Hands On Gulf Coast

Goodbye HOGC

2009-11-25T14:00:00.003-06:00

Dear HOGC,

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".

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.

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.

Much love,

Kevin J.

2009 AmeriCorps State Member

Volunteer Coordinator

Hands On Gulf Coast

Donation of Historic Paint Colors Makes for a “Good Neighbor” on the Gulf Coast

2009-09-17T20:35:00.002-06:00

Check 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!

Donation of Historic Paint Colors Makes for a “Good Neighbor” on the Gulf Coast

Posted using ShareThis

9/11 Day of Service & Remembrance video

2009-09-15T12:58:00.005-06:00

Here's a video from WLOX about our service day at North Bay Elementary. Check it out.

September 11 Day of Service and Remembrance

2009-09-10T22:05:00.003-06:00

On Friday, September 11, we will commemorate the 8th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks with a Day of Volunteer Service and Remembrance. This initiative, United We Serve, was started by President Barack Obama, who has designated September 11 as an official National Day of Service.

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 United We Serve 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.

Follow us on Twitter (for a steady stream of updates) and stay tuned to our Flickr page for photo updates from the event.

Hurricane Katrina Memorial Day of Service

2009-08-28T09:42:00.004-06:00

I'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.

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.

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.

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.

Hope to see you there!
Ashley Cartagena, HOGC Intern

HOGC Volunteer Job Fair

2009-07-02T10:25:00.004-06:00

Hands On Gulf Coast will be taking part in a Volunteer Job Fair being held at the Gulfport WIN Center.

Date - Wednesday, July 15

Time - 9am to 3pm

Location - Gulfport WIN Center, Classroom 1

There will also be two mini-workshops on how to incorporate your volunteer experience onto your resume. Times will be 10am & 1pm.

If you or any other organizations are interested in attending, please do so!

B&N Voucher

2009-05-22T14:49:00.002-06:00

Click on the voucher, print it, and take it to a B&N of your choice.

AmeriCorps Week

2009-05-13T11:48:00.003-06:00

What is AmeriCorps?
What is AmeriCorps Week?
What did Hands On Gulf Coast do for AmeriCorps Week?

What is AmeriCorps?
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.

What is AmeriCorps Week?
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.

What did Hands On Gulf Coast do for AmeriCorps Week?
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.

Check out our Flickr page, http://www.flickr.com/photos/handsongulfcoast for photos from our Beach Bash!

Woolmarket Elementary Arts & Crafts - Part 2

2009-05-05T10:29:00.008-06:00

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.

Here's a few photos from today's adventures at Woolmarket Elementary!

HOGC Recognition Award

2009-04-30T17:53:00.005-06:00

Just 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.

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.

For those of you who don't know, April is the National Child Abuse Prevention Month. Check out http://www.mscpca.com/ for more information about Mississippi's Center for Prevention of Child Abuse and to possibly volunteer with them.

The picture to the left is the award that we received last night!

Tell Me A Short Story About Your Life.

2009-04-28T23:41:00.003-06:00

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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...

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 =)

Love and heat waves,
A

Woolmarket Elementary Arts & Crafts - Part 1

2009-04-28T19:59:00.006-06:00

One 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.

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.

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.

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.

Next week, we will work with the kindergartners again. Fun fun fun!

PS - Thanks to Mrs. Brown @ http://www.mrsbrownart.com/ for the amazing art projects. That's how I found the idea for today's art activity.

Here's photos from today's Woolmarket Arts & Crafts Day.

Global Youth Service Day 2009

2009-04-27T14:32:00.004-06:00

On 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.

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.

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 http://www.flickr.com/photos/handsongulfcoast/

Also, for all you "Double F's" (Facebook Fanatics), check out our Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=53098801658

The Big Picture

2009-02-27T17:23:00.002-06:00

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

-cb

Hands On Gulf Coast is movin' on up

2009-02-09T14:25:00.004-06:00

It'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!
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!

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.

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.

-cb

The beginning of the end of an era...

2008-11-18T16:54:00.007-06:00

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. 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.
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).

Make Difference Day

2008-10-28T09:23:00.003-06:00

On 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.

This year, we developed, organized and led five volunteer service projects that mobilized over 225 volunteers in Harrison, Hancock and Jackson counties. Volunteers

built a community garden in North Gulfport,
helped children connect to their East Biloxi community through creative art projects,
cleaned garbage and cut trails at Shepard State Park in Gautier,
gutted and cleaned four homes hit by Hurricanes Gustav and Ike in Pearlington,
and tiled a shade structure for the Faces of the Gulf Coast project during the Vancleave KaBOOM! build.

Check out our photos on Flickr!

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!

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.

Thank you to all volunteers and sponsors who helped make a difference!

Make A Difference Day: October 25, 2008

2008-10-17T00:13:00.010-06:00

Hands On Gulf Coast (HOGC) will join millions of Americans across the country spending Saturday, Oct. 25 - the 18th Make A Difference Day - 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.

HOGC is a 501(c)3 nonprofit affiliate of Hands On Network – 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.

This year, Hands On Gulf Coast will host five events, beginning with a kickoff celebration the morning of October 25th at the Good Deeds Community Center - 15101 Madison Street in Gulfport, see map below. Volunteer check-in and breakfast will begin at 9:00am, before volunteers disperse to their service sites.

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.

Volunteers are needed for the following projects:

to build a North Gulfport community garden and clear vacant lots
join us for Art in the Park, a family volunteer and crafts day in East Biloxi
remove debris and overgrowth from trails at Shepard State Park in Gautier
help muck and gut homes of Pearlington residents affected by Katrina and Gustav
work on construction projects in multiple locations

To find out how to join in, please visit www.handsongulfcoast.org, call Hands On Gulf Coast at 228-257-6094, or email volunteer '@' handsongulfcoast.org.

Details Summary
Kick Off Breakfast & Checkin*: 9am at the Good Deeds Community Center in Gulfport (map below)
Projects Begin: 10am
Day Ends: around 3pm

Please register by October 23, 2008.
* for those not able to drive to Gulfport, you can check in at your site (9:30am), confirm details when you make your reservation

Map to Kick Off location at Good Deeds Community Center, Gulfport, MS.

View Larger Map

Notes from the ServiceNation Panel

2008-10-01T17:22:00.005-06:00

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:

Dorothy Noorbaar, Habitat for Humanity of the Mississippi Gulf Coast / AmeriCorps VISTA
Nelson Walker, Hands On Gulf Coast / North Gulfport Community Land Trust
Craig Snow, Project Coordinator, Hope Force International
Juanita Gaines, Moore Community House
Johnis Ross, Hope Coordination Center

Moderator: Caitlin Brooking, Director of Programs, Hands On Gulf Coast

Why do you volunteer?

Juanita: 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."

Dorothy: 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.

Johnis: 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.

What is the greatest reward of volunteering?

Craig: 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.

Nelson: 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.

What do volunteers bring to a community?

Dorothy: 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.

Craig: 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.

Juanita: I agree. Volunteers bring love to a community.

What needs to be happening 3+ years after a disaster?

Johnis: 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.

Juanita: 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.

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.

Craig: 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.

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.

Johnis: One ongoing problem is communication. Not everybody reads the paper or watches the news. We need organizations, like VOAD, that increase communication and cooperation.

How can we develop programs for children without replacing the role of parents?

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.

Caitlin: 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.

How do you envision the volunteer movement in 5, 10, or 20 years?

Craig: Leverage the small flow of outside volunteers in order to develop and support a large flow of local volunteers. Help increase the capacity of local organizations.

Johnis: 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.

ServiceNation Day of Action

2008-09-27T20:56:00.006-06:00

Again 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 Service Nation's Day of Action.

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.

Welcome aboard!

Note: The clip is linked to WLOX and has an advertisement at the beginning. The clip also ends with an advertisement before it moves to the next, unrelated piece. Enjoy!

WLOX & HOGC's New Executive Director

2008-09-24T20:46:00.003-06:00

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.

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.

Aired on 24 Sep 08. Just so you know, there will be an advertisement, then the clip that aired, then another advertisement.

KaBOOM Chicka Boom

2008-09-23T13:09:00.008-06:00

[Originally posted on Design . Build . Learn . Repeat]

If you haven’t heard of the fine folks at KaBOOM!, 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 Jessie Zenor and built by Hands On and the North Gulfport Community Land Trust; it incorporated hundreds of tiles decorated by children from across the Gulf Coast school system.

Total number of KaBOOM playgrounds as of Saturday: 1,500
Number of tiles decorated by kids in Gulf Coast schools: 620
Number of total volunteers: 400+
Number of Air Force volunteers: 225
KaBOOM playgrounds on the Gulf Coast since Katrina: 107
Time we finished prep work on Friday night: 11:30
New picnic tables: 4
Shade structures built: 1

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.

Check out many more pictures on Hands On's Flickr Page!

Gustav and Ike Update

2008-09-17T10:21:00.004-06:00

Hi folks-
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, 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.
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!
Take care and stay well,
Caitlin

Gustav Response...and also, hello!

2008-09-03T10:54:00.012-06:00

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 Twitter.com, 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!

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, HopeForce International, 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.
View Larger Map

We have received huge support from the Hands On Network and Points of Light staff, as well as The Home Depot, 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!!

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.

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 www.volunteerlouisiana.gov 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!

Take care,

Caitlin

Gustav, Update 2

2008-09-03T07:30:00.005-06:00

What are we up to? At this point, we're still awaiting all the damage assessments from the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

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 Sun Herald's city-by-city report.

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.

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 www.VolunteerLouisiana.gov.

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.

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 donating for our emergency operations efforts. Your generous support is always appreciated by those who receive our services.

Gustav Report

2008-09-02T06:05:00.008-06:00

As you can see, the HOGC Base seems to have weathered the storm well. There is little apparent damage. Power was on and food doesn't seem to have spoiled in the fridge.

Initial reports from Harrison, Jackson, and Hancock Counties are that there was damage, but it's not nearly as significant as there could have been. There were downed trees and flooding, particularly around Point Cadet and East Biloxi.

Until we get a more full assessment on the site, check out the news on SunHerald.com. Here are some links to region-wide stories:

SunHerald Gustav image gallery
Gustav Damage Report, SunHerald.com
Harrison County Report, SunHerald.com
Hancock County Report, SunHerald.com

Ominous Skies

2008-08-31T17:38:00.003-06:00

Photo of the skies. Courtesy of Caitlin Brooking's cell phone.

Hurricane Gustav Preparations

2008-08-31T12:07:00.008-06:00

We have been watching the developments of Hurricane Gustav closely. For those of you interested in what we plan to do, please read below:

Hands On Gulf Coast staff and AmeriCorps members will work with the Red Cross of South Mississippi to run evacuation shelters on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Hands On Gulf Coast is on call with Harrison County Emergency Management post-storm for debris removal duty.
Hands On Gulf Coast is on desk to assist in the management of unaffiliated volunteers who might come to the area to help with storm damage.
Hands On Gulf Coast is in communication with Hands On New Orleans. Depending on the severity of damage and where the most need is, Hands On Gulf Coast staff and AmeriCorps members may help with New Orleans recovery efforts.

If you are interested in coming down to volunteer after Hurricane Gustav passes, please call before you arrive. Given the commitments to local emergency agencies and potentially to Hands On New Orleans, we need to provide you with the most current information regarding capacity and greatest need.

The phone number to contact is still: 228.257.6094.

We will continue to post information about our activities on this site. Also, check out the Gustav Updates (via Twitter) in the right-hand column of the blog and on our Twitter site: http://twitter.com/hogc.

Let's continue to hope Hurricane Gustav weakens, or at minimum fails to strengthen before it arrives on the Gulf Coast.

My Last Day

2008-05-21T10:26:00.002-06:00

Hi Everyone,

Today was my last day working on the Gulf Coast. Though my last official day as Director was 16 May 08, Friday, there was really no way to not work on HOGC stuff until I actually leave the Coast.

So, I thank everyone for their support of Hands On Gulf Coast, our mission and the work we do. I also thank everyone for their support during our years of transition, evolving as the needs of the Gulf Coast communities evolve. It's not always been easy, but the constant evolution is necessary to continue to stay relevant to the recovery effort.

I thank my staff, AmeriCorps members, and long-term volunteers who really deserve the credit for making Hands On Gulf Coast what it is.

Caitlin Brooking is now the Acting Director of Hands On Gulf Coast. I know she'll do well in her role. Please give her the support she needs as she takes over amidst a challenging time.

My experience in Biloxi, MS has been one of the most challenging and rewarding in my life. It sounds cliche, but it is true. Where else do you spend 18+hrs a day working and (usually) feel great about doing it? We build homes and community for those ravaged by Katrina and ignored by many recovery systems and processes. This work, helping others, is so critical, that the gravity of its impact helps buoy you over the rough seas and setbacks.

I am proud to have served the residents of the Gulf Coast. I am proud that each of you felt the same compelling desire and need to help the Gulf Coast and chose to spend your time with us. Please continue your support of the recovery efforts, in general, and Hands On Gulf Coast, in particular.

Cheers,

Chris

Independence Update

2008-05-16T10:00:00.003-06:00

It's been about six weeks since our last update on Hands On Gulf Coast's transition from program of Points of Light & Hands On Network, to a local nonprofit governed by the community.

In the intervening six weeks, somethings move quickly, some things move slowly. What's new?

We agreed that becoming an independence nonprofit is the best way to meet both the needs of the community and the needs of the national office. As part of this process we explored the option of partnering with Volunteer Gulf Coast. Both organizations want to promote and encourage the Gulf Coast communities to become more deeply engaged in community building efforts through volunteer projects, however both organizations agree that the rapid move to independence required of Hands On Gulf Coast does not allow sufficient time to thoroughly explore the range of partnership opportunities. Because partnership and not duplicating services is critical, Hands On Gulf Coast's Advisory Board agreed that Hands On Gulf Coast should move ahead with independence from the national office, then circle back with Volunteer Gulf Coast and the United Way to hammer out the details of a solid, community changing partnership.
Recruited board members like Bob Fell - just now retiring from the City of Biloxi and going into business building homes - and Lee Gentry - Clinic Administrator for Coastal Family Health Care.
We developed, voted on, and adopted by-laws and articles of incorporation.
Began the process of establishing accounts and credit in the name of the organization Hands On Gulf Coast

Of course there is quite a bit more to do, such as establish a payroll service, obtain insurance, get to fundraising, but we're working on them bit by bit. We're also working with the national office to reconcile financial records so that Hands On Gulf Coast starts out on solid financial footing.

Through all of this, Hands On must work through the transition of a number of key staff. Sara Hamilton, Associate Director, left at the beginning of May. Today is my last day of work as the Director, though there will be many days behind the scenes helping out. At the beginning of June, Sue Cole, Operations Assistant, and Erica Winslow, Mold Educator, both leave and will be sorely missed.

So not only is the organization's status transitioning, so too is the staff. Though there will be bumpy times and challenges ahead, you will see new organization and structure emerge. It will be stronger and better able to focus on what's most important - the meeting the critical needs of the Gulf Coast Community through volunteer work.

YouTube Channel

2008-05-06T22:44:00.005-06:00

About two months ago, I established a channel for HOGC videos. Because we've been busy with volunteers and transition details, we haven't had much of an opportunity to post videos.

Last week, I prepared two slideshows for a presentation to a region meeting of ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, yes the Internet people) registrars and registrees in New Orleans. Unfortunately, for all my tech savvy, I was foiled by a slow computer and was not able to show the photo collages of the Gulf after Katrina hit (courtesy Hands On USA volunteers and FEMA) and of Hands On Gulf Coast volunteers working.

You can see them here:

As well as on our YouTube channel.

More to come in the future.

Departure

2008-04-29T14:31:00.005-06:00

It is difficult for me to make this posting. I have decided to step down as Director and leave Hands On Gulf Coast, effective May 16, 2008.

I started with Hands On USA, arriving just days before they handed over the operation to Hands On Gulf Coast. I was there at the transition when Dave Campbell said, “Do you want a job? I just set you up for an interview in 20 minutes.” From day one with Hands On Gulf Coast, I have helped manage the organization, taking over as Director in January 2007.

