proud of your contribution to this ongoing project, and will continue to be a part of Hands On Gulf Coast.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">-cb</p>cbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17232393548163385843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27492616.post-7907515337643380742009-02-09T14:25:00.004-06:002009-02-09T14:35:43.215-06:00Hands On Gulf Coast is movin' on upIt's been a whirlwind few months since November, and I thought I would provide a more detailed update about HOGC's progress. I looked back at the past few entries and realized there was never an official update that Hands On Gulf Coast has been granted 501c3 tax-exempt status, a federal classification that allows us to operate independently. If you're not familiar with non-profit-ese, it basically means we are a legit, locally-based nonprofit organization. This is exciting because it means HOGC will be able to function as a permanent fixture in the up-and-coming nonprofit sector here along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and will continue our mission to address the most pressing needs along the Gulf Coast through volunteerism!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxSQeM6ABWrtnQxQ0yOcA0LQByshnl7lLP6_upWPNI1b_44ok5kalNSaFKEfmaZb_W17vZyz93qQrKuN6GGrWfW7y3H87oUAiQy7e1Hca4FBF8blfskLzgE9cFZhbeE0M7I1d08A/s1600-h/100_2537.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxSQeM6ABWrtnQxQ0yOcA0LQByshnl7lLP6_upWPNI1b_44ok5kalNSaFKEfmaZb_W17vZyz93qQrKuN6GGrWfW7y3H87oUAiQy7e1Hca4FBF8blfskLzgE9cFZhbeE0M7I1d08A/s320/100_2537.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300896726509327202" border="0" /></a><br />On January 12, HOGC welcomed its third team of AmeriCorps*State members, 27 lovely rays of sunshine from across the country who arrived here to coordinate volunteers, rebuild homes, reach out to youth and underserved populations, and generally make the Gulf Coast a pretty sweet place to live. These folks will be working hard all year to reach out to organizations in the area to launch our local volunteer projects, continue the post-Katrina rebuilding work, and engage the Gulf Coast in high-impact service. The team kicked off their service with a week of orientation followed by a Day of Service with Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College's Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration. We also welcomed two Alternative Spring break coordinators from Dartmouth College to coordinate our 4th ASB program in March, which I am sure will be well-documented on this blog, so stay tuned for that! <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">As of January 31, we have also completed the move out of our office/housing facility at Beauvoir United Methodist Church on Pass Rd. After three great years, and many many memories, we made the decision to partner with other local organizations to continue to house out-of-state volunteers as necessary, and pursue a permanent office space in the Knight Nonprofit Center. The Knight Center is a brand new facility on Seaway Road in Gulfport, and is an exciting development in the growth of the nonprofit sector here on the Gulf Coast. The Knight Center houses several local nonprofits, including the Boys and Girls Club administrative offices, the United Way of South Mississippi, the MS Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce, the Gulf Coast Community Foundation, the Knight Foundation, the Mississippi Case Managers Consortium, and many other organizations. This move is an opportunity for HOGC to further integrate into the local nonprofit sector, and to forge exciting new partnerships with these other organizations. We will be moving to our permanent space in May, and are currently residing in a temporary office generously offered by one of our Board Members, Steven Palazzo, in Woolmarket.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Definitely more to come on what HOGC is up to in '09, and I've added a few of the new AmeriCorps members as contributors so you don't have to deal with my ramblings all the time.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">-cb</p>cbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17232393548163385843noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27492616.post-71262812161382615362008-11-18T16:54:00.007-06:002008-11-19T06:34:55.076-06:00The beginning of the end of an era...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSgxpOyjF1L0rBfiBWIhck5K91r99EvbZG7HCI-KqIgskOWeKlp40K09wGK41NiOop4Ek-xyzn5mG-y1U09IhgCkvRRrWbH9a1nun8zjxZ3oSann3fxUS41IUKC4NEL6Q55ZsYFQ/s1600-h/DSC_0562.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSgxpOyjF1L0rBfiBWIhck5K91r99EvbZG7HCI-KqIgskOWeKlp40K09wGK41NiOop4Ek-xyzn5mG-y1U09IhgCkvRRrWbH9a1nun8zjxZ3oSann3fxUS41IUKC4NEL6Q55ZsYFQ/s320/DSC_0562.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270139894038200834" border="0" /></a>Today was a pretty big day...we began the long, sweaty, emotional process of moving out of our home for the past 3+ years, 2113 Pass Rd. I never imagined when I arrived here in March of 2007 that I would be the one person out of that team left here leading this project. And although when I arrived the walls were already covered with remembrances of volunteers come and gone, and this building has never been my actual home (although I think I've logged enough hours to claim residency at this point) I have to say this is probably one of the hardest things I've had to do since I got here. Most of what we did today involved sorting things, cleaning out rooms, and throwing away more pillows than I thought even existed, and I took on the task of taking pictures of everything on the walls. All day I thought about each piece, when it went up, and how many times I had actually sat down and looked at it over the course of the last year and a half.