Still, I came down like everyone else, a volunteer. Hurricane Katrina directly impacted my family – my grandmother and one of my uncles lost their homes in the New Orleans region. I knew I would be down. I thought it was just for three weeks.

Many of you have never met me because I prefer to work quietly behind the scenes. I enjoy the world of spreadsheets, budgets, computers, and yes, people. I worked with a great team of people to make your experience at Hands On Gulf Coast as rewarding as possible.

The opportunity that I was given to help manage, then lead Hands On has been one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had.

I also have to announce that another pillar of Hands On Gulf Coast will leave on May 2. Sara Hamilton, now the Associate Director, came from Chicago Cares, the Hands On Network affiliate in, you guessed it, Chicago. She arrived in June 2006, after a week-long volunteer experience in April 2006.

She came back and immediately jumped in to manage our volunteer programs. After six months, the massive AmeriCorps program was handed to her with the simple directive “make it happen”. She developed, implemented, and managed one of the most effective AmeriCorps programs in Mississippi. Did I mention that she had no prior AmeriCorps experience and she had six weeks to recruit and enroll the first round of members?

Yes, Sara has been one of the other quiet presences at Hands On Gulf Coast that has kept the organization moving ahead despite transition and tumult.

Caitlin Brooking, currently the AmeriCorps Program Manager, will step into the role of Acting Director after I leave. She will hold that post until we hire an Interim Executive Director.

To ensure the delivery of quality volunteer service, we will be hiring an AmeriCorps Program Coordinator and additional administrative support, in addition to the Development Specialist who will focus on fund raising for us.

It is only appropriate that as Hands On Gulf Coast the organization transitions, so to does the leadership. It’s the next step in the evolution of what started as an idea in Thailand after the tsunami.

Thank you to each of you for your support of Hands On, the Gulf Coast, and this leadership team. The Gulf Coast and Hands On will continue to need your support in the months and years to come.

Chris de Veer
Director

Construction Update

2008-04-23T07:15:00.001-06:00

We've had some great news in the past couple weeks:

The Lee St. house has its Certificate of Occupancy (CO)! Fantastic. We can't wait to celebrate the move in of another home owner.
The Ngo Family has the CO. Yes, we had the party before they had the CO, but they're in, sleeping on their own beds now.
Lameuse St. has been sheetrocked, taped, mudded, texturized, and painted. It's trucking along.

Sadly, two members of our construction crew left recently: JP and Fletcher. Both were great workers and contributors to the construction team. We, as well as East Biloxi, will miss their presences and their skills. Thank you for your commitment to the Gulf Coast.

Ngo Family House Party

2008-04-22T06:09:00.005-06:00

On Monday, April 21 2008, we had the house warming party for the Ngo family who lives at the Bowen Street house we've been working on. Though the house didn't have the final inspection complete at the time of the celebration, it didn't dampen our spirits.

The house looks great! The family is excited! Our AmeriCorps members who have dedicated their time and skills to getting the Ngo family back into their home are excited and happy. The dedication of this home makes this house the 12th house Hands On has completed.

We had help from other organizations. Craig Snow of Hopeforce sent a group of builders from West Virginia our way. They banged out quite a bit of the house and purchased quite a bit of material for the home. We thank them immensely for their efforts. The Amish also helped with the dry wall. I didn't see them hanging it, but by all reports it was quite the sight to see. There was also support from the East Biloxi Coordination Center in the form of site visits from Brandon and Richard, as well as contracting support.

During the house warming party, Mrs. Ngo cooked up a mountain of food. Hand made egg rolls, shrimp fried rice, fried chicken, and grilled beef. She piled it high on Nic's plate. Everyone had a good time.

During a short speech expressing his gratitude, Mr. Ngo said that he was very happy and excited to be back in his home. This was now our home, too. He said we would always have a place with them.

As with each of the builds and rehabs we do, it's a group effort. We're happy the Ngo family is (almost) back in their home.

Go Blue!

2008-04-21T06:38:00.002-06:00

April has been a busy month for Hands On. Our Youth Development folks - Danae, Amanda, Jesse, and KC - have been working diligently to pull together volunteers and activities for the Child Abuse Prevention month. In partnership with the Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse, we have gone Blue.

Go Blue! is the campaign that the Center conducts throughout the month of April. Our good friend Demp Bell, the Wal-Mart Good Works Manager, introduced us to Michelle and Vicki. As part of this campaign, there were events each weekend at Wal-Marts around the Gulf. The events were designed to raise not only awareness of child abuse, but also to raise funds for the Center. We worked in partnership with the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College to recruit volunteers and man booths and some of the Wal-Marts throughout the month.

The collaboration culminated with the participation in the Family Fair this past weekend. Sponge Bob Square Pants and Blues Clues were the draw for kids and families to the Coliseum. We had a booth manned by some of our AmeriCorps NCCC members and the Youth Development team. There was face painting and planting.

Planting? Yes, one of the options was for kids to fill a cup with top soil and plant the seeds of a plant. Lots of folks came by. I think we even convinced one of the Marines in the booth next to us to get his face painted.

We're happy we could support the Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse and raise awareness about such a critical issue.

The Road to Independence

2008-04-02T10:18:00.006-06:00

Though it's been a long time in the works, the transition from program of our national offices in Atlanta and DC to a locally governed organization have truly begun. Though talks about Hands On Gulf Coast becoming and independent affiliate of the Hands On Network (now Points of Light & Hands On Network) have been around ever since I arrived in January 2006, we now have a mandate from the national board of directors to be independent by July 1.

What does independence mean? There are two parts to that answer. First and foremost, it means that Hands On Gulf Coast generates all the funds it needs to operate during the year, without the support of the national office. That means we need to be like every other nonprofit with annual appeals, sponsorships, grants, and fee-for-service options. Your support and continued commitment to the work in the Gulf will be a critical to Hands On Gulf Coast's success.
Second, independence means local governance. There are also two options being explored here. Because it's always a bad idea to start a nonprofit that duplicates the efforts of already established agencies, it's important to conduct an exhaustive survey of the nonprofit landscape, exploring all possibilities for partnership and collaboration before deciding that creating a new organization is best for the community.

We formed a Steering Committee who met for the first time of Tuesday, April 1, to discuss our options for local governance. The United Way of South Mississippi recently started a volunteer center - Volunteer Gulf Coast - with whom we've already worked. Remember Make A Difference Day (Oct 07)? It is logical to enter into a conversation with the United Way to determine whether there is a way to more tighly integrate our operations because of our closely aligned goals for community engagement.

With the United Way talk as context, the Steering Committee meeting was great. Our committee consists of nonprofit and business leaders. Some members we know quite well, others are just getting to know us. Resoundingly, they said there is a need for the services we provide - managed groups of volunteers and volunteer program development. Though we who work here and see the need for volunteer programs in all the nonprofits on the Gulf Coast, it was reassuring to hear our nonprofit partners and business leaders confirm our observations.

With that as our starting point, we asked our Steering Committee members to spread the word and suggest other people who might also be a good addition to the Steering Committee and could potentially turn into initial board members. We're always looking for new contacts and new opportunities to firmly root Hands On Gulf Coast on the Gulf Coast for years to come.

As the process unfolds and evolves, we will continue to keep you posted on developments.

Spring Break, Week 4

2008-03-31T14:27:00.002-06:00

The fourth week of Spring Break has come and gone. As with each of the other weeks, it was a good week of service with diverse projects ranging from surveying East Biloxi to determine the needs of residents, to demolding, to working on some of the houses we're building, to participating in a community cleanup in Moss Point.

This week was a smaller week, with about 50 Spring Breakers from:

Unversity of California - Riverside
Harvard University
SUNY Albany (a Jewish Funds for Justice group)
Colorado University, Boulder

For those who opted into the Service Learning package, the panel discussion with members of the Steps Coalition was pretty lively. The panel had representatives from the Fair Housing Coalition, MIRA (Mississippi Immigrant Rights Alliance), LIFE (Living Independently For Everyone), and NAVASA (National Alliance of Vietnamese American Service Agencies). The focus of the discussion was grassroots community organizing in the wake of Katrina. Each of these organizations talked about the challenge of creating an equitable recovery for all.

We thank all the Spring Breakers who came down this year to Biloxi. We're still compiling the impact y'all had over the course of the month. We'll post that as soon as it's ready.

Spring Break, Week 3

2008-03-21T16:40:00.008-06:00

So, the third and biggest week of Spring Break came and went. We had over 160 Spring Breakers come during the week. They came from:

Xavier University
Darmouth College
University of Wisonsin, River Falls & Madison campuses
University of Oklahoma
University of Wyoming
Iowa State University
Hamilton College
University of Minnesota
University of South Dakota
Hamilton College Alumni

Wow! Talk about lines for food and the showers. Still, everyone manage to contribute to the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast during their time.

Many worked on education-focused projects, such as tutoring, helping with the Boys & Girls Club after school programs, working with Nichols Elementary's after-school program, making lunch for the teachers at the Center for New Opportunities and Pass Road Elementary, as well as the usual array of projects.

Spring Breakers began the second phase of construction on the Lameuse St house that was started in December 07. The house passed its framing inspection, which meant the insulation and dry wall was ready to roll. Fantastic!

Other projects were working out at Moss Point, helping to prepare the baseball diamonds for use, as well as the not-so-glamorous-but-very-important cleaning of drainage ditches to reduce the risk of flooding during heavy rains and the next hurricane to hit the area.

A little closer to home, out at Gulf Islands National Seashore, volunteers began helping restore bird habitats. Out west, still on the environmental kick, we had volunteers doing live oak restoration in Pass Christian.

One of the other great projects that folks enjoyed was the making and distribution of easter baskets for the elderly. It's something that the residents love and gets our folks connected with the community they came to serve.

It's not all work, though. We had a crawfish boil and bonfire on the beach. We had about 100 people show up, learn to eat crawfish, marvel at the spiciness that a corn cob can absorb, and enjoy the warmth of a fire when the March winds blow.

For the service learning group, we held a panel discussion that focused on education issues. Teachers from Pass Road Elementary and the Center for New Opportunities came to talk to the schools who participated. One of the compelling personal reflections came from Ms. Drakeford, a kindergarten teacher at Pass Rd. Elementary. She said that her kids were 2 and 3 years old when Katrina hit. For the next year and a half to two years, there were no parks and no places for the kids to play. So the kids don't just play spontaneously. They sit around or play on the computer, but they don't run and skip like 5 year olds should.

That observation just brings home how critical each aspect of the work we do is. You can just work on a single aspect of the community's recovery to the neglect of the others. Community is not so much a place, but a state of mind, a concept, a feeling. You can't necessarily touch 'community', but you can see the effects of its presence. We help build those invisible linkages that become the basis for community.

Thank you to everyone who came down during your Spring Break to take part in not only rebuilding the Gulf Coast, but just as importantly building community.

Spring Break, Week 2

2008-03-11T15:25:00.002-06:00

I'm trying to get ahead of the bow wave of Spring Break. This week, I'll post twice. Once at the relative beginning and once at the relative end. By the time March is complete, I should have this down to a science.

So, this week, we have fewer Spring Break volunteers. Rather than 160+, we have about 120 or so. A new AmeriCorps NCCC team (Eagle 4) arrived on Saturday, overlapping with Silver 3 who has been here for a couple weeks already.

This week we have:

Eastfield College
E. Kentucky University
Texas A&M
Truman State University
University of Vermont
Indiana University School of Medicine
Penn State University

We're focusing or service learning efforts on affordable housing this week. That means projects this week have more of a slant toward addressing the issues related to housing. Whether that means you're working in the Interfaith Disaster Task Force (IDTF) warehouse sorting furniture donations, to hanging insulation and drywall in a resident's home, to mucking out storm drains in Moss Point, each of these projects impacts people's ability to live in the area. Though often tedious, each project is important.

Rain continues to throw a monkey wrench in well-laid plans, but we adapt and over come.

Spring Break, Week 1

2008-03-11T15:02:00.002-06:00

Thank you to everyone who came down to Hands On Gulf Coast for their Spring Break. For us, the first week in March was the first week of Spring Break. We saw about 165 volunteers from 10 schools. Which schools?

The College of William and Mary
Grand Valley State University
Northeastern University
Viterbo
The University of Virginia (a.k.a., Mr. Jefferson's University & my alma mater)
Chadron State University
Regis University
James Madison University - winners of the Tuff Stuff Challenge
Michigan State University
Boston College

Though the week started out with a bit of a drill - tornado threats, tents, and Alternative Spring Break (ASB) volunteers don't mix - and folks were tired, the week went well and we accomplished quite a bit. During the week, we focused on environmental projects. This included everything from removing garbage from Turkey Creek in Gulfport, to cleaning up baseball fields in Moss Point, to cleaning and clearing trails at the Harmony House in Gulfport.

With so many folks in the building, there were of course last minute challenges to over come. However, Delia, our Spring Break planner did a fabulous job preparing and anticipating most of the potential challenges. We at Hands On definitely appreciate that you all chose to put your volunteer efforts to work on the Gulf Coast. As you saw, we still need help down here.

Hopefully, you learned a little more about the South, the challenges the Gulf Coast faces in its recovery from the storm, and met some new, like-minded folks.

Brian, Eddie, Sheli

2008-02-15T18:00:00.003-06:00

Today was Brian Deubert's, Eddie Sherman's, and Sheli McNeill's last day with Hands On Gulf Coast. They all contributed immensely to the success of Hands On Gulf Coast during the course of their tenure with us.

Sheli joined us in April 2006, working quietly as a case manager, helping residents recover identity documents, get FEMA trailers, and get materials to rebuild their homes. Sheli was instrumental in preparing and executing the successful Guiding Light project in January 2007. After successfully tackling that challenge, Sheli stepped up to be the AmeriCorps Program Coordinator for Building. She worked tirelessly during her time with us.

Brian arrived in June 2006. He quickly began helping with the fledgling, ad hoc construction work Hands On was struggling to get into. Between various other volunteers, Brian helped roof houses, build Mr. Thornton's house, and work on Mr. George's. He was the Stud House leader when Guiding Light came. Under the tutelage of Eddie, Brian continued to grow in his chosen craft of carpentry.

Eddie arrived in September 2006. Brother of Dan Sherman, Eddie arrived for a couple weeks, but was immediately drawn into the culture and life of Hands On. He began by helping to build Mr. George's house, then managing the Bridge to Biloxi project in October 2006. Under his technical leadership, Hands On was able to prepare three houses for the Guiding Light team in early 2007. For the rest of the year, Eddie trained a team of AmeriCorps members dedicated to building homes along the Gulf Coast. When he left, 12 houses had been completely rebuilt.

The trio of Brian, Sheli, and Eddie shaped the Hands On Gulf Coast construction program into what it is today. They set high standards for craftmanship, quality, and attention to detail, which AmeriCorps construction members always strived to meet.

Thank you to each of you for your contribution to Hands On Gulf Coast and to the broader Gulf Coast community. Best of luck in your next endeavors and see you around Biloxi.

Thanks Hands On

2008-02-07T10:17:00.000-06:00

Where to begin...
To avoid being entirely too sappy, this will be a quick blog.
It is the end of my official month anniversary at Hands On Gulf Coast and let me just tell you that the experience has been amazing. I am surrounded by caring, fun people in Hands On and the greater community. I would especially like to thank Miss Juanita and Dottie for taking on the mother roles and offer nothing but support and love to those around them.
I came to Hands On with very few expectations, I only knew it was the right thing to do. So far this belief only grows stronger. I have had the opportunity to become part of a community and challenge myself with a group of amazing people. How could I go wrong?
Since I've been in Biloxi, I've participated in two parades (receiving free fried chicken from D'Vines Soulfood in both), helped win the spirit award in a bed race, played with the kids at the Boys and Girls Club, celebrated Martin Luther King Day and Mardi Gras properly, and roller skated for the first time in 20 years (and yes, I had several people who were patient enough to hold my hands the entire time!). I can't believe how lucky I am.
Currently, I'm trying to wriggle my way in to a larger community and spread the Hands On goodness. This is one of the few times in my life that I can say I want to do more, I don't want to stop at good enough.
Tomorrow is my first day of Healthy Living classes for the 9 and 10 year olds at Boys and Girls Club. I have a feeling that this class will really challenge me and give me something to work towards. I'm ecstatic. I have so much to learn from the kids. And who knows, I might even inspire a healthier lifestyle in one or two of the kids.
No matter what happens, I am thankful to be on the Gulf Coast.
Here's to new friends, new experiences and a healthier Mississippi!
Cheers!

1st Annual Mardi Gras Bed Race

2008-02-02T11:06:00.001-06:00

This past Saturday, Hands On Gulf Coast participated in the 1st Annual, Mardi Gras Bed Race. It was an event sponsored by Walmart to raise money for the Salvation Army.

We fielded two teams on 200lb metal beds supplied by the Salvation Army. The beds were decorated in typical Hands On fashion, last minute and with ever was available. One bed had the sign, "Be Bold, Fight Mold". The other had me in it, holding onto some sort of strange bed parasol we found in the Spin Cycle.

The race itself was hillarious. There were all sorts of contraptions. Sprint, Keesler, the Police, the Firemen, and about a dozen other groups had a bed in the race. One of the cooler ones was from Landon Building (?). They built a home on a frame. The Air Force guys from Keesler had a well-designed bed with a bar designed to maximize the ease of pushing.

A couple groups hadn't hired the services of an engineer, so their beds fell apart mid-race. The troopers wound up carrying the pieces over the finish line.

Though we didn't win for being the fastest, we certainly did win for being the most spirited. Between the chant,

repeated ad nauseum and "Be Bold! ... Fight Mold!! Be Bold! Fight Mold!!" there was little chance for anyone else to win.

Thanks to everyone who came out Saturday morning. Also a special thanks to Amanda and Fletcher who sat at a table with maccaroni and string to keep kids entertained on the Town Green. Here's to next year's winning team.

Thanks!!!!

2008-01-31T08:59:00.000-06:00

Hi Everyone,

Thanks to those who participated in the challenge yesterday! Though the email was on short notice, we appreciate the swift and generous response. You can see how much we raised yesterday ($830) by day's end by going to the Hands On Gulf Coast Cause page.

Though the challenge period ends today at 12pm Pacific, Hands On Gulf Coast and the residents of the Gulf Coast will continue to need your support. Please do continue to volunteer and lend your financial support to our organization. Your donations support us in our work to rebuild the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Chris
Director, Hands On Gulf Coast

Facebook Giving Challenge

2008-01-30T08:38:00.000-06:00

Hi Everyone,

You will all probably be receiving (or have already received) an email with the opening line:

Have 10 minutes? Have $10? We need your help!

It's true. We do need your support. It's how we keep the lights on, the cars driving, and the hammers swinging to rebuild the Gulf Coast.

Facebook and The Case Foundation have teamed up to offer an interesting fundraising opportunity. Nonprofits can win money by having the most unique donors give money to a cause in a given day. The minimum donation is $10. Read more about it.
What we need you to do:

Go to Hands On Gulf Coast Cause on Facebook.
Click Donate.

If you're not on Facebook already, you'll create an account, then you can donate.

if you're already on Facebook, log in and proceed.

Donate at least $10 today, January 31, 2008 by 3pm Eastern, 12pm Pacific

It's important you donate today January 31st. It's the last day of the Challenge and it's important to have the most donors in a single day. You can see today's current leader on the Hands On Gulf Coast Causes page.

In addition to your generous donations, we could win $1,000 on the 31st by having the most unique donors. Please encourage your friends and family to support us, too.

The overall challenge has almost run its 50-day length. Prizes ranging from $10,000 to $50,000 will be awarded to causes with the most unique donors over the Challenge period. Currently, 600 unique Hands On Gulf Coast donors could put us in 5th place.

Please support Hands On Gulf Coast and help us to continue helping those on the Gulf Coast who are still in need.

Thank you for your support.

MLK Day 2008

2008-01-26T14:21:00.000-06:00

MLK Day 2008 was a great, great day. We walked in the parade, showed a flim and held a discussion, worked on service projects, and had a blast at John Henry Beck Park. We probably had about 2,000 - 3,000 people roll through the park during the afternoon. Talk about a dream come true for Hands On.

None of this would have been possible without some key partnerships with The Knight Foundation, Clear Channel (via 92.5 The Beat), and the Beau Rivage. The Knight Foundation supported the film and the service projects as a way to get a diverse group of community leaders pulled together for a conversation about issues that are important to the community. It was the kick-off for a year-long series of activities to engage the community and attempt to get them more involved.

Clear Channel helped make the event in the park possible. They brought in folks to help with activities for the kids, held a talent show, and broadcast live from the Park. You should check out the photos on their website http://www.925fmthebeat.com/. Click on Day in the Park.

The Beau Rivage generously donated space and equipment to show the film and catering for the event. It was a fabulous space.

It started as a very chilly morning. As worried as we were about how the day was going to go, there really wasn't much to do but let the day unfold and see what it brought. I am definitely a worrier, so I was nervous until my part with the film at the Beau was finished.

The parade was great. Though somehow we weren't on the list of floats, we managed to get in the front of the parade. We walked the route in about 45 minutes. The crowd looked a bit thinner as compared to last year, but it was still a great turn out. Hands On folks cannot help but have fun. We threw beads, superballs, and candy to the bystanders. It was sorta like a Mardi Gras parade, but different. Our folks carried big wooden hands painted blue. In white ink, a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr sat in the palm.

Naturally, everyone was so excited to throw beads that we were out by the time we got to the main crowd near Yankee Stadium. Oh well. How can you frown on fun? Perhaps folks will remember for next year ...

As soon as our float finished the parade route, I rushed to the Beau Rivage for the film showing and discussion. We didn't have the turn out I had hoped for, but we still had a lively discussion. We had folks from the Beau Rivage's Diversity team come to participate in the discussions, as well as Adele Lyons from the Knight Foundation who helped support the day's events. The film we watched was King: Man of Peace in a Time of War. I highly recommend the film. It is striking to see how so many issues that were being discussed in the 60's - housing, a war, equality - are still relevant today, particularly on the Coast.

Because I was at the film discussion, I didn't make it to the service projects, but we landscaped a resident's house and made murals for one of our partners, The Village. We love The Village for the work they do with the Hispanic and Spanish-speaking immigrant communities. They just moved to a new building, so we were happy to be able to decorate the walls for them with some art they can take with them to the permanent digs when they become available. Thanks to Anne, Caitlin, and everyone else who helped with that.

Will led the landscaping project at Ms. Ethel's house. We finished her house last September and had the Guiding Light come down for a little move-in celebration. We were excited about the opportunity to finish the yard.

At John Henry Beck Park, we were amazed by what we saw. During the day, folks wandered over from the Battle of the Bands and hung out in the park. We worked with Clear Channel and 92.5 The Beat to put on an afternoon of celebration in honor of Dr. King. There was a talent show and a performance by soul patrol. There were activities for the kids, as well as music broadcast from the park all afternoon.

When it was said and done, there were probably 2,500 to 3,000 people who rolled through the park. When I got up on stage at the end of the day, all I could see was a sea of people. It was exactly what we dreamt about when the park was restored in the hot summer of 2006. Thanks to all those who put in hard work then and over the past year to make John Henry Beck Park a great place to people to come play and enjoy themselves.

Thanks to everyone who made MLK Day a great day for Hands On Gulf Coast. We look forward to improving on all aspects of it for next year.

MLK 2008 - The Day's Activities

2008-01-15T07:17:00.001-06:00

So, MLK Day 2008 is just around the corner. The Gulf Coast has been designated as one of the expansion markets for the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), which means that CNCS is very supportive increasing the participation in the day of service. Hmm, that's a lot of words, let's put it in a slogan. "It's a day on, not a day off." The idea behind the day of service is to get more people to volunteer, echoing Dr Martin Luther King, Jr's words:

"Everyone can be great because everyone can serve."

With that as the basis for our day's activities, we began planning how to initiate the first MLK Day of Service. Though there has been a Coast-wide celebration of Dr Martin Luther King, Jr for over 20 years, there hasn't been a day of service. The planning for the event has had some challenges and bumps along the road, but in the end, I think we're going to have a solid program that dovetails the existing MLK celebrations and highlights another aspect of King's teachings.

What is our program? We're going to help out where we can by supplying volunteers to some of the activities on the weekend sponsored by the Coast-wide celebration committee. On Monday, the 21st, we'll march in the parade, marking the third year Hands On has had a float.

In the afternoon, beginning at 1pm, we will have service projects running. Folks are encouraged to come out to work on volunteer service projects around East Biloxi ranging from painting a mural to working on a home rebuilding project to landscaping a resident's yard.

In addition to the physically active projects, we have a documentary film and panel-led discussion also beginning at 1pm. The Beau Rivage has graciously offered space to show the film and entice folks with refreshments like cookies and coffee. Yum. Space is limited for both the film showing and the volunteer service projects, so folks on the Gulf Coast interested in participating should contact us via our office phone (228.257.6094) or via email (info@handsongulfcoast.org). Let us know you're interested in the MLK Day of Service opportunities.

The day's events aren't limited to service projects and a film discussion. No Hands On event would be complete without an activity in the park. We have partnered with Clear Channel to bring a Day in the Park. It's really just the afternoon because we want folks to support the Battle of the Bands that will be going on in Yankee Stadium. Once that's done, though, folks should come to John Henry Beck Park to see what we have planned. There will be activities for the youth that focus on Dr King and his message, as well as a youth talent show. There will also be performances by Soul Patrol and the Zulu Men's Choir from New Orleans.

We're excited and looking forward to the Day. Come join us! Remember it's a Day On, not a Day Off. And if you're not on the Gulf Coast, check out what's going on in your community and volunteer!

Enneagram Training

2008-01-14T23:30:00.001-06:00

It's late at night and I should be asleep getting precious rest before my appearance on the WLOX morning show to talk about our MLK Day of Service Activities. Instead, the day's training on the Enneagram personality types swirls in my mind making it difficult to turn my brain off.

The staff wanted to learn how to communicate better with one another and build a more effective team. I mentioned this to my boss and she said that Ellen Ferber, one of Points of Light & Hands On Network's Regional VPs, was certified in the Enneagram personality type training. We all took the test, a batter of 145 binary questions, each answer corresponding to one of the nine personality types identified in this personality framework. Ellen came down to tell us about the results of our tests and guide us through the process of learning how to use it in our work life. She described each of the types, their characteristics, and how they interact with those around them.

What's neat about the Enneagram method (? is it a method?) is that it provides a framework understanding what you need for personal growth, as well as a framework for understanding interpersonal dynamics.Though your type never changes, I happen to be a 9 - a Peacemaker - your state of personal development does affect the outward appearance of your personality. When I'm on my game, I appear like the 3 - the Acheiver; I set goals and hit them. When I lapse into a black state, I go to the bad side of a 6 - The Loyalist - where I become paranoid and paralyzed with fear. The same holds true for each of the numbers. There is a flow of energy between the personality types that manifests itself at various times. There are three triads each with a different underlying energy or motivation. 8, 9, and 1 are in the gut triad, meaning they filter everything through their instinctive reactions. 2 through 4 are in the heart triad and look at things in terms of relationships, while the 5, 6, and 7's filter their experiences through the head.

I know I haven't done the extensively researched and refined methodology for describing personality all that well, so you should probably go to the Enneagram Institute's website to learn more. Or call Ellen. It's all very fascinating and amazingly accurate. Though one method of describing personality is probably as good as another, when you find the one you like, a lot of dynamics and tensions between people can easily be demystified because you now understand what the underlying motivations for folks are. Very exciting.

What's most important to Hands On is that we had the training. All the staff was present and engaged. From the anecdotal comments folks gave me, everyone got something from the training. I think this will help us build a stronger team. We have a better idea of how each person sees the world, how they interact it, and what drives them to be who they are.

I've got lots of ideas and I think the rest of the staff does, too. So, I'm excited. Thanks, Ellen for a great training!!! We really appreciate it.

Orientation, Over

2008-01-11T14:35:00.001-06:00

Well, AmeriCorps Orientation #1 of 2008, the one for our first batch of full-time members, ended Friday afternoon. It seemed like it went well. We learned from last year and put significant energy and time into making a better orientation experience for folks. We'll see what the evaluations say.

This year, we were lucky to have Megan Latimer from the Atlanta Office come down to talk about the "Hands On" model. We talk about that often around here - it's the model we use to ensure that volunteers: 1) have a great experience, 2) are used to the utmost of the abilities, and 3) are hooked into coming back and bringing a friend.

Megan discussed some of the sociological, psychological, and philosophical underpinnings for the way Hands On engages volunteers. At the most basic level, the "Hands On" model of volunteer engagement is a form of asset-based community development. Rather than focusing on needs and inadvertently setting up cycles of dependence, Hands On looks to help the community determine what it wants to do (a vision) and helps create the pathways to acheive those goals. We become catalysts for change.

That's heady stuff, I know, but I was talking with Dave (yes, the Dog :) about the session. he said he learned so much and was ready to start implementing some of what he learned the next time he was on the job site. It's a pretty powerful endorsement for the material, but also the presenter, Megan.

Not only did people learn about the model, but they got to see it in action when they went for their half-day service projects. That was another of Dave's comments. He learned about how Hands On creates volunteer service opportunities and then saw it in action when he arrived at the work site and Eddie (our Construction Manager) immediately provided an orientation to the job, talked about the home owner, and provided the context for the home they were about to work on.

Everyone did a great job with orientation! Caitlin, Sheli, and Sara spent a considerable amount of time incorporating what we all learned from last year, continueing to build a strong program. The AmeriCorps members each seemed to learn something, which is always a bonus. I know I'm excited about the team that has been assembled and all that we are poised to accomplish this year.

The Menagerie - A/C Orientation Day 1

2008-01-08T18:47:00.000-06:00

Today was the first day of orientation. What a day it was. We talked about the history of Hands On and the basics of AmeriCorps. More importantly, we got to know one another through a few interesting ice breakers.

Early on it was an introduction of name, where you're from, how you heard about Hands On, and of course the Question. Well, not The Question, but a random question that becomes the day's question. This morning, it was "What was your favorite sitcom." Not necessarily as good as pirates or ninjas ... just sayin'. Just sayin'.

The real fun was with the animal name game. Stand in a circle, say your name, the name of an animal that starts with the first letter of your name, then make the noise of that animal. That's the easy part. Go around in the circle and you need to remember the names and animals of the people who went before you. We came up with some interesting animals and sounds.

Not everyone could join us for this morning fun, so tomorrow, we'll make them give their animals. Here are those AmeriCorps members at the early morning orientation:

Chris	Sheli
Caitlin	Sara
Denae	Sharece
Kendall	Jeff
Jenny	Nick
Fletcher	Molly
Catherine	Nelson
Rotunda	Dave
KC	Ingrid
Danielle	Amanda
Leah

Happy 2008

2008-01-06T18:09:00.001-06:00

Hi All,

Welcome back for another year of volunteer service on the Gulf Coast. We had a bit of a break to reflect and prepare for the upcoming year when the 2007 AmeriCorps program year ended at Thanksgiving. Now, we're almost ready for all the challenges awaiting us in 2008.

The big thing is that AmeriCorps orientation starts tomorrow, 7 Jan 07, for roughly 25 people. Yes, Program Year 2008 starts tomorrow. OK, technically, it starts on the 8th and the 7th is only for the folks who are going to live with us, but the AmeriCorps members have already started arriving - those who aren't continuing service from last year that is.

We're excited to have everyone returning and arriving for the first time. Through out the year, our AmeriCorps members will build houses, tutor kids, educate the community on various issues, spruce up green spaces, work on art projects with kids, lead Alternative Spring Breakers from colleges around the country, and participate in a few days of service.

It's a packed schedule. Both Eddie and Sheli - along with our new construction supervisors Brian and John - are ready to build a bunch of houses for residents along the Gulf Coast. With some unique partnerships with corporations interested in helping the Gulf Coast get back on their feet, the building crew is ready to roll.