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAU0sQhbrJedqwcvAZWbf-t9ublTeJLbxJSb0xUQdR9mAXYRDDUfcOkjqAojbeTggyEBQi8FoRdfmLPb7lDd7Pt5Yf5OJQUetMQPi0jdnOftV7UMJ-xsMggbsrOlLrfqUNN6Ey6Q/s1600-h/DSC_0580.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAU0sQhbrJedqwcvAZWbf-t9ublTeJLbxJSb0xUQdR9mAXYRDDUfcOkjqAojbeTggyEBQi8FoRdfmLPb7lDd7Pt5Yf5OJQUetMQPi0jdnOftV7UMJ-xsMggbsrOlLrfqUNN6Ey6Q/s320/DSC_0580.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270140670340550610" border="0" /></a> I started to take down some of the overflow t-shirts and posters that have been recently added on the first floor, and had to run back for the camera at least 3 or 4 times to capture more of this space before taking it down. I know it's just stuff, and I'm excited about moving to a new place, but I know I'm closing this chapter of HOGC's history.<br />I am pretty excited, however, that we now have a final destination for the infamous retired jerseys...they, and most of the memorabilia from the thousands of volunteers who have been here, will be preserved by the Katrina Research Center at University of Southern Mississippi. I am so glad to know that anyone who has been here on this journey with HOGC can come back to the Gulf Coast and feel like they're coming home (sorry, I know that was cheesy but I had to rep Mississippi for a minute).<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMUDdp2TKrzH68PEs1daSKxKoa3-NAVFLtEQi3uULAWJ4wc_2tQpnEmrlXQJ4HapwH-h4dE4Mxsxcq_AUzOYsO-z3eK1Wyso2ZKVRdJ1Rgbk0vBPjUmYwl9x7D7zqz6jBnPAolyQ/s1600-h/DSC_0601.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMUDdp2TKrzH68PEs1daSKxKoa3-NAVFLtEQi3uULAWJ4wc_2tQpnEmrlXQJ4HapwH-h4dE4Mxsxcq_AUzOYsO-z3eK1Wyso2ZKVRdJ1Rgbk0vBPjUmYwl9x7D7zqz6jBnPAolyQ/s320/DSC_0601.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270141167156036930" border="0" /></a>cbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17232393548163385843noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27492616.post-73881044507383481362008-10-28T09:23:00.003-06:002008-11-05T12:00:05.393-06:00Make Difference DayOn Saturday, October 25th, Hands On Gulf Coast (HOGC) joined millions of Americans across the country for the 18th annual Make A Difference Day, the largest community service day in the nation that rallies corporations, government, nonprofits, and Americans into action.<br /><br />This year, we developed, organized and led five volunteer service projects that mobilized over 225 volunteers in Harrison, Hancock and Jackson counties. Volunteers<br /><ul><li>built a community garden in North Gulfport, </li><li>helped children connect to their East Biloxi community through creative art projects, </li><li>cleaned garbage and cut trails at Shepard State Park in Gautier, </li><li>gutted and cleaned four homes hit by Hurricanes Gustav and Ike in Pearlington, </li><li>and tiled a shade structure for the Faces of the Gulf Coast project during the Vancleave KaBOOM! build.</li></ul><div>Check out our photos on <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/handsongulfcoast">Flickr</a>!</div><div><br /></div>Hands On Gulf Coast thanks the following organizations who helped make the day such a success: North Gulfport Community Land Trust, Gulf Coast Boys and Girls Clubs, Pearlington Recovery Center, One House at a Time, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, Keesler Air Force Base, NAVASA, Shepard State Park, and KaBOOM!<br /><br />This day would not have been possible without the generous donations and efforts of the following organizations, individuals, and companies: Southern Grounds, Salvation Army, Popeye's, Domino's Pizza, Wing Zone, Strami's Italian Cafe, Quizno's, Caitlin Boulger and Ken Wetzel.<br /><br />Thank you to all volunteers and sponsors who helped make a difference!:: Chris ::http://www.blogger.com/profile/01750893712840598515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27492616.post-31772346811938834272008-10-17T00:13:00.010-06:002008-10-24T08:13:19.432-06:00Make A Difference Day: October 25, 2008<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Bvl7KuLxYWTeVegk4a2X7GPNp-RB6l1IzN0eYTpVa40xsuWAxNhoH3GpxuDXkcr6S5nmBvfZSOTuGg_ZhbbInh7zhr3C05qoKDz3hcfkRif_s5IS3H5aBBrrSrLm0VqTzI0OdA/s1600-h/MADD-logo.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Bvl7KuLxYWTeVegk4a2X7GPNp-RB6l1IzN0eYTpVa40xsuWAxNhoH3GpxuDXkcr6S5nmBvfZSOTuGg_ZhbbInh7zhr3C05qoKDz3hcfkRif_s5IS3H5aBBrrSrLm0VqTzI0OdA/s320/MADD-logo.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5258031941280335762" border="0" /></a>Hands On Gulf Coast (HOGC) will join millions of Americans across the country spending Saturday, Oct. 25 - the 18th <a href="http://www.usaweekend.com/diffday/" target="_blank">Make A Difference Day</a> - doing volunteer projects to improve the community and help neighbors in need. The day is the largest community service effort in the nation, rallying corporations, government leaders, nonprofit organizations and everyday Americans into action on one day.