On the community side, Caitlin has been working diligently to develop partnerships with other agencies along the Gulf where members can develop projects and serve the Gulf Coast residents in a different way. Building homes is cool, visible, and critical recovery, but so too are the many services that AmeriCorps members who work in the community area. Kids need enrichment activities and adults need to have opportunities to give back to their own communities.

That's exactly what AmeriCorps members on the community side will be doing. They will work in or with partner agencies to develop sustainable volunteer programs that engage residents of the Gulf Coast. Lofty stuff for recent high school and college grads.

So, an exciting year of building and transition lays ahead of us. Come join us.

New Hires

2007-12-15T18:42:00.001-06:00

Yeah!!! Though the news is late in coming, we were finally able to hire on some new folks to help run our programs.

In April 2007, we were awarded an Environmental Justice grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). With this grant, we will educate residents of the Gulf Coast on the health and structural issues that mold can create and demonstrate low-cost, effective ways to fight mold. After some fits and starts, we were able to hire Erica Winslow to be our Mold Educator. This happened officially in November. Congrats and welcome aboard!

Our building program is on solid footing and needed additional supervisors to help Eddie and Sheli meet their home construction goals in 2008. With money from coporate sponsorships, we were able to bring on one long-time construction guy - Brian "Deubs" Deubert - and an almost as long construction guy - John Wildeman. Both have learned their trade and grown under Eddie's tutelage and will be great team leads in the field. Welcome aboard!

Water Line

2007-12-10T12:08:00.001-06:00

Yesterday morning my colleagues and I painted the exterior of a house belonging to a woman whose home was flooded in August 2005 during hurricane Katrina.

My fellow co-workers also framed walls for a new house and painted murals in a daycare center that will finally re-open next week.

Because so much work remains to be done along the Gulf Coast and in New Orleans, we held our staff retreat here and decided to donate our time as part of the agenda.

On the first night local residents came to our group dinner and told us their stories.

I invited a friend from the area to read a blog post she wrote about how she lost her home.

My colleagues were moved by the profound way that her story blended the ordinary details of life with the devastation of the storm.

She was charming, funny, eloquent and poignant.

The other community guest was a man named Grady, the uncle of one of my colleagues.

The first thing Grady told us was that he usually avoids talking about his experience during hurricane Katrina.

Before the hurricane Grady lived with his wife and three children in a nice house near the beach in coastal, Mississippi.

He was the CEO of a successful company that he founded.

He drove a nice car.

Grady’s elderly father, reliant upon an oxygen tank to breathe, lived in the house next door.

During the summer of 2005, Grady’s family evacuated their home five times for hurricanes and, on one of those occasions, it didn’t even rain.

On the morning of August 29th Grady didn't think it looked like Katrina would hit the Gulf Coast.

He and his family decided not to evacuate and stayed at home.

At noon that day, the situation looked increasingly dire so they decided to drive two miles inland to Grady’s office.

They brought their boat and left it set so that if the water rose the boat would rise with it.

The water rose.

Grady told us how fast the water came into his office building and kept coming.

He had one life jacket.

His six, eight and ten year old children worried.

When the water started to become dangerously high, Grady put his six year old in the life jacket and tied a rope around him.

Grady, his wife, his father and the other two children held on to the rope and prayed.

The family decided that if the water rose too high they would break a window up near the ceiling, escape and swim around the building to the boat.

I’m not sure where Grady’s father’s oxygen tank fit into the plan. Perhaps it didn’t.

Meanwhile, the water kept rising.

The children began to cry.

The eye of the storm passed over the building.

The water kept rising and rising… and finally…finally…it stopped.

When the water receded they had to walk the two miles back to their neighborhood and make their way over six blocks of debris eight feet high to find the spot where their house had been.

It took four days for Grady to find what remained of his house four blocks away.

With all communication cut off, Grady’s family had no way to understand the magnitude of the storm's impact. In other parts of the country their extended family had no way to know if they were alive.

As Grady talked, I couldn’t help thinking about how frightened he must have been during the storm. I thought about how responsible he must have felt – responsible for protecting his family, for making the choice to stay, for needing to save their lives.

I thought about the nightmares that jerk me awake in a cold sweat – the ones where something terrible has happened to my children. The ones where I can't save them.

I thought about Grady living through this literal nightmare.

It took my breath away.

After his talk, Grady told me that the thing about his experience that hurt him the most was that his children were robbed of the secure knowledge that he was Superman. They saw his raw fear and it stripped them of their innocence. More than anything else, this is what he wishes he could erase.

The physical destruction caused by the storm is no longer represented by piles of debris or the twisted remains of buildings but rather by endless stretches of emptiness marked only by driveways and stairs leading to the ghosts of vanished front doors.

I wondered about the destruction that I couldn’t see.

Grady’s family evacuated to his wife’s family farm in Georgia and they still live there.

Though Grady commutes back and forth between the farm and the gulf to work, his family will not return.

They don’t even want to visit. They are not coming back here.

What is it like to live with the memory of their experience?

Megan told me a story about a woman who worked as a nurse in a mental health facility before the storm.

Because the patients couldn’t be evacuated, staff had to stay and work or lose their jobs.

The woman stayed and because she stayed, so did her husband and son.

After the storm, when she was able to finally make it back to her house, she found her husband and son had drowned in the family living room.

She was found cradling the body of her son on her front porch.

She had been sitting there holding him for days because there was no one to come and collect the dead.

“So is everything rebuilt now? Is everything back to normal?”

Megan told me how much she hates this question.

It’s not rebuilt. It’s not back to normal.

What was lost will never be returned.

Grady told us about the second storm surge, the wave of volunteers who came from all over the country and arrived well before the government with water, ice and bread.

The volunteers brought simple things like toothpaste and soap. They brought baby formula and diapers.

“They restored my faith in humanity,” he said.

I wish I had been one of those volunteers but on the day of hurricane Katrina I watched CNN, I gave birth to my daughter.

This is the first time I have had the opportunity to come to the Gulf to volunteer.

Yesterday I painted the house of an elderly woman who has lived in a nursing home for nearly two and a half years.

In February her house, entirely renovated by volunteers, will be finished and she will finally be able to come home.

Both Megan and Grady talked about their faith that the Gulf Coast would be reborn into something greater than it was before.

Despite their experiences, both of them believe that the utter devastation was, itself, a catalyst for the Gulf Coast’s renewal.

They described people and communities coming together to collaborate in ways that would never have been possible before the storm.

Their enthusiasm and hope were contagious.

I found myself swept up in it, and felt part of something larger than myself.

In so many ways, I am so grateful.

Jessica K., Atlanta, Georiga

Mr T. Goes to Maine

2007-09-19T22:31:00.000-06:00

For those of you that have come to know and love Mr. Thornton, I'm hoping you'll be happy to read this posting.

Pat Thornton has spent the past couple of days with me inbetween Mississippi and Maine, telling me repeatedly that this week has been the greatest week of his life. Pat spent the weekend sharing his incredible story with the folks from Food Network for a show Dinner: Impossible. For those of you that have already heard his story, you know what I'm talking about. If you don't know, you better ask somebody.

Then on Tuesday, I was given the honor of taking Pat with me to Kennebunkport, ME, for an event with former President George H.W. Bush, that is hoping to gain the support of a group of corporations, foundations, and philanthropists for our newly merged organization, Points of Light & Hands On Network. Pat was given the simple task of sharing his story with a few big shots, and laying on his incomparable southern charm in this beautiful area of the country.

The first day for Pat was a little overwhelming. This was the first time the guy had been on a plane since returning from Vietnam, so it was a little different for him, but he was definitely excited. Seeing him grinning from ear to ear while leaning over his cabin window is an absolute joy. When we arrived in New Hampshire it quickly became apparent Pat was a little out of his element. While stopping at an ATM machine for the ridiculous number of toll roads in New Hampshire, Pat thought it was ok to light up one of his cigars inside a gas station and was quickly reprimanded. "You can't do that anywhere in this state!" said the grumpy clerk. I felt like telling her to piss off, but chose to concentrate on ensuring Pat had a good time. Naturally, he was a little upset, but after I put on a Ray Charles CD in the car, he quickly perked up again and began to feel at home. Listening to him singing along, telling me stories of the days he used to be in the band the Rockin' Rebels, and how as a young boy an old, blind black guy with no legs taught him how to play a mean guitar, it makes you realize how important the simple things are. "Music can be therapuetic," says Pat. I never really understood that until now.

Pat spent Wednesday morning exploring, resting, enjoying Maine, and thinking a lot about Sandy and how happy she would be to see all of this. Later in the day, Pat shared his story with President Bush at their home at Walker's Point, also known as "The Compound" to the locals. He told me that the whole time he was thinking to himself "what you think you're doing here boy?", but that those feelings quickly wore off after President Bush spoke to him and "made me feel right at home." He got to take some pictures with George and Babs and explore the home that has been in the Bush family for generations.

At dinner later that evening, Mr. T shared his story in detail with everybody in attendance. He basically everyone fall in love with him, and understandably there was not a dry eye in the room. He described his struggles through Hurricane Camille, and later with the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. He talked about how he and Sandy tried to do all they could themselves, but what they really needed was a little help to get them over the hump. Enter Hands On volunteers like Luc Lamarche and Brian "Deubs", who invested countless hours to get them back into their home. He talked about the joy that still resonated through that home today because of the volunteers who had worked on his home. He spoke of the happiness of his wife Sandy, when she finally got to see what her restored home looked like. "Hands On volunteers made her dreams come true, and how many people get to see their dreams come true in life?" he said.

Later that evening, Pat and I took a moment to reflect on the day's events over a bottle of Heinekken and he told me how proud he thought Sandy would be. "I talked to her earlier - she told me to take a bath before going to meet the President!" he joked. "But I know she would be proud of me, and I know she is here with us now," he said. It was a happy time for Pat. He helped make another of Sandy's dreams come true that day by helping to thank the people who help us continue this important work.

For me, Pat and Sandy represented a profound sense of hope. A restored belief in the power of love. Whenever you see two high school sweethearts that are still flirting with one another, gazing at each other like teenagers, and truly in love with one another after 43 years of marriage its a special thing. When you see that a love like that can transcend time and space, that the love two people shared for a lifetime can still be obvious to everyone, even after Sandy is gone, it will make you realize what's important, and what is simply not worth worrying about.

Quite simply it is an honor call Pat Thornton my friend.

Check out some pictures from our trip on the HOGC Flickr site...

Ethel Moves In

2007-09-10T20:06:00.000-06:00

This past weekend, Ms. Ethel Curry finally moved into her house. Just over two years have passed since Katrina Ethel's old home away. Nine months have passed since Hands On began working. Nothing would have been possible without Guiding Light's generous support.

From the framing stages of the house where we had to replace practically every piece of wood to the last days of touching up paint on patches of dry wall, the crews of dedicated volunteers cycled through Ethel's. Brian, Quincy, John Wildeman, Robyn, Marj, and Brannon are among the many who lent their particular skills to turning a gutted skeleton of a building into a warm, inviting home.

The day of the move in was a typically warm day in Southern Mississippi, sun shining and dark clouds amassing on the horizon. No worries, though, inside the house it is cozy and spacious, fully furnished. Waiting for friends and family to fill it up.

Guiding Light cast members Beth Chamberlin and Rob Bogue were on hand to walk Ms. Ethel through her house while Jan Conklin and Janet filmed it. Beth and Rob both remembered that Ms. Ethel said she used to always have a pot of coffee on for folks who dropped in for a visit. When Ms. Ethel walked through her kitchen, they pointed out the coffee maker, just waiting for Ms. Ethel to turn it on. Personally, I think Rob just wanted some coffee ;)

We celebrate when each of the residents we helped move into their homes. Sometimes the celebrations are big, sometimes small. Regardless of how many folks we have come celebrate, it's always emotional. I think seeing Ms. Ethel move in was particularly special for us because we've been at her house for so long, making sure everything was perfect for her and the boys.

Eddie, Sheli, and Brian were just as overcome with emotion as Ms. Ethel. Anyone who has come down and worked on one of our building projects knows that there's a deep bond that forms between the crews and the home owners who live in their FEMA trailers nearby. It's not just anyone we're putting into their home, this was Ms. Ethel.

I was happy to be there to share the moment. Being in an administrative role means I don't get out to see all the great work our volunteers and AmeriCorps members do each day. These special occassions serve to allow me to connect with them, their work, and the residents of Biloxi.

Ms. Ethel, I hope that's a great coffee maker because I think you're going to have a steady stream of Hands On folks stopping by for that ever-full pot-o'-coffee.

:: Chris ::

2nd Anniversary

2007-08-29T20:28:00.000-06:00

29 August 2007 marked the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's landfall, which washed away the lives of residents all along the Gulf Coast. From Waveland to Pascagoula, sunrise and sunset services remembered the past and departed while focusing our attention on the future and hope.

I went to the sunrise service in Waveland. On the horizon, clouds hung lazily in the air, a textured canvas upon which the sun's early rays could paint softly shifting hues of purples, reds, oranges, and yellows. As the sun gently shed it's light on those gathered, representatives from the Muslim, Buddhist, Christian, and Jewish communities led us through prayers and reflections.

The Total Experience Gospel Choir, a group from Seattle, sang. Pastor Patrinell “Pat” Wright's voice was beautiful - crystal clear, strong, full of soul, moving. The harmony of the choir, coupled with her solo, were perfect accompaniment to the service and the perfect way to begin a day of remembrance. Rather than create our own memorial services, we as Hands On Gulf Coast, decided to participate in the memorials occuring along the coast. Instead, we slowed the pace of work to allow our folks to reflect on the impact of the storm, progress since then, and work left to do.

~ xx ~ xx ~ xx ~

As I drove from the service in Waveland, I saw the still empty lots, overgrown with weeds whose rapid growth, fueled by semi-tropical sun and abundant rain, gave the appearance of encroaching jungle . The sight of their emptiness and their inactivity starkly contrasted to the glitz of Biloxi's casinos and the bustle of Gulfport's commerce along Highway 49.

Though I drive often through the devastated neighborhoods of East Biloxi, I am still amazed at the difference in progress between Biloxi and Waveland. Whereas Biloxi shows the beehive-like activity of paid construction workers and volunteer crews building and rebuilding, Waveland shows an eerie, serene quiet of aquiescense to forces beyond the average citizen's control.

Waveland is not as blessed with gaming revenue or major employers, so as a poorer community it loses in the recovery efforts. They are easily neglected and have the fewest resources available to start recovery, much less keep it moving. I think that's why it's important for folks like us to continue volunteering. Our presence on the Gulf Coast shows residents in the neighborhoods with the greatest needs that someone still cares and someone will still help.

Our presence gives residents hope to carry on the slow, laborious process of rebuilding. Though we, as volunteers, may not be able to solve every problem, we as citizens can keep policy makers and government officials focused on the problems of neglect and poor recovery to ensure that the Gulf is rebuilt.

Integral to the rebuilding efforts are the countless volunteers who gave freely of their time, money, and compassion to lend a hand. Thank you to all who have served on the Gulf Coast and thank you to all who will serve on the Gulf Coast.

BB @ JHB

2007-07-21T21:00:00.002-06:00

Some of you might think BB is shorthand for blackberry, but luckily, that's not what I'm writing about now. No, instead I'm talking about basketball at John Henry Beck Park in East Biloxi.

I don't play it and I don't watch it or follow it. But I certainly support what's going on in the park. A couple of our folks and former folks decided that it would be a great idea to start a league that uses the park. Kids from the surrounding neighborhood could come out to learn about the game and play. While getting the kids out to play ball, it also shows the courts are being used and that they shouldn't be torn down.

So with that as a back drop, I've dropped by twice now to see Dan and Eddie Sherman, Becca, Mike Grote, Caitlin Sherman, John Wildeman (also related to the Shermans) and others all leading kids in drills and scrimages. There are kids of all ages out there on the court. I think the youngest are 9 and the oldest are 17 (maybe it's 16). Either way, it's all about the kids on the court having a great Saturday morning.

Dan runs the teen program at the Boys and Girls club, so he's got some connections with the kids. Two weeks ago when I was talking with him about the practices, he said a lot of the kids don't know the basics of the game. They shoot, they dribble, and they're athletic, but they don't really understand the structure and the basics. When Dan learned to play, he learned through drills and scrimages. I figured the kids would just want to play, but no, they're really interested in beefing up their skills.

Eddie is just a competitive guy who can't not play. Of course he runs drills, but he's right there in the thick of things playing with big and little kids alike. It's pretty cool to see them all - Hands On folks and residents - out on the court.

I think it again illustrates the powerful impact we have on the place that we work. Here we are on the weekend in a rough section of town, playing ball with the kids. They have some place safe and structured to go on Saturday morning that's fun, educational, and interesting. It also illustrates what happens when folks have an idea and put it into action. Dan and Eddie decided the kids would love the opportunity to play, the park has a court, so voila ... just add some basketballs and you have a great story.

I'm proud and excited for what we do here. Though it's simple, it's important. It helps bring back the semblance of life that existed before Katrina. That's what this is all about.

Points of Light Conference, Philadelphia

2007-07-18T20:56:00.001-06:00

So, I was in Philadelphia, the city of brotherly (and sisterly) love, this past week. Points of Light held its annual conference in the heart of the historic city, at the conference center. There were lots of presentations to attend, but I wasn’t able to attend many of them. I spent my time working with Caitlin Brooking to finish the presentation I was supposed to give, with Kellie from Hands On New Orleans, on keeping volunteers engaged in Long-Term recovery.

It was actually a lot of fun to talk about how to keep volunteers motivated and think about long-term recovery in a different light than the traditional building. I wasn’t able to present because I needed to get to New Orleans for the announcement of a partnership between Absolut and Hands On Gulf Coast. More to come on that later.

The conference seemed like a great opportunity to network with folks. I was most happy talk with John from Kaiser about a trip he’d like the Kaiser folks to do to the Gulf in February. Otherwise, there was catching up with the Atlanta staff and experiencing the city.
Overall, it was a good experience and I think both Sara and Caitlin got a lot out of the trip. Sara attended some interesting sessions, while Caitlin was able to present, something she was quite excited to do.

The Merger

2007-07-16T20:51:00.001-06:00

The merger between Hands On Network and Points of Light Foundation was announced on Monday, 16 July 2007. The announcement came at the opening session of the Points of Light Conference entitled, “The Power of We”. It comes as a positive development given all the time folks in Atlanta have put into exploring whether a merger is possible.

The two organizations expect to operate as a merged entity beginning 1 August, 2007. Within 100 days, both organizations expect to settle some final questions about how to operate together.

What does that mean for Hands On Gulf Coast? The work we do shouldn’t change much. Most folks won’t even notice the difference. I think the staff will notice a difference because there will be new administrative procedures to learn, new people to meet, and new ways of doing business.

As far as coming to visit and volunteer, those opportunities will still be here. If you want to keep abreast of merger details, you can look at the blog http://handsonpointsoflight.wordpress.com/.

I will certainly keep you posted here how the merger affects us here in the Gulf.

Hands On Olympics

2007-07-14T21:33:00.000-06:00

On 14 July, 2007, the first ever Hands On Gulf Coast Olympics were held at John Henry Beck Park. The entire AmeriCorps program and staff were divided into colored teams and given the challenge of coming up with uniforms and the drive to win.

In the morning, no crews went out while they prepared elaborate costumes of make up, plastic, spray paint, capes, and hair spray. The effects were amazing. We had Tighty Whities (with underwear on their heads), the Blue Surges (including Neptune with a trident), Proceed with Caution (... or was it slippery when wet? either way, they yellow folks wrapped in caution tape), Red or Dead (a bunch of zombies, including a kilt-wearing ghoul), Purple Reign (including Prince), Brown (they were potty humor), Silver (not sure what their theme was), and the Irish Car Bombs (the green team lead by 'McBoon').

The games began prompty at 2pm under cloudy skies, threat of severe thunderstorms, damaging hail, and gusty winds. In my role as 'safety first, party pooper', I had to make the announcement that safety comes first and I might metaphorically rain on the parade if the conditions get really bad. Luckily, my fears proved unfounded. The competitors wanted glory and the weather cooperated.

If I had called off the event, we all would have missed out on the dizzy bat relay, water balloon toss, barn yard buddies, obstacle course, tug of war, three-legged race, water melon eating contest, and the chubby bunny.

Each team shined in their own way. Though poor performers, the Read Or Dead had lots of spirit. Green did well with the water ballon toss. And the Blue team just looked the best with their tattered clothes and wind swept hair.

Alan Petz was the main judge and coordinator of the event, even though the Olympics were the brain child of Caitlin Sherman (yes, the sister of Dan {The Dan on the chore board} and Eddie Sherman {construction manager}) and Tim Boon (family friend of the Shermans). If I can digrees for a second, the Shermans win for family involvement - brothers, sister, and cousin are all here for an extended period of time. That's pretty awesome for us and Biloxi!

Back to the competition, my favorite event was the obstacle course. Folks had to run through tubes, slalom the swings, run around a tree, under the new shade structure, and then slide into home on a slip and slide. By the time we got to this event, it was raining, but not so hard that it made the event a pain or dangerous.

The most disgusting event was chubby bunny. I had never heard of it before, but it consists of stuffing marshmellows in your mouth, one at a time, and saying 'Chubby Bunny'. The person with the most marshmellows in the mouth, who can still understandably say the phrase, wins. By the end, there were gobs of marshmellow dribbling down folks' mouths. The taste must have been gross. Tasia won with 27 marshmellows. Yes, 27. She didn't just win, she egged on the other finalist, Robyn, with 'Go ahead, use two hands.' Robyn struggled to keep the marshmellows in, but Tasia could smack talk. Now that's impressive.

To top it all off, the new NCCC team arrived. Hooray! So, it was a great day with fantastic participation from everyone. Every once in a while, we need to cut loose and have a fun day to ourselves.

Great job Tim Boon and Caitlin Sherman for organizing it. Thanks everyone for the spirit and energy you all put into the games. We'll see you next year at the 2nd Annual Hands On Olympics, Alumni Edition.

Recovery, etc.

2007-07-12T20:39:00.000-06:00

I'm working on a presentation for the Points of Light Conference that I'm supposed to attend next week. A little partnership agreement with Absolut (yes, the spirits company) has altered my plans, but I'm still doing the research on the state of recovery along the Gulf Coast. You'd think that with my job as the director, I'd be the most informed about recovery.

I'd like to dispel that myth. I do know quite a bit, but I rarely have time to sit and read the reports that folks write. My job is to make sure there's food in the pantry, money to buy materials for projects, health insurance is taken care of, and more. I also am charged with helping to make the organization sustainable both fiscally and mentally (ha, ha, terrible play on words).

So, this presentation, which is about keeping volunteers engaged in long-term recovery is an opportunity to raise the awareness at a national level about the needs of the post-Katrina Gulf Coast, provides me an excuse to work late and spend a lot of time reading documents about the state of recovery.

One interesting report I found is the following from the Rockefellar Institute of Government. It provides a broad overview of recovery, now 18 months underway, across Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi. Some areas have experienced explosive growth, while others whither under poor management and staggering losses. You can read the full report here.

Another interesting blog site is now permanently linked to our web page. It's called Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch. The Institute for Southern Studies, out of Durham, NC, pulled together a team to keep up with the pace and condition of Katrina and Rita recovery. I just looked through the board of advisors for the site and it includes Julian Bond, who is a Distinguished Professor at American University and a Professor of History at University of Virginia (go Hoos!!) and (not least) Chairman of the National Board of Directors for the NAACP. So, all that's to say, it seems to me to be a credible blog for covering recovery and the social justice side of things.

So, stay informed like I'm doing. Read the blogs, read the reports, and don't forget what's going on in Washington affects what happens down here.

:: Chris ::

AmeriCorps - Round 3

2007-07-11T08:38:00.000-06:00

So the Hands On Gulf Coast AmeriCorps program is in full swing. This week marks our third orientation period, with roughly 20 new members!!!!

Last night was the first team meeting for current and new members to meet one another. Talk about an amazing site. There were roughly 50 people in the room, all AmeriCorps members, working in some way shape or form to rebuild the Gulf Coast.

I have to give a huge shout out to Sara, Caitlin, and Sheli who run the program. They've managed to assemble an amazing array of people to work in areas as diverse as building, youth engagements, arts, trail building, community outreach, and volunteer management. AmeriCorps members comes from the community and come from all over the country. We have partners in Biloxi, Gulfport, and Bay St. Louis.

What amazes me most is the potential of the folks in the room. One member recently came to Caitlin and told her that she wants to start a non-profit focusing on the services that women need when they are victims of domestic violence. This is a direct result of the work that AmeriCorps has enabled her to do.

Other folks have learned to build houses and are off doing that now. Still others have moved from AmeriCorps positions with Hands On to permanent employment in and around Biloxi. Dan went to the Boys and Girls Club. Karissa went to manage a grant looking at women in construction. Anne has a job at the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum.

This year has been great. Next year will be better. As a staff we've learned a lot about AmeriCorps and we're formulating our plan for engaging the community and community partners. I'm excited about the possibilities that the AmeriCorps program provides the members and the work it enables in the community.

The 4th and Energy

2007-07-06T10:13:00.000-06:00

During the week of the 4th, Hands On slowed down. To give the AmeriCorps members and volunteer leaders a break, we closed to short-term volunteers on the 4th and 5th. For the entire week, we had maybe one or two volunteers, so the base was pretty empty.

It was weird to come into work in the morning and see no one around. There were no folks huddled around the back awning getting their morning smoke. There were no cars lined up ready to go to work. The few people eating breakfast in the morning were swallowed up by the empty, cavernous main room.

On the 4th, a couple folks hosted barbecues. There was one at Eddie and Sheli's, one at Sara and Caitlin's, and one over at Doug's. Folks kinda migrated between the festivities, before migrating to the beach for fireworks. I was exhausted, so I passed on the fireworks display.

I heard it was a little wild. Lots of folks on the beach, drunk, with explosives in their hands. Sounds like a recipe for disaster. This was the entire beach and the entire population that turned out for the fireworks display off the west end of Deer Island. I even heard about the ridiculousness from my landlord.

Thursday was nice and chill, too. Still, one of the comments I heard when we returned to work this week was that it was good to have people around. There's a certain energy that comes with all of the people who come into the building. Though there are often complaints about long-term volunteers not making short-term volunteers feel welcome, I don't think the relationship is as simple as that.

When we all come down here to serve, the folks who are here for a short time bring energy that reinvigorates all of us. I'm not a psychologist, but I can see how simply coming down to work helps keep our long-term volunteers going. The trip to the Gulf helps validate the commitments we have all made to rebuilding the coast. We're sorta like the residents. Simply being here shows you care and that's really important to us.

Perhaps with many of us now living off base and having been here almost a year, we are like the residents. Though we're only temporary, we're still residents. The psychological impact we have on long-time residents is the same the short-term volunteers have on us.

So, keep the energy up. As I write this, I know I've mixed my audiences between everyone and those who aren't going to volunteer with us until they grow mold. For the short-time volunteers, keep coming. We need you. The Gulf Coast needs you. For the long-time volunteers, keep it up. What you do day in and day out is impressive both from the physical accomplishments and the psychological impact of bringing hope to those who have little.

Collected Random Thoughts

2007-07-01T11:01:00.000-06:00

I have been meaning to get back to the blog for a long time. Ever since Carrie O'Neil left back in March, I wanted to write something about her departure. Now, three months later and about 15 people later, there are a lot more departures to write about. The most recent departures were Molly and Anne, preceded by George, Tosh, Heath, Luc, Falcon, Michelle Hamburger, Kate Magro, Ali McLean, Karissa (to ECD), Dan (to B&G Club), Elly (to the church), Guillermo (to ECD Hope) and others whose names are not coming to me right now.

The departure of so many people changes the nature of the place. Though it's sad to see our friends go, we know they're going on to do great things in other places. The experiences we have here at Hands On serve us well in meeting the challenges of our next big adventures, whether that's building a house, taking a road trip, going to a yoga retreat, or going to Africa.

I know that everyone who comes down to volunteer leaves changed by the experience they have here. The community of volunteers, the need in the Gulf, and the impact of the work transform people. I think the folks who chose to stay longer, or were able to stay longer, walked away with life enriching experiences that will guide them into the future. In whatever endeavor they undertake, they will excel.

Though we lose great friends, the world gains movers and shakers. As Kate said before she left, this is just the beginning.

To focus solely on those who have departed misses those who are still here and continue to grow and contribute. There have also been a spate of one-year anniversaries - Brian Deubert, Sara Hamilton, Marj R. (don't want to misspell your last name :)), Kristen Kernan, and Brannon Weeks to name a few.

Their dedication and the dedication of the new AmeriCorps members and long-term volunteers who work at Hands On continues to help the organization grown in its mission and its capability to serve residents of the Gulf Coast. The dedication of our long-time volunteers, AmeriCorps members, and staff cements Hands On as a go-to organization in the minds of the state, county, local, and neighborhoods governments and citizens.

This past week, Faith from the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund came for a sight visit to see how their grant money was being spent. The Fund gave Hands On money to match the AmeriCorps grant we received from the state. In return, we named six Bush-Clinton Fellows who come from diverse backgrounds ranging from local residents to recent college grads. For Faith's site visit, we had a round-table discussion with the Fellows.

It was reassuring and reinvigorating to hear how Hands On has provided these folks leadership and personal development opportunities that they would never have otherwise had. Each person had an overwhelming sense of having found purpose in volunteer service and having gained so much from the opportunity to live and work in the Gulf.

If I had a better memory, I would intersperse quotes that folks made. All I can relay is the overwhelming sense of pride that I felt and that Sara, Caitlin, Sheli, Eddie, and everyone else must feel when they hear the folks they mentor say what an impact Hands On has had in their lives and in the trajectory of their lives. We all have had a hand in shaping where each other is going. That's the great part of this volunteer community.

With that, I'll wrap up my random Sunday morning - now afternoon - thoughts. Every work place has its challenges and frustrations. Sometimes we get wrapped up in the set backs and let our anger build. It just takes a day at the park, listening to volunteers talk about their experience, or just chatting with folks on the work site to realize this is an awesome place that gives folks opportunities they would never have elsewhere.

Animal Rescue Update

2007-05-29T11:28:00.000-06:00

Due to my lack of public speaking skills I thought it would be beneficial to start blogging more often about my work. About a week ago John "Wild Man" Wildeman and myself went on a 22 hour animal transport to Denver, Colorado where they would be picked up and driven to Seattle to finish out their journey. It was probably the most stressful and chaotic one to date. The animals were provided by the Waveland Animal Shelter and the LSPCA. The conditions of the Waveland Shelter have always been a topic of interest when conversing with other animal rescuers so I prepared myself for the worst possible situations. We were able to transport 61 animals out of MS and LA which is fantastic (it would have been 62 but we lost a 5 week old kitten mid transport due to reasons unknown). Unfortunately, most of the transport had acquired either kennel cough or upper respiratory infections which was something I had expected since most of the animals I was given had started out the trip sick. Other than that the remaining 61 had made it to Seattle safely and were given another chance at finding loving owners. This transport left me a little more disheartened about my work but at the same time inspired to continue my pursuit to make a difference.

On a lighter note, currently I am fostering three puppies and five kittens of all different ages. The puppies were sort of a "gift" from the Waveland shelter when they were trying to transport them even though they were showing signs of Parvo. However, only one of them tested positive for parvo and was treated immediately. So hopefully the other two remain healthy because parvo is a rather pricey treatment. The pups are going to be transported to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida where I am positive they will be adopted out in the first week... they're adorable.
Two of the kittens that I'm fostering were found at Ms. Ethel's by Quincy. After a bath and an hour of brier and tick pulling they are doing well and will start in a foster home next week. Then there's stegosaurus who is a 3 week old kitten I've been bottle feeding since she was 2 days. She's louder than ever but she's alive and will be having her first doctors visit sometime this week. Lastly, I still have Sid Vicious and the Beast two kittens from the litter of five I bottle fed. They're adjusting pretty well to living in a house and they received their first vaccinations last week. Hopefully I can find them homes sometime soon but they might have to be transported up North if nothing else.