<br /><br />HOGC is a 501(c)3 nonprofit affiliate of <a href="http://www.handsonnetwork.org/" target="_blank">Hands On Network</a> – a network of nonprofit organizations around the world that inspire volunteers, create leaders, and change lives and communities through effective volunteer action. We envision a community where all individuals discover their power to make a difference and are equipped as active, engaged citizens.<br /><br />This year, Hands On Gulf Coast will host five events, beginning with a kickoff celebration the morning of October 25th at the <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Good Deeds Community Center</span> - 15101 Madison Street in Gulfport, see map below. <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Volunteer check-in and breakfast will begin at <strong>9:00am</strong></span>, before volunteers disperse to their service sites.<br /><br />It is HOGC's goal to mobilize over 250 volunteers in Harrison, Hancock, and Pearl River county. Register today and bring your family, friends, youth group, and neighbors.<br /><br />Volunteers are needed for the following projects:<br /><ul><li>to build a North Gulfport community garden and clear vacant lots<br /></li><li>join us for<em> Art in the Park</em>, a family volunteer and crafts day in East Biloxi</li><li>remove debris and overgrowth from trails at Shepard State Park in Gautier<br /></li><li>help muck and gut homes of Pearlington residents affected by Katrina and Gustav</li><li>work on construction projects in multiple locations</li></ul>To find out how to join in, please visit <a href="http://www.handsongulfcoast.org/" target="_blank">www.handsongulfcoast.org</a>, call Hands On Gulf Coast at 228-257-6094, or email volunteer '@' handsongulfcoast.org.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:12;" >Details Summary</span><br />Kick Off Breakfast & Checkin<strong>*</strong>: 9am at the Good Deeds Community Center in Gulfport (map below)<br />Projects Begin: 10am<br />Day Ends: around 3pm<br /><br />Please register by <span style="text-decoration: underline;">October 23, 2008</span>.<br /><strong>*</strong> <span style="font-size:9;">for those not able to drive to Gulfport, you can check in at your site (9:30am), confirm details when you make your reservation</span><br /><br /><div align="center"><br />Map to Kick Off location at Good Deeds Community Center, Gulfport, MS.<br /><iframe title="Map to Good Deeds Community Center, Gulfport" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=15101+madison+st,+gulfport,+ms&sll=40.679539,-73.978325&sspn=0.0117,0.021994&ie=UTF8&s=AARTsJoIcRU4lKapwFjJPn8WFMRoV9iT4Q&ll=30.404971,-89.09204&spn=0.014805,0.018239&z=15&output=embed" align="middle" frameborder="0" height="400" scrolling="no" width="425"></iframe><br /><small><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=15101+madison+st,+gulfport,+ms&sll=40.679539,-73.978325&sspn=0.0117,0.021994&ie=UTF8&ll=30.404971,-89.09204&spn=0.014805,0.018239&z=15&source=embed" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); text-align: left;">View Larger Map</a></small></div>:: Chris ::http://www.blogger.com/profile/01750893712840598515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27492616.post-86442928038610346522008-10-01T17:22:00.005-06:002008-10-02T10:13:05.077-06:00Notes from the ServiceNation Panel<span style="font-size:100%;">Last Saturday's panel discussion focused on the past, present and future of the volunteer movement in Biloxi and along the Gulf Coast. I took some notes which I'd like to share. Most quotes are paraphrased. First, let's introduce our panel:<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Dorothy Noorbaar</span><span style="font-size:100%;">, Habitat for Humanity of the Mississippi Gulf Coast / AmeriCorps VISTA<br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Nelson Walker</span><span style="font-size:100%;">, Hands On Gulf Coast / North Gulfport Community Land Trust<br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Craig Snow</span><span style="font-size:100%;">, Project Coordinator, Hope Force International<br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Juanita Gaines</span><span style="font-size:100%;">, Moore Community House<br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Johnis Ross</span><span style="font-size:100%;">, Hope Coordination Center<br /><br />Moderator: </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Caitlin Brooking</span><span style="font-size:100%;">, Director of Programs, Hands On Gulf Coast<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Why do you volunteer?</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Juanita:</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> Because of the many needs in the community, especially among seniors and children. "I love people. You have to be a people person to want to volunteer."<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Dorothy: </span><span style="font-size:100%;">My previous job and life situation weren't fulfilling. So I picked up and moved here in order to do something worthwhile. I don't want to live my life unhappy and unfulfilled.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Johnis:</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> I told myself that I wouldn't break down, even in the face of the enormous loss after Katrina. I wanted to be there for other people, with words, with actions, and with resources. I wanted to be able to work for the Lord.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >What is the greatest reward of volunteering?