With Black Puppy, Marley, and Frankenstein to top off the bunch we've got quite the house full. There's never a dull moment...

TNR is going...well, it's never been the most interesting topic but... I've been wrangling some cats so.. that's cool. As for our disaster preparedness program I've been fighting through it and hopefully I will have a better grasp of things in the weeks to come.

I'll keep you posted.

A Day on the Water

2007-03-22T22:15:00.000-06:00

As the Director of Hands On Gulf Coast, I don't often get the opportunity to spend an entire day working in the field. Usually, there is the crisis du jour to attend to, or there's a very real need to address administrative issues so the organization can continue to operate.

Last week, Anne Kotleba, asked me if I wanted to come to her most recent project. She has been working with Gulf Shores National Seashore in Ocean Springs, MS for the past couple weeks. She and others have led groups of volunteers to rebuild picnic tables, put in grills, rebuild fence line, and put signs on some of the islands to warn visitors of nesting birds. The Rangers and Resource managers love us for what our volunteers have done.

Today I finally took the entire day to participate in the service that all our volunteers get to do. Though it was a pretty light day of work - we just put a few flags into the sand to mark a trail and watched the rangers put two metal sheets on two separate trees to keep raccoons from being able to climb into the osprey nests and eat the eggs - I had a great time. More importantly, I relearned something.

The rangers were ecstatic that we were out there helping. Gary Hopkins, a 20+ year veteran of Gulf Shores, wanted to know how he could keep the volunteers flowing. Awesome. Sounds like a perfect opportunity for local volunteers to plug in. More interestingly, he and Tom were just so happy to be a month ahead of schedule. As volunteer work goes, we didn't do much, really. It was a super chill day for the four of us out there. For Gary and Tom, it was a productive day beyond their wildest imagination.

Their reaction makes me think about the impact of our service. Even the tasks that seem insignificant can have such a huge impact on the morale of the folks receiving them. I think this is an important lesson to keep in mind as we all try to help residents of the Gulf Coast recover from the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina.

For every volunteer who turns their nose up at work with the Salvation Army, the Humane Society, the Boys and Girls Club, or de-molding, remember that your service has an invisible impact on those who receive it. All the work we do for the communities along the Gulf Coast is aids in the recovery. Every little bit helps. It's amazing how a little caring and effort goes such a long way to raise spirits and provide hope.

I relearned that important lesson today.

Tikkun Olam (to repair the world)

2007-03-18T06:29:00.000-06:00

David here, from Bridge to Biloxi (Concord, Massachusetts) with a few words that Kate suggested that I post. My wife (Beth) and two of my kids (Jake and Lily) came to HOGC in January - it was my 60th birthday, and I asked them to come and work here with me for a week as a way of marking the occasion. I had been to HOGC previously, and I knew that they would be inspired by the work that's going on in Biloxi. Before we left, I wrote a few words to share during the time, after dinner, when those who are leaving say good-bye:

"I want to say a big thank you to the long-term volunteers and staff for creating this incredible place and all the structure that goes with it – organizing the projects and pulling together the tools, supplies, and money that make all this good work possible. There’s an important principle in Judaism – it’s a commandment of Jewish law – called Tikkun Olam. Tikkun Olam means to repair the world. The Talmud says: “It is not up to you to finish the work, yet you are not free to avoid it.” No one can fix it all; but we all have a part to play. What’s going on down here could not be more important as an example of Tikkun Olam.

"I say that for three reasons. First, of course, it makes a huge impact in repairing the lives of the people that receive help from Hands On.

"Second, it makes a huge impact on the volunteers, repairing our hope and giving us all a taste of what is possible when people share a vision and a common purpose and learn how to work together.

"Finally, it repairs the wider world. The broken homes and broken lives that lay in the wake of Katrina were not caused entirely by the storm. Gutting these mold-encrusted houses reveals what ramshackle affairs many of them are. Their sad condition is a legacy of the racism and poverty in this country – a culture that says it’s OK for the poor to live in houses that are nearly falling apart, that are vulnerable to severe weather. Katrina peeled back the veneer that hid this neglect from our collective view. I believe that the work that’s going on down here tells the wider world that broken houses and broken lives are not acceptable, regardless of whether the damage was caused by hurricane, massive societal neglect, or both.

"So when I come to Biloxi, I remember Tikkun Olam. Healing the world: it’s not just a good idea – it’s the law."

The Master

2007-03-13T20:52:00.000-06:00

We love Guillermo for many reasons: his brilliance at organizing music tournaments; his dazzling intellectual feat of managing a massive mold study; his willingness to reflect, reconsider, and stand up for what he believes is right.

... (around 10am)

Today, we had a bit of a crisis panic. The Internet went dead. Not new in Biloxi. In the past, thunderstorms have disrupted the DSL signal. But now, the phone lines were out, too. The Church's phones were out too. Sounds pretty mysterious.

One of the trusty NCCC members, Brian (?), called Bell South and had a technician come out to investigate. We looked around and saw that the beautiful patch of sand that is supposed to become a green house for Karissa, had a new, deeply dug trench. On either side of the trench was a black cable with wires in it.

... (around 2pm)

Guillermo comes to knock on my door. "I cut the cable this morning when I was digging," he said with a smile on his face. "In the future, could you let the front office know, so we can deal with it?" "I didn't put it together until 10 minutes ago. I was digging in the garden, then went inside. The Internet was down, so I gave Eddie a call to go out to lunch. It didn't dawn on me the digging and the Internet being down were related." He said it with such an amused smile, it was hard to be anything but amused by the story.

Brilliant Guillermo analyzes mold data and uses random number generators to order aspects of the music tournaments. Brilliant Guillermo didn't realize the chopped cable and the lack of Internet were related.

To his credit, who puts a critical cable about 3in under the surface of the ground? Ah well, life at Hurricane Camp ... never a dull moment!

A day in the office

2007-03-13T08:08:00.001-06:00

It’s quieter than usual in the office. Everyone’s here. Sue’s been making calls yelling at crew leaders about their delinquent receipts, Brian and Erin are solid as the new NCCC admins. And Kate’s here of course.

It’s just that she can’t speak.

But that’s not stopping her.

White board in hand she directs me, Erin, Sue, Brian, and Dan, scribbling notes as we guess the question before it’s written, or interpret facial expressions. It’s Dan though, who is really the key component in Kate’s communication. He answers her cell phone “Hi, Mom!,” flirts with crew leaders when they call the office number, and curses for her on cue, when something inevitably goes wrong. Another highlight occurred at the dinner meeting, when Dan spoke for Kate in her barrage of announcements, including the spring break classic “Ladies! No tampons in the toilets! I’m a woman, I get it!” as he hid behind a table.

Having Kate mute simply makes the amount of work she does for this organization more obvious. She has claimed the Board of Work, a 4x6 white board out of commission during spring break, to keep a huge to-do list. The top of it reads “Kate’s War Board – AKA I Will Win,” it lists the number of emails to answer (157), work to complete for night classes, and a variety of other reminders, including to sleep. As the true Queen of Spring, she is not letting a little laryngitis get in the way of managing over 100 spring breakers.

So, as Brian and Erin practice their telepathy, people with perfectly good voices find themselves feeling the need to whisper their responses, and everyone feels a little closer to Kate as they complete her sentences… the office goes on.

Elizabeth (the) Falcon

Week One: Tuff Stuff Challenge 2007

2007-03-13T07:40:00.000-06:00

Based on the wise wits of Dan “Sarg” and the insightful add libs of Kate and Kahl a new Hands On test of will has begun. Tuff Stuff Challenge 2007 unites the physical challenges of completing 2000 push ups, crunches, and/or pull ups (PCP’s) within a 6 day span, with the mental aspect of memorizing 7 facts about Biloxi and hurricane Katrina.

The task has had a rippling effect, causing groups of people to randomly drop to do push ups and crunches mid conversation, while this may not seem too kosher it has thus far been a positive integration into the Hands On environment by giving long-termers and short-termers a common cause off of the work site. While William and Mary currently have the lead against the long-termers, Ithaca is questioning whether or not they have any tuff stuff in them at all.

- Erin aka Kahl

International Women's Day strikes Beck Park

2007-03-13T07:12:00.000-06:00

Thanks to Chris for the shout out to International Women's Day!

I was a little nervous going in, never knowing what to expect at events in East Biloxi. The last event I had done with Coastal Women for Change was the NAACP radiothon, and attendance was less than expected. So I wasn't sure what to make of the fact that Sharon was telling me she was getting calls from across the coast from women interested in coming out.

Maybe I should back up.

About a month ago I met with Sharon, president of Coastal Women for Change, an East Biloxi women's group founded after the storm to address the new set of needs, and proposed to her an idea I had been carrying around basically since I had joined thier group... to hold the first ever International Women's Day (IWD) celebration, bringing together residents and volunteers for a day of fun and activities. When I talked to Sharon, she jumped on it. Within a week I was getting emails from her and the groups she was inviting. We planned performers, vendors, and educational tables to come out to Beck Park, the Saturday after IWD, March 10. Through these emails we learned that there had been one previous Women's Day celebrations in MS; last year a group had held an event in Jackson. We were still the first to bring it to the Coast.

I wanted to celebrate on March 8th, the day celebrated around the world. It was a Thursday, so not well suited for a community event, but there are many women in East Biloxi who sit in their FEMA trailers all day, who won't be able to make it to an event in the park, so on March 8th, 100 potted plants in hand, volunteers from Hands On and CWC set out door-to-door to find women in the community and give them a token of our appreciation. I think both volunteers and residents had a great day!

So back to Saturday. With an army of NCCC ladies, I loaded up the car with tables, sound system, and toys for kids to head out to Beck Park. Karissa was there with her community gardeners, watering plants and handing out seeds. Although it started out slow, by mid-day and lunchtime, there was a strong showing of East Biloxi residents and Hands On volunteers enjoying the perfect spring weather, eating in the grass, and talking to the the different tables. CWC was selling thier first round of t-shirts, and they looked great, even on Darnell of the American Friends Service Committee. Many people could be seen with the reflecting house numbers that Triad was giving out, or buttons from the ACLU.

All in all, a good time was had by all.

I think for me, the best part was just being able to hand out with my friends - the members of CWC and other community members - and just catch up while we sat in the sun.

Sharon was also pleased with the event, and is already talking about making this an annual event.

I think that's a great idea.

March - 1st Week In Review 2007

2007-03-11T10:14:00.000-06:00

The first week of March Madness 2007 seems to have finished with smashing success. Though there were a challenges, they were nothing out of the ordinary that derailed our steady momentum of getting stuff done in East Biloxi. What were some of the highlights for me? Let's see if I can remember:

Tana - So, we had Tana from Atlanta come down at the beginning of the week to help facilitate some meetings and provide some training for the staff. Some of us met her in early February and thought it would be great for her to come down to see life in Biloxi and help us work on team building, leadership development, and effective communication. Tana delivered. Her experience and skill at getting to the root of issues was just what we needed.
Spring Break - And so March Madness 2007 begins. Molly, Elizabeth (Falcon), Sue, and Kate all put tremendous effort into preparing for Spring Break. Molly spent countless hours planning service and meals. Falcon spent her time thinking about how to engage the college groups in reflection sessions and tell them how to take home what they've experienced down here. Sue worked to have the base ready for the Spring Breakers and order food. Kate worked her operations magic, in addition to ensuring the beds and tents and t-shirts were all squared away. By all appearances, things have gone smoothly. Great job team!!!
Caitlin - Our second AmeriCorps Program Coordinator arrived to us from Boston on Tuesday 6 March. Fantastic! She comes with lots of community service experience, a vision for the world, a smile on her face, and a fresh perspective on how to help the AmeriCorps Program maximize its impact. I'm excited about Caitlin, and I know Sara's thrilled to have her on the team.
AmeriCorps Member Development - We had the first member development session this Friday. Though orientation was just last week, we need to get into the routine of every other week. From what I could hear and see, the session went well. Friday afternoons are tough time because folks are tired from a week of work, but hopefully they provide some closure for the service spent in the community. One glitch was on my side of things. I had worked to get everyone handsongulfcoast.org email addresses. Come to find out not all the passwords were properly setup ... ugh. Back to the trouble ticket system.
Gulf Islands National Seashore - Anne and Erin lead a team of intrepid park-bench, put'er togetherers to Gulf Islands Nat'l Seashore in Ocean Springs. Anne wandered out there one day, made some inquiries about work, and voila. A perfect opportunity to be outdoors during March in Mississippi. Talk about fantastic. Folks g0t to put together park benches and make fire pits. By all accounts, a great project and a great way for Hands On to help the Gulf Coast, literally.
Education Meeting - A highlight for me was meeting with a roomful of folks - Ali, Anne, Sara, Sarah (a VISTA from MGCCC), Will, and Caitlin - to talk about how we're going to do more for educational programs along the Gulf. We talked about the programs we're already doing - Boys & Girls Club support, tutoring, mural projects, etc. - and we talked about how to expand our impact in this area. A constant theme through the discussions was the need to determine what organizations are already doing along the Gulf Coast. A couple of the exciting thoughts that came from the meeting were creating outdoor education experiences and putting together a science lab for Nichols elementary.
Timber Framing Course - in Alabama ... A couple weeks ago, Mike, came to volunteer with Hands On. He loved what we were doing, so Mike offered Eddie, the construction manager, a spot in the timber framing course Mike was teaching in Alabama. Though it is Spring Break and we pretty much need all available leaders for the crews, we managed to let Eddie and Brian get to the class. They learned so much, had a great experience, and really got some folks excited about coming down to volunteer. Mike is apparently super excited about the prospect of building a timber-frame house from the ground up. What is a timber framed house? According to timberframe.org, a timber framed house "is a specialized version of timber post and beam that is built like furniture, utilizing wood joinery such as mortise and tenon, held in place with wooden pegs." Regardless of the technical definitions, Eddie and Brian learned a lot and will bring their honed skills back to Biloxi to make our houses last for the next 100 years!
International Women's Day in Beck Park - Elizabeth Falcon worked with Sharon of Coastal Women for Change to pull together a gala (one of my new favorite words) event in the beloved, beautiful John Henry Beck Park. There were lots of local groups who came out to share information about their organization - from the Mom's Network to Avon. Hands On was of course there to represent. I was only there for the morning, but Falcon told me that around lunch time tons of folks from the community poured into the park to see what was going on. I'm glad we could be a part of the day's festivities. The history of International Women's Day is fascinating, you should check it out www.internationalwomensday.com.
Mr. George's Celebration -We celebrated the near completion of this house. Read the blog entry for more ruminations.

Not bad for a week's work. I'm proud of what everyone is accomplishing in their area of expertise. Each little bit helps move us and the Gulf Coast along the long road to recovery.

Mr. George's Celebration

2007-03-11T09:48:00.001-06:00

I'm sure Luc will write about Mr. George, too. That's great, and he should. He, along with countless other volunteers put tons of work into the house to turn what was a gutted, broken husk of a house, into Mr. George's new home. Though there's still a bit more work to be done - connecting the gas, putting on gutters, and a few HVAC finishing touches - the house is pretty much done. After 18 or so months of sitting next to his house, Mr. George is almost ready to move in.

This is really our first house. Yes, if you've read our blogs, you'll know that we worked on the Thornton's house, we finished Cynthia's house with Bridge to Biloxi, and we've been working on three houses sponsored by Guiding Light.

Mr. George's house is different. It has our blood, sweat, and tears - literally. I'm sure someone got a scratch somewhere that lead to the blood; the sweat and tears were more obvious. Hands On took Mr. George on as a case almost a year ago. He had few funds to rebuild, so we did what we could when we could. We gutted, demolded, put on part of a new roof, then slowly, slowly started the process of reframing, hanging the sheetrock, painting, installing cabinets, laying floors, and managing the subcontract labor. Along the way, there were real bumps in the road that made us all wonder whether we'd get Mr. George back into his house.

Through it all, tenacious folks like Sheli - the case manager - and big hearted people like Mike Grote, Donnie Fulton, Brian Deubert, Luc Lamarche, and Eddie Sherman all poured what they could into Mr. George's house.

The house is beautiful to behold. Each member of our construction crew had a hand in it. I won't be able to mention everyone, but I'll try to get the list right: Yvon on painting; Brannon and Amanda with drywall; Marj as all around get-'er-done girl; Michelle and Doug with trimming and other odd jobs; Russian Mike with fine carpentry; Robyn with the sublime (thanks Woody) floors ... Other folks, not around as long, but crucial to the final stages of completion included Charlie, Marshall, Kenny, and countless others whose names I can't place.

I'm proud of what our team work has accomplished. Everything from Sheli's tireless case management of donations, grants, and funds, to the worker's tireless devotion to detail and care for Mr. George. The completion of the house is a true testament to team work, compassion, and the transformational power of service to those in need.

....

Last night, we welcomed Mr. George home, even though there's more work to do. Most of Hands On turned out to show our support. Tony fried up some fish, barbeque'd chicken and dogs, and generally cooked up a ton of food for us all. Fantastic!! Felix, the HVAC/Electrician even made it out.

What a way to cap the first week of Spring Break.

Airman & President Bush

2007-03-01T16:44:00.000-06:00

One of our very own, Alan Petz, received the President's Volunteer Service Award from the President himself at the foot of Air Force 1 on Keesler Air Force Base. Awesome! Alan has been with us since shortly after the storm, back when the organization in Beauvoir United Methodist Church was Hands On USA. Alan's done a lot for us. Rather than read my blog, you should read the Sun Herald article about him.

Alan's photo made front page of the Sun Herald and his story was page A2. Pretty awesome! We're proud of Alan and what he's accomplished with us. Great job!!!

Here's the article from the local paper:
http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/16807117.htm

An airman who admits he shuns attention will be the center of attention today in Gulfport when President Bush gives him the President's Volunteer Service Award.

Alan Petz, a Peoria, Ill., resident assigned to Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, will receive the honor for his volunteer work with Hands On Gulf Coast. The group is a disaster-response project of a network of 62 nonprofit groups from around the world.

Bush will present the award shortly after Air Force One lands in Gulfport, according to a White House news release. The presidential visit is Bush's 14th trip to the Mississippi Coast since Hurricane Katrina.

The award recognizes children, adults, families or groups who have made a difference in their communities through volunteer service. The category that honors Petz is for volunteer service of 100 or more hours. Petz has donated about 720 hours in hurricane recovery work.

"I like to stay under the radar," Petz said. "I don't do things to be recognized. But this is an honor."

Petz, 22, said he is a bit nervous but excited. His mother and sister will be present for the award, given before the presidential entourage heads to Biloxi. He is assigned to the 81st Medical Operations Squadron Nutritional Medicine Flight. He works at the Keesler Medical Center dining facility.

Petz was stationed in Biloxi when Katrina struck.

"I'm as much a victim as other members of the community," Petz said. "It has given me a lot of enjoyment to get out in the community and help others restore their lives. It's just amazing all that's been done."

After Katrina, the base hospital was closed for repairs and Petz was assigned to help Hands On Gulf Coast. He led teams of volunteers to remove trees, clean debris and gut homes. In April 2006, he was reassigned to base duties, but has continued as a Hands On volunteer. He helps rebuild homes, designs healthy menus, prepares hot meals for volunteers and also maintains their vehicles.

"Hands On has become like a second family to me," he said.

A Keesler spokesman said this is a banner week for Petz. He's due for promotion to airman 1st class on Friday.

Bush, in his January 2002 State of the Union address, created USA Freedom Corps, an Office of the White House, to strengthen and expand volunteer service. More than 61 million Americans volunteered in 2006, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Listen to This: MP3s From Our Favorite Hurricane Katrina Disaster Relief Organization

2007-02-18T22:24:00.000-06:00

Music from Hands On Summer '06. I'll keep adding to it when I have access to the internet. I've already extracted all the files and just need to upload them. Some sound crackly because of various errors and hardware and strategic shortcomings. Some should be roughly CD quality, but not in this first wave. The difference will be obvious.

http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=hands%20on%20gulf%20coast%20biloxi%20AND%20mediatype%3Aaudio

Thank you archive.org. An awesome, awesome website.

Marco X
marco.thephilosopher@gmail.com

The summer '06 posts on this blog are by far the greatest. The greatest ever.

http://hamilton.facebook.com/photos.php?id=4501815&l=27880

Also... Anyone, I kinda need a job-- I'm multi-talented. I might have to sell back the Lexus soon.

Don't forget to join the 169 members of the "Hand On Gulf Coast Biloxi" group on Facebook!

Management Days

2007-02-16T16:56:00.000-06:00

Well, I spent the day talking with folks. That's what my job amounts to. Though it sounds like I don't enjoy it, that's not the case. It's amazing how the words move into action. So by talking to lots of folks, we're able to get lots done...

Anyway, what did we talk about today. Well, we talked to the community partners about the AmeriCorps program, what their responsibilities are, and what their members need to participate in. I also talked about drywalling Rozzina Manning's house, writing a recommendation for Kate to Samaritan's Purse, about Hands On Gulf Coast, AFH and the future of building, and there was probably something else in there.

The AFH conversation with Mike Grote was pretty interesting. They're working on their model home program and their funder is interested in perhaps expanding the program into a second phase. That means more homes for East Biloxi, which is pretty awesome. Mike also said he would provide some introductions to local folks whom I haven't yet met. These local folks would be connections to businesses. I talked a bit about my thoughts on where we're headed as an organization, and that's always exciting.

There's great potential for this place. There are so many talented, committed folks who want to be here long term. There are areas where our volunteers can have a big impact - education, public health, capactiy building, and (of course) physical building. They're broad and unrelated, but I think that we can support efforts in these areas by really working some unique new and existing partnerships.

A perfect example of an existing partnership is Kaiser Permanente. They recently came to visit us. A group of 30 or so employees worked in the houses and and painted a mural in Coastal Family Health Care's Gulfport clinic. John, the Kaiser employee who organized the trip, said he would be interested in planning a larger even, perhaps next February, that involved Coastal and more of the medical staff. Very cool. So, we have someone interested, we have work, we have the need, we just need to connect all the dots into a project. It's exciting to think about the lasting impact we can have on Gulf Coast.

Screening

2007-02-14T00:56:00.000-06:00

I went to New York City to see a screening of the Guiding Light episode that's about their week in Biloxi. Talk about awesome. First, I spent the morning in the Hungarian Pastry Shop geeking out with an Excel spreadsheet, coming through HOGC's finances. Then I moseyed over to another cafe where I talked shop regarding the AmeriCorps program and the opportunity to really affect the public health landscape through some strategic partnerships with the Children's Health Fund and Coastal Family Health Center.

After a few phone calls, I wandered the three miles from my hotel to the CBS studio where I got to see an advance screening of the 70th anniversary episode of Guiding Light that airs today (14 Feb). I don't have words to describe the episode. It's sincere in it's portrayal of the destruction, despair, fun, and hope that you find along the Gulf Coast.

The episode focuses on the cast as they experience the life of a typical Hands On Gulf Coast volunteer. The experience of helping Ro, Ms. Gerda, or Ms. Ethel touched them in a way that has transformed them. Ellen Wheeler did a fantastic job capturing the honest emotions of the cast members. I almost cried and I live the experience every day.

I wish I were with the building crew to see the show. I want to see their faces and hear the comments as the episode unfolds. Perhaps next time Guiding Light comes down.

I'm happy I came to NYC, though. I got to chat with cast and crew members I didn't get to chat with in Biloxi. It was my opportunity to connect a little with the folks who bonded with Luc, Eddie, Sheli, Brian, and the rest of the gang.

Many props to the building folks, admin folks, and support folks who made the endeavor such a smashing success. Many thanks to Guiding Light for rebuilding three residents' homes.

:: Chris ::

At long last

2007-02-11T23:47:00.000-06:00

Well, I'm glad that Luc and the building crew have taken up the slack on my blog postings. Hands On Gulf Coast has gone through a few transitions that have had me focusing my time mostly on a couple areas that didn't involve the awesome work the volunteers do daily in the field. Rather, I've been focused on internal issues of attending to the organization's structure and ability to deliver well-crafted service to the community from volunteers who care.

OK, what does all that mean? I took over as the Director in early January and have been trying to have the staff members focus on some house keeping items and the mammoth AmeriCorps program that starts (in earnest) at the end of February. It's been a tough transition in a lot of ways - unlearning old habits, relearning new ones, and spreading wings to go down a different path in a different way.

As a staff, we went to a retreat and planning session in Atlanta, where our parent organization (Hands On Network) is located. We had a couple goals, one of which was to ensure we can give the building program a real chance to become sustainable and understand how we can effectively fundraise. Both of these goals help us along the path of becoming an independent, 501(c)3 organization dedicated to serving the needs of residents along the Gulf Coast.

I think all the staff walked away excited about the meetings we had and about the potential for Hands On Gulf Coast to be a real force in the community. We're also really excited (and terrified) by the AmeriCorps program. Though there are new rules (it's a Federal program, there's a rule for everything!), it's an opportunity to strengthen our own organization while empowering our local partner organizations to continue helping the community.

Well, that's my management update. It's not glamorous like building or working with the Boys and Girls Club, but it's necessary to keep us moving forward. Hopefully, I'll be able to get back out to see the work in the field soon.

:: Chris ::

Building Empire Update 5

2007-02-09T19:25:00.000-06:00

We've got no short term volunteers because of a staff training/regrouping period so its pure long termer sweat these days. In short, here's whats crackin at the houses:

Mannings: Michelle and Mike are leading hanging gypsum boards in the neglected rooms. Progress is steady and will drastically speed once the walls are hung. Rock on.

Curry's: Woody and George are heading up leveling out the floors in Deub's absentia (vacation) and have made big progress in resheeting the exterior walls. This place has been a huge endeavor. Its nice.
Gerda's: Dr. A and Dr. B have finished mudding and are shooting texture currently. Paint's on the horizon.

George's: Hitting the floors hard the past week. Tile and Carpet in. Robyn rocked the tile. Its pretty. Pretty pretty. Dave Perez is a diamond and has hooked us up. Hardwood floors, hanging doors, and baseboards tommorow. Save 1 little spot, the exterior is finished. Huge efforts from The Streaker and Marge. The end is within sight. Oh its beautiful.

Here's some Mr. George pictures:

Deubs, come home. Eddy is back with a crew boss truck. Mike is leaving soon and we will miss him something aweful. The Empire strikes daily!
-Luc

Building Empire Update 4

2007-02-09T19:14:00.000-06:00

Well, we had Guiding Light in town a few weeks back and that was a home run. A big deal for us and them. We loved them. Everyone got to be friends and we worked some serious hours. Hard to sum up quickly. Eddy and Shelly led the charge and everyone was right there behind. We built, people cried, it was good. Cant post pictures of it really becuse someone said not to. Maybe later.

From what we've heard, the episode from their trip will be on CBS on February 14th, during the regular Guiding Light hour. I trust you all know when that is. Check your local listings.

Kudos and Props

2007-01-20T07:44:00.000-06:00

The Building Empire is amazing. My past week of working with Hands On on the Guiding Light project was wonderful. Thank you to Eddy, Shelly, and all the hard working volunteers. The amount of work and the quality standard is impressive. Good luck next week!

Transport Pictures

2007-01-19T10:15:00.000-06:00

Building Empire Update 3

2007-01-18T19:35:00.000-06:00

The Building Empire has been busting
it seriously for the past 9 days at the Manning house. The floors and trim are underway with walls hung, mudded, and painted. It was a new level of effort and coordination that's been successful thus far. We're shaping up nice for the arrival of our dramatic friends from the north. They seem cool, but on TV its just one tragedy after another. Hopefully the visit will go smoother than their lives. (on tv)

Here's some photos from the big Manning house push.
1. Celebrity guest Dr. G-Mo instructing the freshies on how to keep it reeeaaaalll.

2. House mud wizard on the national syndicate hot seat and LOVING IT!

3. Mystery picture of the week. Any correct guesses gets you a free trip to the spin cycle to watch an old Ice Cream Josh DVD, Rambo or sumthin. 4. No, its not snowin' inside silly heads, we're in Southern Mississippi. Thats sheetrock mud. Gee Whiz.

-Luc

Christmas!

2007-01-16T11:44:00.000-06:00

During the Christmas season, Hands On volunteers helped deliver presents to 7 different residents and their families! These residents were adopted by various organizations, thank you to those who made Christmas in Biloxi a success!!

Seattle Works: Hands On Affiliate from Seattle

2007-01-13T16:45:00.000-06:00

There's a group of 6 Seattlites sitting in the Gulfport Airport, waiting for our last minute flight out of town. All 12 of us were originally supposed to head out tomorrow morning, but bad weather changed our plans. But flexibility is a beautiful thing, so while a night out in New Orleans won't happen for us, it does mean we will be able to get back to Seattle in time for work and "life as normal" - whatever that means.

We wanted to share with the HOGC community some blogs that we have been keeping during our trip. Twelve of us from Seattle Works came down last Sunday. Seattle Works is a Hands On affiliate that focuses on the demographic of those in their 20s and 30s. While we regularly volunteer and are involved in our local Seattle community, this is our first trip out of town. We have been volunteering at HOGC for the last 6 days. For details, feel free to visit our group's blog.

Being Seattlites, not only did we make our mark by starting the Coffee Whisperer tradition (well, it isn't a tradition until y'all carry it on - so make Jaxon proud!)... but a few of us proudly follow the "computer geek" stereotype and have personal blogs devoted to our time in Biloxi.

Ryan and Noelle both have been recording their thoughts and pictures, and will continue to make updates as they process and advocate for the distaster relief efforts. Hey, afterall, Ryan works for Bill and Noelle works for Paul - so you never know what resources can be tapped into.

Also, a quick shoutout to the rockstar long-termers that completely floored us with their dedication, devotion, leadership skills, flexibility, hospitality, gratitude and humor. A huge thank you to Eddie, Luc, Michelle, Aron, Mike, Sheli, Sarah, Kate, Tosh, Brannon, Amanda, Suzanne, Guillermo, Kristin, MJ and Brian - and I'm sure we're forgetting some people - but you guys helped make our week an amazing experience. While your long-term experience inevitably gets a little jaded over time; our interactions with you all deeply impacted our experience.

Building Empire Update 2

2007-01-07T20:39:00.000-06:00

If you've been getting all your information from this blog about what's going on, let this attempt to catch you up.
On the 22nd of January, 88 folks from the soap opera Guiding Light including 24 "stars" and 30 "camera people" are coming down to work for a week and film. They are promoting volunteerism. We dig volunteering. Master ochestration by our fearless and brilliant leaders Sheli of Sheli City and King Edward the 11th.
The Building Empire is currently preparing 3 homes to be in various stages of finishing: Framing at Ms. Ethel's, Sheetrock at Ms. Gerda's, and finishing work at the Mannings. Guiding Light is providing the cash, we are providing the skillz and the sweat.

Please be advised we are heading into some serious business in the next 3 weeks. This first picture is a little hint of the level of vestment we've been vesting. Pictured: Framing prodigy Brian Deubert. Note the envisioned stare. Project: Framing Ms. Ethel's. Questions? Please comment.

The other pictures are from Mr. Georges, house. (No soap opera connection but still sweeeet.)

Pictured: UVM master mud painters.

Segundo: THE unphaseable, multitalented, charismatic Michelle Hamburger, ripping through fiber cement for kitchen tile underlayment.

Tercero: Not only do we build beautiful houses for free, we have cute puppies.

Sincerely, Finish Team Amanda and Luc

Pictures and Stories....

2007-01-05T13:38:00.000-06:00

....inspired by my time with you. Pictures here , unfortunately very much out of order. From Ms. Cynthia's, Mr. George's, sunsets, trees.

And, what's an adventure to the South without a legend to go with it? It's dedicated to the long-termers. I enter in about the last two sentences :)

Many warm, wet hugs from the land of mountains and evergreens,
Kelda

Building Empire Update

2006-12-19T21:21:00.000-06:00

Hola todos!

This is to update y'all on the progress on Mr. George Strong's house on Lee St.