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Craig: </span>Seeing the point at which someone can start to visualize their new house. After it's destroyed, there's nothing but loss and memories. But there's a point during construction, once the sheetrock is in, that people can start to imagine the way their new house will look, imagine their bedroom and living room. That's when hope is restored.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Nelson:</span> Working with kids. My most rewarding moment came when I could be a friend to a child who didn't have a lot of other friends at the time.<br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >What do volunteers bring to a community?</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Dorothy:</span> Volunteers sacrifice a lot to come here; they are away from their jobs, their homes, and even their families. Sometimes they get treated like outsiders, and they shouldn't be. They should be valued for what they've given up.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Craig:</span> The volunteer movement can inspire the local community to act in compassion. The best definition of love is: choosing the other person's highest good. That's what volunteers do, and they can inspire others to do that.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Juanita: </span>I agree. Volunteers bring love to a community.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">What needs to be happening 3+ years after a disaster?</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Johnis:</span> People are getting back into their houses. But what do you do then? There are still great needs. Before the storm, I wanted to open a house for women with children to help them develop parenting skills, financial skills, and more. That need is still as great as ever. Mississippi has a very high rate of teen pregnancy. There's a lot more that needs to be done.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Juanita:</span> Education. Particularly, attempts to reach out and educate people who normally aren't in the loop about what's going on in their communities. We need to go door-to-door to reach out to these people.<br /><br />Also, we need to encourage volunteers to keep coming down. Invite family members and others to volunteer here or in other areas such as Texas.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Craig: </span>One danger of a long-term volunteer presence that some people will begin to feel a sense of entitlement. They are used to having volunteer services available. With fewer outside volunteers coming in, however, people will have to participate more, and contribute more to the rebuilding of their own communities.<br /><br />Habitat has the idea of "sweat equity", in which people are required to help out with the construction of their own homes. We've also applied this idea to our recent work in Louisiana after Gustav. Instead of asking people, "What can we do for you?", we ask, "What can we help you do?" We want to enable people to help themselves.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Johnis:</span> One ongoing problem is communication. </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Not everybody reads the paper or watches the news. We need organizations, like VOAD, that increase communication and cooperation.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >How can we develop programs for children without replacing the role of parents?</span><br /><br />It's true that if parents don't take an active role, some children are basically being raised by programs. But this doesn't mean that programs are bad; it means parents need to be encouraged to get involved in their childrens' lives. Schools and after-school programs can require parental participation. In some cases, parents have to work two jobs or have other issues that make it difficult for them to spend much time with their children. These issues could be addressed as well.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Caitlin:</span> Hands On has a vision of schools as communities. That means they're not just used from 7 to 2, but for after-school programs, community meetings, and other events that bring parents, children, and community members together.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >How do you envision the volunteer movement in 5, 10, or 20 years?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Craig:</span> Leverage the small flow of <span style="font-style: italic;">outside </span>volunteers in order to develop and support a large flow of <span style="font-style: italic;">local </span>volunteers. Help increase the capacity of local organizations.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Johnis:</span> Develop permanent infrastructure for volunteer and community service efforts, such as a disaster response center north of the Bay from which future response efforts could be coordinated.<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span>vbaudoinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00662411913750433767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27492616.post-22002630902575825552008-09-27T20:56:00.006-06:002008-09-29T13:22:03.098-06:00ServiceNation Day of ActionAgain on WLOX, this is a link to a clip that ran Saturday evening. This time, WLOX featured Hands On Gulf Coast's participation in the <a href="http://www.bethechangeinc.org/servicenation/about_us/strategy" target="_blank">Service Nation's Day of Action</a>.<br /><br />The news clip introduces another new staff member at Hands On Gulf Coast: Ann Lewandowski, AmeriCorps Program Coordinator. She arrived at the end of August to run the AmeriCorps program. She is a two-term VISTA and is excited to be on the Gulf Coast.<br /><br />Welcome aboard!<br /><br />Note: The clip is linked to <a href="http://www.wlox.com/" target="_blank">WLOX</a> and has an advertisement at the beginning. The clip also ends with an advertisement before it moves to the next, unrelated piece. Enjoy!<br /><br /><div align="center"><br /><object id="WNVideoCanvasDEFAULTdivWNVideoCanvas" width="400" height="340"> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"> <param name="quality" value="high"> <param name="wmode" value="windowless"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"> <param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.wlox.com/global/video/flash/widgets/WNVideoCanvas.swf"> <embed src="http://www.wlox.com/global/video/flash/widgets/WNVideoCanvas.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="windowless" width="400" height="340" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="isShowIcon=true&affiliate=WLOX&affiliateNumber=40&backgroundAlphas=100,100,100,100&backgroundColors=212121,676767,676767,212121&backgroundRatios=0,25,130,255&backgroundRotation=270&borderAlpha=100&borderColor=212121&borderWidth=1&clipId=2965090&playerType=POPUP_EMBEDDEDobject&closecaptionPaneLabelText=&closePaneLabelText=&commercialHeadlinePrefix=Commercial&controlsBackgroundAlphas=100,100&controlsBackgroundColors=212121,676767&controlsBackgroundRatios=0,255&controlsBackgroundRotation=270&controlsBorderColor=212121&controlsBottomPadding=8&controlsButtonLeftBorderColor=616161&controlsButtonRightBorderColor=232323&controlsHeight=40&controlsOffFaceColor=9c9c9c&controlsOverFaceColor=ffffff&controlsSidePadding=8&defaultStyle=dark&disableTransport=false&domId=WNVideoCanvasDEFAULTdivWNVideoCanvas&emailErrorBorderColor=ae1a01&emailErrorMessageFaceColor=ae1a01&emailFormFieldAlphas=80&emailFormFieldColors=212121&emailFormFieldRatios=0&emailFormFieldRotation=90&emailInputFaceColor=9c9c9c&emailMessageLabelText=&emailPaneLabelText=&emailSentConfirmationMessage=&errorMessage=&fullScreenControlType=none&hasBevel=true&hasBorder=false&hasBottomBorder=true&hasFullScreen=true&hasLeftBorder=true&hasRightBorder=true&hasTopBorder=true&helpPage=/Global/story.asp?S=4925699&hostDomain=www.wlox.com&idKey=DEFAULT&imgPath=http://WLOX.images.worldnow.com/images/static/video/flash/&invalidRecipientFieldMessage=&invalidSenderFieldMessage=&isAutoStart=false&isMute=&landingPage=&loadingMessage=&offFaceColor=afaeae&overFaceColor=ffffff&overlayBackgroundAlphas=92&overlayBackgroundColors=676767&overlayBackgroundRatios=0&overlayBackgroundRotation=90&overlayOffFaceColor=9c9c9c&overlayOverFaceColor=ffffff&pauseButtonText=&playAtActualSize=0&playButtonText=&playerHeight=340&playerWidth=400&recipientEmailLabelText=&sendEmailButtonText=&senderEmailLabelText=&senderNameLabelText=&shareListItemHighlightBorderColor=767676&shareListItemOffFaceColor=afaeae&shareListItemShadowBorderColor=3c3c3c&shareListListItemOverFaceColor=afaeae&sidePadding=3&smoothingMode=auto&staticImgPath=http://WLOX.images.worldnow.com&summaryGraphicMessage=&summaryGraphicScaleStyle=stretchToFit&summaryPaneLabelText=&tabBackgroundAlphas=100,100&tabBackgroundColors=888888,383838&tabBackgroundOverAlphas=100,100&tabBackgroundOverColors=595959,212121&tabBackgroundOverRatios=0,100&tabBackgroundRatios=75,255&tabBackgroundRotation=90&tabBackgroundSelectedAlphas=100&tabBackgroundSelectedBorderAlpha=100&tabBackgroundSelectedBorderColor=595959&tabBackgroundSelectedBorderWidth=1&tabBackgroundSelectedColors=595959&tabBackgroundSelectedHasBevel=true&tabBackgroundSelectedHasBorder=false&tabBackgroundSelectedHasDropShadow=true&tabBackgroundSelectedRatios=0&tabBorderAlpha=100&tabBorderColor=212121&tabBorderWidth=1&tabFontSize=10&tabHasBevel=true&tabHasBorder=false&tabHasDropShadow=true&tabHeight=26&tabLeftBorderColor=a7a6a6&tabOffFaceColor=dcdbdb&tabOverBorderAlpha=100&tabOverBorderWidth=1&tabOverFaceColor=ffffff&tabOverHasBevel=true&tabOverHasBorder=false&tabRightBorderColor=404040&tabShadowColor=333333&topPadding=3&videoSliderBackgroundColor=828282&videoSliderKnobBackgroundAlphas=100,100&videoSliderKnobBackgroundColors=828282,828282&videoSliderKnobBackgroundRatios=0,255&videoSliderKnobBackgroundRotation=90&videoSliderKnobBorderColor=5a5a5a&videoSliderKnobOffFaceColor=444444&videoSliderKnobOverFaceColor=212121&videoSliderKnobShadowColor=5a5a5a&videoSliderLoadIndicatorColor=b2b2b2&videoSliderProgressIndicatorColor=212121&volumeSliderOffColor=5a5a5a&volumeSliderOverColor=828282&"></embed></object><br /></div>Hands On Gulf Coasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00850968145231599000noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27492616.post-413239286487562492008-09-24T20:46:00.003-06:002008-09-29T13:23:06.555-06:00WLOX & HOGC's New Executive Director<object id="WNVideoCanvasDEFAULTdivWNVideoCanvas" width="400" height="340"><p>This is a piece WLOX broadcast on 24 September 2008. In the piece, you'll see Lillian Jenkins, our new Executive Director. A Long Beach, Mississippi native she was on the job a few short hours before giving the interview.</p></object><p>We are excited to have her aboard! We are also excited to continue putting down our roots on the Gulf Coast and becoming an everyday part of life.</p><object id="WNVideoCanvasDEFAULTdivWNVideoCanvas" width="400" height="340">Aired on 24 Sep 08. Just so you know, there will be an advertisement, then the clip that aired, then another advertisement. <br /><br /><br /><embed src="http://www.wlox.com/global/video/flash/widgets/WNVideoCanvas.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="windowless" width="400" height="340" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="isShowIcon=true&affiliate=WLOX&affiliateNumber=40&backgroundAlphas=100,100,100,100&backgroundColors=212121,676767,676767,212121&backgroundRatios=0,25,130,255&backgroundRotation=270&borderAlpha=100&borderColor=212121&borderWidth=1&clipId=2952495&closecaptionPaneLabelText=&closePaneLabelText=&commercialHeadlinePrefix=Commercial&controlsBackgroundAlphas=100,100&controlsBackgroundColors=212121,676767&controlsBackgroundRatios=0,255&controlsBackgroundRotation=270&controlsBorderColor=212121&controlsBottomPadding=8&controlsButtonLeftBorderColor=616161&controlsButtonRightBorderColor=232323&controlsHeight=40&controlsOffFaceColor=9c9c9c&controlsOverFaceColor=ffffff&controlsSidePadding=8&defaultStyle=dark&disableTransport=false&domId=WNVideoCanvasDEFAULTdivWNVideoCanvas&emailErrorBorderColor=ae1a01&emailErrorMessageFaceColor=ae1a01&emailFormFieldAlphas=80&emailFormFieldColors=212121&emailFormFieldRatios=0&emailFormFieldRotation=90&emailInputFaceColor=9c9c9c&emailMessageLabelText=&emailPaneLabelText=&emailSentConfirmationMessage=&errorMessage=&fullScreenControlType=none&hasBevel=true&hasBorder=false&hasBottomBorder=true&hasFullScreen=true&hasLeftBorder=true&hasRightBorder=true&hasTopBorder=true&helpPage=/Global/story.asp?S=4925699&hostDomain=www.wlox.com&idKey=DEFAULT&imgPath=http://WLOX.images.worldnow.com/images/static/video/flash/&invalidRecipientFieldMessage=&invalidSenderFieldMessage=&isAutoStart=false&isMute=&landingPage=&loadingMessage=&offFaceColor=afaeae&overFaceColor=ffffff&overlayBackgroundAlphas=92&overlayBackgroundColors=676767&overlayBackgroundRatios=0&overlayBackgroundRotation=90&overlayOffFaceColor=9c9c9c&overlayOverFaceColor=ffffff&pauseButtonText=&playAtActualSize=0&playButtonText=&playerHeight=340&playerWidth=400&recipientEmailLabelText=&sendEmailButtonText=&senderEmailLabelText=&senderNameLabelText=&shareListItemHighlightBorderColor=767676&shareListItemOffFaceColor=afaeae&shareListItemShadowBorderColor=3c3c3c&shareListListItemOverFaceColor=afaeae&sidePadding=3&smoothingMode=auto&staticImgPath=http://WLOX.images.worldnow.com&summaryGraphicMessage=&summaryGraphicScaleStyle=stretchToFit&summaryPaneLabelText=&tabBackgroundAlphas=100,100&tabBackgroundColors=888888,383838&tabBackgroundOverAlphas=100,100&tabBackgroundOverColors=595959,212121&tabBackgroundOverRatios=0,100&tabBackgroundRatios=75,255&tabBackgroundRotation=90&tabBackgroundSelectedAlphas=100&tabBackgroundSelectedBorderAlpha=100&tabBackgroundSelectedBorderColor=595959&tabBackgroundSelectedBorderWidth=1&tabBackgroundSelectedColors=595959&tabBackgroundSelectedHasBevel=true&tabBackgroundSelectedHasBorder=false&tabBackgroundSelectedHasDropShadow=true&tabBackgroundSelectedRatios=0&tabBorderAlpha=100&tabBorderColor=212121&tabBorderWidth=1&tabFontSize=10&tabHasBevel=true&tabHasBorder=false&tabHasDropShadow=true&tabHeight=26&tabLeftBorderColor=a7a6a6&tabOffFaceColor=dcdbdb&tabOverBorderAlpha=100&tabOverBorderWidth=1&tabOverFaceColor=ffffff&tabOverHasBevel=true&tabOverHasBorder=false&tabRightBorderColor=404040&tabShadowColor=333333&topPadding=3&videoSliderBackgroundColor=828282&videoSliderKnobBackgroundAlphas=100,100&videoSliderKnobBackgroundColors=828282,828282&videoSliderKnobBackgroundRatios=0,255&videoSliderKnobBackgroundRotation=90&videoSliderKnobBorderColor=5a5a5a&videoSliderKnobOffFaceColor=444444&videoSliderKnobOverFaceColor=212121&videoSliderKnobShadowColor=5a5a5a&videoSliderLoadIndicatorColor=b2b2b2&videoSliderProgressIndicatorColor=212121&volumeSliderOffColor=5a5a5a&volumeSliderOverColor=828282&"></embed><br /></object>Hands On Gulf Coasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00850968145231599000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27492616.post-35142622394825432862008-09-23T13:09:00.008-06:002008-09-29T13:28:21.776-06:00KaBOOM Chicka Boom[Originally posted on <a href="http://vbaudoin.wordpress.com/">Design . Build . Learn . Repeat</a>]<br /><br />If you haven’t heard of the fine folks at <a href="http://kaboom.org/">KaBOOM!</a>, they travel the country building playgrounds for neighborhoods that need them. Their goal: a place to play within walking distance of every child in America. Friday and Saturday, I helped prepare and lead the construction of a shade structure as part of a KaBOOM! build at the Isiah Fredericks Community Center in North Gulfport. The shade structure was designed by <a href="http://www.gccds.org/">Jessie Zenor</a> and built by Hands On and the <a href="http://www.ngclt.org/">North Gulfport Community Land Trust</a>; it incorporated hundreds of tiles decorated by children from across the Gulf Coast school system.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWlLrmP6E-2nfXa6sRLPOaE3xgnaxpXnAl1o4o884ekqjJUhl7mXPKm63nkwr3ihyVnToJES-F4w_1X4UU6dvT-lItlXfMVu6jta3nSThd3uPON84KNYoguoOMKaWip3cRsv32_A/s1600-h/2008-09-20+KaBoom+Build+045.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWlLrmP6E-2nfXa6sRLPOaE3xgnaxpXnAl1o4o884ekqjJUhl7mXPKm63nkwr3ihyVnToJES-F4w_1X4UU6dvT-lItlXfMVu6jta3nSThd3uPON84KNYoguoOMKaWip3cRsv32_A/s400/2008-09-20+KaBoom+Build+045.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249297811841424946" border="0" /></a><ul><li>Total number of KaBOOM playgrounds as of Saturday: 1,500</li><li>Number of tiles decorated by kids in Gulf Coast schools: 620</li><li>Number of total volunteers: 400+</li><li>Number of Air Force volunteers: 225</li><li>KaBOOM playgrounds on the Gulf Coast since Katrina: 107</li><li>Time we finished prep work on Friday night: 11:30</li><li>New picnic tables: 4</li><li>Shade structures built: 1</li></ul>Friday afternoon, I got a message from Caitlin at Hands On saying they needed help getting the structure ready for the KaBOOM! day. We ended up staying there until 11:30 at night, and good thing we did, because Saturday morning we had eager volunteers ready to begin gluing tiles to the structure.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVZ29ho0KTF6LIAgUDll9Vj06kYwyXpRCp2Q6kN9tvN3nSVhdXcQgWHXDb_Is5SYP-XFWc_CBk-AxED59t3KY3uZJghgnKGY27FVRS44TF_8xAJERA8KgM7Uz2ByhuZUft1kPF4g/s1600-h/2008-09-20+KaBoom+Build+030.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVZ29ho0KTF6LIAgUDll9Vj06kYwyXpRCp2Q6kN9tvN3nSVhdXcQgWHXDb_Is5SYP-XFWc_CBk-AxED59t3KY3uZJghgnKGY27FVRS44TF_8xAJERA8KgM7Uz2ByhuZUft1kPF4g/s400/2008-09-20+KaBoom+Build+030.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249299921454212754" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3P4NOPpJoXC6YCARG2d2mADucofHTKCxLUgITNQ7Lf65BwRxxPieQrCOfuAxAeIm0UjQL9VjDkuB60HrJ3ZLyM3O7-Y9PMH59xi7Y3pjtuoCuFaGwocw9OLi586nZ6sMUXeFenQ/s1600-h/2008-09-20+KaBoom+Build+008.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3P4NOPpJoXC6YCARG2d2mADucofHTKCxLUgITNQ7Lf65BwRxxPieQrCOfuAxAeIm0UjQL9VjDkuB60HrJ3ZLyM3O7-Y9PMH59xi7Y3pjtuoCuFaGwocw9OLi586nZ6sMUXeFenQ/s400/2008-09-20+KaBoom+Build+008.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249297571639599090" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Check out many more pictures on <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/handsongulfcoast/sets/72157607452721124/">Hands On's Flickr Page</a>!vbaudoinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00662411913750433767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27492616.post-400038344692668412008-09-17T10:21:00.004-06:002008-09-17T10:38:51.567-06:00Gustav and Ike UpdateHi folks-<br />With the arrival of Ike late last week, all of our disaster response projects from Gustav received further damage, mostly due to the huge storm surge Ike brought all along the Gulf Coast. Biloxi itself did receive some flooding<img src="file:///C:/Users/CBROOK%7E1/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot-3.jpg" alt="" />, but Bay St. Louis, Pearlington, and our project in Chauvin, LA were all inundated with flood waters, forcing us to evacuate those projects for the weekend. Our team in Chauvin restocked supplies and returned to Louisiana on Sunday when the water receded, to find most of the roof work they completed still intact, but a new challenge in mucking out homes flooded this time around. The plan for now there is to keep our team on the ground through this week and re-evaluate the scope of work, and to determine the long-term plan based on the needs, and capacity of local groups to continue to respond.<br />HOGC has also reached out to the Hands On affiliate in Houston to offer any assistance they may need, but until assessments are complete and we are asked to respond we will be standing by in Biloxi, continuing to help our community recover from this year's storms and our regular work load. We do need volunteers to help with our project in Pearlington, helping the Pearlington Recovery Center muck out and gut the 100+ homes that were flooded, so if you want to help in Mississippi we can certainly put you to work!<br />Take care and stay well,<br />Caitlin <img src="file:///C:/Users/CBROOK%7E1/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot-2.jpg" alt="" />cbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17232393548163385843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27492616.post-41592806587599577142008-09-03T10:54:00.012-06:002008-09-29T13:26:16.475-06:00Gustav Response...and also, hello!<p>Hi, I am the mysterious Caitlin that de Veer has been talking about. I've been holding down the fort since June as we search for a new Executive Director, and it has been a wild ride so far...particularly the past few days. I've been sending the brief, weird updates to the left through <a href="http://www.twitter.com/" target="_blank">Twitter.com</a>, from the Red Cross shelter most of the HOGC team was assigned to through the storm. We worked for about 3 days straight to prepare the HOGC base in case we got flooded/tornadoed/or lost power/water, then with the Red Cross to help stage their shelters across Harrison and Hancock counties, then checking in and feeding the fine folks who turned out at Stennis Space Center over in Hancock county. Many of our volunteers worked around the clock, and our team really pulled together to assist before, during and after the storm. I am so proud to be a part of this organization right now!</p><p>Yesterday and today we've been working on getting our heads around the damage and needs in the area affected by Gustav, and how we can best respond. HOGC and our partner, <a href="http://www.hopeforce.org/" target="_blank">HopeForce International</a>, are sending a small team of volunteers and AmeriCorps members over to an area just south of Houma, to a town called Chauvin, LA. They will be working to assess the damage in this area tomorrow with the local fire department, and will be housed in the fire station. In the next few days they will begin tarping roofs and clearing debris, as well as working to determine the long term response needs and the capacity for a larger team of volunteers.<iframe width="425" height="350" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=chauvin,+la&ie=UTF8&s=AARTsJo4BUIxkdOlFZvW1GYoj9YufZD9mA&ll=29.707139,-90.390015&spn=0.834954,1.167297&z=9&output=embed"></iframe><br /><medium><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=chauvin,+la&ie=UTF8&ll=29.707139,-90.390015&spn=0.834954,1.167297&z=9&source=embed" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left" target="_blank">View Larger Map</a></medium></p><p>We have received huge support from the <a href="http://www.handsonnetwork.org/" target="_blank">Hands On Network</a> and <a href="http://www.pointsoflight.org/" target="_blank">Points of Light</a> staff, as well as <a href="http://corporate.homedepot.com/wps/portal/!ut/p/.cmd/cs/.ce/7_0_A/.s/7_0_11U/_s.7_0_A/7_0_11U" target="_blank">The Home Depot</a>, all of whom mobilized literally overnight to support our response effort. An enormous THANK YOU to all of the support we've already received, and to all of the volunteers already registered to help out...we are looking forward to working with you!!<br /></p>I also traveled to Hancock county today to check out Bay St. Louis, Waveland and Pearlington, and it seems Gustav has been fairly merciful. Some neighborhoods did take quite a bit of water, and we heard about 100 homes were flooded in the area, but the storm surge did not seem to be particularly violent, and the volunteer organizations in the area seem to be acting very quickly to address the needs. We will be helping Presbyterian Disaster Assistance rebuild their volunteer camp so they can begin to receive volunteers, and we also stopped by the PearlMart and they seemed to be in good shape. We will be working with the Volunteer Reception Center (VRC) being set up by Volunteer Gulf Coast to receive any work orders and deploy volunteers, but the damage seems to be fairly manageable with the great organizations already working in Hancock county. We will continue to stay in touch with our partner organizations to respond to any further need as people begin to return to their homes and survey their own damage.<br /><p>I will be traveling to Chauvin on Friday to check out the work our team has been doing and to check out the capacity for the area to receive volunteers, and we will most definitely be working with Hands On New Orleans and Volunteer Baton Rouge, as well as the VRC in Louisiana to deploy volunteers. If you want to come down and help out, please visit <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.volunteerlouisiana.gov" target="_blank">www.volunteerlouisiana.gov</a> to register with the VRC...we will be directing all out of state volunteers to this VRC to connect them with organizations to make the recovery effort as orderly and impactful as possible. There will be plenty of work to do clearing debris, tarping, mucking out homes and gutting (AND MOLD REMEDIATION, OF COURSE!!), so as soon as we are able to secure housing, food, and to assess the extent of the work, we would love to have all of ya'll's help!<br /></p><p>Take care,<br /></p>Caitlincbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17232393548163385843noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27492616.post-69543682341282284432008-09-03T07:30:00.005-06:002008-09-29T13:11:59.014-06:00Gustav, Update 2<div>What are we up to? At this point, we're still awaiting all the damage assessments from the Mississippi Gulf Coast. </div><div><br /></div>Flooding has receded in most, if not all, areas, but residents have been encouraged not to return until today, though according to the Sun Herald many came home yesterday. Highway 90 is closed for repairs. Check here for the <a href="http://www.sunherald.com/local/story/787322.html" target="_blank">Sun Herald's city-by-city report</a>.<div><br /></div><div>While we're waiting for damage assessments in our communities, we plan to check out Pearlington, Mississippi to see what sort of assistance is needed and what assistance we could provide. They were were hit with flooding again. More to come later this evening.</div><div><br /></div><div>At this time, both Hands On Gulf Coast and Hands On New Orleans are directing those who want to volunteer to the Louisiana Volunteer Reception Center (VCR). You can find out more information on their website <a href="http://www.volunteerlouisiana.gov/" target="_blank">www.VolunteerLouisiana.gov</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Additionally, a small team of Hands On Gulf Coast volunteers will go with Hope Force to Houma, Louisiana for a two-week mission. There, we will be assisting in the initial stages of disaster recovery. Our focus will be on tarping roofs, cutting away trees, and performing general debris clean up.</div><div><br /></div><div>As with each disaster, we can use your support for these operations. Gas stations are closed in Houma, so all fuel needs to be brought in. Additionally, we need to purchase tarps to put on people's roofs. Please support our efforts by <a href="http://www.handsongulfcoast.org/AboutUs/index.php/donate.html" target="_blank">donating</a> for our emergency operations efforts. Your generous support is always appreciated by those who receive our services.</div>:: Chris ::http://www.blogger.com/profile/01750893712840598515noreply@blogger.com0