We are in full paint mode, putting 1st, 2nd, and 3rd coats on the walls and it is beautiful. There are 7 colors, craftfully chosen by Mr. George and Hands On's highly skilled interior decoration specialists. Thanks to the pro quality rock and mud job managed by our live-in genius Amanda, the paint is finishing clean and smooth.

Also, a committed crew busted it for 1 week plus to start and finish the siding. The house is all wrapped for Christmas and we're taking a break for break.

More updates, more consistantly. Promise.

xoxo

Luc

The Big Sneak Attack

2006-12-12T01:04:00.000-06:00

So..Marj and I snuck away for the month of December.. we are currently bumming around in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania.. which is where I grew up. There has been a lot of Christmas tree decorating and visiting with old friends... This has been helpful with passing the time while I patiently await the birth of my nephew (my best friends baby) which should be any day now. Marj and I love you guys!! For those who are not returning after Christmas my e-mail is KKernan09@hotmail.com so please keep in touch.

See you guys in January

I'll leave you with this to remember me:

My puppy.. don't let his adorable face deceive you...

Kristen

A few hours in East Biloxi

2006-12-02T16:59:00.001-06:00

I was finally able to tear myself away from the desk where I had sat for most of the week, sorting through electronic paperwork, formating files, preparing reports, and crunching numbers. I was exhausted, staying up until midnight most nights this week. You know, that's just the way it is.

I had promised the Falcon earlier in the week that I would come take photos of her cast. She's directing a children's theater production of A Christmas Carol. I had completely forgotten about this commitment, and was vexed on Saturday when she reminded me. Dang, that means I have to leave my number crunching ...

Actually, I was itching for a reason to get out of the building and a commitment to take photos was the best reason. Because the Biloxi Little Theater is right next to Mr. George's house on Lee St., I stopped in to see how the dry wall hanging was going. Luc was leading a crew of folks installing some dry wall on the ceiling, in the bathroom, and the utility room. Yeah, more drywall. It's great to see Mr. George's house moving along. He finally passed all his rough-in inspections ...

Moving from the serene symphony of measure, cut, sand down, try to place, bang on, remove, sand down, look discouraged, try to place again, and apply more banging until you have a good fit that is the process of hanging drywall, I went into the chaos of little children unleashed on Hands On volunteers. Saturday is apparently the day that the kids have found a boundless well of energy ...

I took my photos, most of which turned out poorly because of the light in the theater, my lack of experience working in bad light, and not having a good flash. Still, I think we got a couple keepers for the press release.

All I have to say .... Falcon, Ali (NCCC), and Ali (AmeriCorps), yall are saints for working with the kids. It's not that the kids are bad. It's just that the kids have so much energy, it's amazing that yall can keep up with them. I certainly could not do your job. Hats off! I'm excited to see the show.

I left to check out the Mr. George's again. The day was almost done. Luc and I were chatting and Luc saw it ... the little piggie. Yes, folks, on Lee St., across from Mr. George's house, there was a little black piggie oinking about. So cute. Naturally Luc tried to catch it. He ran after it, dropping his tool belt in the neighbor's yard.

I jogged after them trying to get a photo. The pig was smart and wouldn't let itself get cornered. Sorry, Luc, you had no chance against the wiley piglet. The funniest part of the chase was when Luc shouted at a group of kids playing near the Yankee Stadium, "Quick kids!!! Help me catch the pig!!!" One kid replied, "I ain't nevuh seen a pig."

Ahhhh ... an afternoon in East Biloxi. Dry wall, kids on stage, and pigs on the street. Does life get more diverse?

:: Chris ::

P.S. Luc, you made the blog, what do I get? :)
P.P.S. If you look hard at the photo, you might notice that it's been edited. That was to make it fit a little better on the screen. The pig really was there, just talk to Luc.

motownphilly back again...

2006-12-02T12:34:00.000-06:00

It's hard to even begin to comprehend my experience at the Boyz 2 Men concert last night. I was standing outside the Magnolia Ballroom at the Beau Rivage Casino and all the sudden from inside the other room I heard the lyrics to "Motownphilly." When I stepped into the concert hall my mind immediately flashed back to the days of braces, koolots, awkward growth spurts and middle school dances. After dancing all around and singing at the top of my lungs we finally made our way to our seats.

The show just kept getting better and better and was blowing my mind with every song that came on. Only a few songs into the show our (mostly my) enthusiasm eventually scared away the older couple who was sitting next to us. Highlights of the show included the classics On Bended Knee, Thank You, and Water Runs Dry. Far and away, the best songs were I'll Make Love To You and End of the Road; Elly and I were lucky enough to made our way to the front row just in time for these songs. Our bodies were pressed up against the stage and were two of the few "chosen" who received roses from the Boyz while belting out the lyrics at the top of our lungs. Our faces were glowing with sweat from singing so loudly off key and our hearts were racing from the thrill of seeing, and being so close, to the idols of my adolescent years.

Before I keep gushing about the Boyz I have to backtrack and mention the appearance of one of ours truly. Halfway through the concert we somehow persuaded Mr. Chris de Veer (probably because of our charming personalities and dashing good looks) to bring Hands On Hooded Sweatshirts to the show so we could give them to the performers. As the show was winding down Elly and I made our way back to the front of the room, sweatshirts in hand, to give out to the Boyz. Just as we got up there, End of the Road came on and the crowd went MAD. Every direction you looked in the audience there were screaming girls dressed to the nines hoping to be noticed by the three guys on stage. Everyone kept pushing their way to the front with the hope to touch the legs of a singer, give them a hug, or sing along in the microphone. Luckily we were right there in the thick of things and were able to give them our sweatshirts.

They ended the show with another rousing performance of Motownphily before bowing out. I was still in awe after the lights came back on and the auditorium cleared out; I stood there grinning from one ear to the other and not knowing what to do with myself. Standing there on stage, guarding the curtain from some crazed girl to make a run for the celebrities. Once I was a little more composed I approached the man, told him about Hands On and asked if there was a chance I could go backstage and get a picture of the Boyz with the sweatshirts. 5 minutes later he came back and before I knew it i was walking backstage to meet the guys.
My adrenaline was pumping, my palms were sweating and for the first minute I was in the room I was so overwhelmed I couldn't say anything. There they were, sitting on plush couches in the room just hanging out. They were very relaxed, asked who I was and what I did. They were very gracious and very thankful for all the work we do here at Hands On and were more than willing to hold up the sweatshirts and take a picture. I thanked them very much and was about to walk out the door and they asked if my friends and I were going to attend the "after party" at club Coast at the Beau. I walked out of there on could 9. I couldn't believe I had actually met them, let alone put my arms around them in a picture.

After telling my story in one long run on sentence to the rest of the group without taking a breathe the entire time, I stood there not quite sure what to do with myself. When discussing with the rest of the group whether or not we should attend the after party, of course, the crazed teenager inside of me wanted to go. We ended up going to the club for a bit. At this point I coming down off my high, was completely satisfied with my experience and ready to leave when all the sudden the three of them walked through the door of the club. Lo and behold, Shawn from the group walks through the door wearing his brand new Hands On sweatshirt. At that point I knew we had had enough; we had sufficiently left our mark and it was time for us to go. We had reached the end of the road.

A little free time

2006-12-01T07:59:00.000-06:00

I find myself with a little free time between installations of software at 3am and 8am. Why am I up at 3am? Maybe it was the mint green tea I had just before bed. The little bit of caffeine being just enough to wake me up in the wee hours of the morning and render me in capable of returning to the sacred slumber.

So ... I turn to completing tasks I wouldn't normally get done, which include installing software ... in between software installations, I have a little time to write about the random thought that entered my mind while reading one of the fun fact sheets conveniently posted in the bathrooms and other strategic places. There was a stastic about how much of various substances are contained in the average human body. Things like how much sulfur (enough to kill all the fleas on a dog), how much sodium, and how much water.

It was the water statistic that got me calculating. People who know me here know that it doesn't take much to get me calculating. So, it should come as no surprise I would wonder what sort of average person only has 70lbs of water in them. See, I thought that people were about 75% water by weight. That means the averge person the statistic is talking about is less than 100lbs.

It turns out that the average percent water weight in a person depends on age and body fat composition. The more fat, then less water. Hence the percentage can vary, but 65% seems to be the most agreed upon number. That means that you're looking at an average person sitting at about 108lbs. Doesn't sound too average to me ... so I looked up the average weight for adult men and women.

Turns out we're looking at an average weight of 150ish, based on data from the NHANES III survey (1988 to 1994) . That means the average weight of water in adult human is more like 97.5lbs ....

Makes you wonder about all the number you hear people throw around, doesn't it. They say 74.3% of the people make up statistics on the spot.

Don't you wish I never had free time again?

:: Chris ::

LETTERS FROM THE OTHER SIDE

2006-11-28T08:29:00.000-06:00

“LETTERS FROM THE OTHER SIDE interweaves video letters carried across the U.S./Mexico border by the film’s director with the personal stories of women left behind in post-NAFTA Mexico, giving voice to 4 amazing women who feel the effects of failed immigration and trade policies on a daily basis. Focusing on a side of the immigration story rarely told by the media or touched upon in our national debate, LETTERS offers a fresh perspective, painting a complex portrait of families torn apart by economics, communities dying at the hands of globalization, and governments incapable or unwilling to do anything about it”.

Friday night, November, 17^th, Hands On Gulf Coast hosted a ‘Dinner and a Movie’ event featuring the documentary film LETTERS FROM THE OTHER SIDE. Partnering with the United Methodist Hispanic/Latino Ministries, HOGC invited members of the gulf coast community to have dinner and watch the film together. The director and two of the women from the movie were present for a question and answer session afterwards. There was an excellent turn out with more than 50 community members in attendance.

On a personal note, for me it was a wildly successful evening. My job since returning to HOGC in late September has been to start up the Latino Outreach. It was slow going at first, but once I was introduced to Mary Townsend and Sally Bevill of the United Methodist Hispanic/Latino Ministries the pace of my life has been in constant acceleration. I now spend my days working in a rapidly growing and shifting Latino community that is trying to find its feet and be more than just the invisible hands rebuilding the gulf coast. I have the distinct pleasure to call many of my colleagues friends and have been accepted into this community with open arms. Many days I feel as though I have discovered a buried treasure, something so amazing and beautiful all I want to do is dance and shout at the top of my lungs “Look! Come see what I have found!”

Last Friday night was a chance for me to do just that. Many of my friends and colleagues from the Latino community came to the event. They sat at dinner tables with fellow HOGC volunteers and were visible, in fact the focus of the evening. The documentary is done in Spanish with English subtitles, so for at least one night they did not have to worry about translating. The movie was very powerful for them. I watched their faces change with the emotions of the people on the screen. For many of them it was a mirror of their lives. I watched young men struggle with the images of families left behind. I could see in their eyes they were thinking of their own families, their own mothers. I saw the guilt. I felt the guilt. There I was sitting with all of these amazing people who should be home, sharing their talents and hearts with the land and people they love. But instead they are sitting in a church auxiliary building in Biloxi, Mississippi, tired and weary from endless hours of manual labor. How had it come to this?

I also watched the faces of my fellow HOGC volunteers. In many I saw compassion, disgust, amazement and affirmation. Many of us are aware of the ‘immigration problem’ on a broad scope but it is an entirely different thing to watch its effect on a few families and then have the chance to meet two of them face to face. The volunteers welcomed our guests with smiles and kind words and they contributed significantly to the question and answer portion of the evening. I appreciated their insight and honesty. I was touched by their openness and empathy. I was elated by the positive feed back that followed for the next few days. The treasure chest had been opened to a few more eyes.

I am so happy and excited to be a part of what HOGC is doing on the gulf coast. We are truly rebuilding communities from ground up. Not only are we building people’s homes but we are helping them build neighborhoods and a united community that will be stronger than it was before and able to face whatever challenge comes its way, be it mother nature or uncle sam.

I leave you with a quote from one of my friends, Sergio, “With understanding, we can conquer anything”. I encourage you to seek out true understanding of the issues we face today, to dig deep into the messy, complicated side of life. Let your heart be entangled, your mind confused and your soul touched. Live life with understanding and emerge with the ability to conquer anything.

Que le vaya bien,

Elly Lehnert HOGC Biloxi

(If you are interested in viewing the documentary please contact your local PBS affiliate or contact me at elehnert@handsongulfcoast.org)

I'm thankful for....

2006-11-27T13:58:00.000-06:00

~Thanksgiving week at Hands On Gulf Coast
~the best Turkey Day meal ever (thanks, Robin...and don't tell my mom I said that!)
~a 500 year old tree that has seen an incomprehensible amount of history & survived (thus far and we hope long into the future) to tell the tale
~a Spanish lesson for me in the midst of an ESL course for the community
~my new Mexican running buddy
~Chris' fantabulous soup
~Lionel Richie music after a night at Just Us
~the ability to block Eddie's hand and thus save myself from a bowl of whipped cream on my head
~Thanksgiving dinner conversation about authors and literature
~air mattresses
~great music and freakshow stunts at Open Mic
~the gratitude of strangers who have become friends
~the hope, energy, and determination of all the long-termers at HOGC
~a week spent in true community

~~ Laura (HON) ~~

Strewn

2006-11-24T21:15:00.000-06:00

We didn't come together to fulfill, to complete, a definition. We came to shift matter, colour, scent. The ground is more uniform beneath the tree, more planned. Yet the ground within the concrete triangle is strewn. Creation cannot be forced--forcedness alone negates uninhibited design. Function is fluid, like paint, like clay, like sleep. They made ovens from termite hills. We made an oven from a highway median. A divider brought humans together. Once, our clay saw opposing directions; now it sees the expansion and contraction of a kind of circle. Bricks made for flatness can become round. Flatness itself can be rounded.

We are not ants. We find it amusing, not necessary, to build a red mound. But it is necessary to build. Money spent on temporary creation?? Yes! Houses are temporal. Bodies are temporal. If anything is forever-lasting, it is because of a memory passed on, or because of the action's resulting action. Something would come of not acting, but Surely this is better.

Puppies!

2006-11-21T16:32:00.000-06:00

This week two members of the fearless feral four (Ali and Myself) accompanied by Marj (who is pretty much an honorary member) traveled to Fort Lauderdale, Florida in an attempt to give 27 puppies from the Humane Society of Southern Mississippi a second chance of getting adopted into a loving home. After the three of us got over the initial shock of the size of the vehicle we would be traveling in, we packed the puppies in kennels and started on our way. Several minutes later the puppies grew restless and began to whine and bark for our attention. This condition failed to subside for the next 12 hours. Approximately two hours into the trip we realized that our supply of gas that was supposed to last us three quarters of the way to Ft. Lauderdale was soon to be depleted. This brought us to an hour and a half stand still at a lovely Exxon in Alabama due to the fact that none of us could figure out how to pump diesel fuel into our vehicle. So we went through our rounds of dog walking and giving out water. After consulting with a trucker, a gas station attendant, and my fellow travel companions we determined that this gas station was not for us and continued on our journey with fifteen dollars of gas and lots of junk food. The next eleven hours passed slowly with few honorable mentions: Panera Bread for the first time in months, two very cute puppies named Talulah and Marj the second, conquering diesel gas, and gas station movie theaters. When we arrived at the inn of America a half an hour from our destination we received our key to our very swanky hotel room and spent the next hour walking the dogs, cleaning after the Fat Poopy One, and feeding all 27 puppies. Ten minutes into these tasks Marj whimpers, “I think I found a dead body…” After realizing she was serious, I peaked my head out of the truck to find a tired bum sleeping in a ditch in front of us. He then got irritated with our presence and decided to take his sleeping bag elsewhere. At about 1:30 Eastern Standard Time we finally crashed in our somewhat, kind of, not really comfy beds and slept until 8:30. We awoke to the same sounds we fell asleep to, whining puppies. The decision was made to start on our way and clean out the kennels as we were driving. Note for all who are reading: THIS WAS A BAD IDEA. I failed to consider the fact that it would be somewhat difficult to clean out 18 cages full of poop in a moving vehicle. Fortunately, shortly after we left the hotel we arrived at the Humane Society of Broward County, dropped off our cargo, and received a nice little tour of the facility (WHERE I GOT TO SEE AN ACTUAL SURGERY TAKING PLACE!)(As well as the most pathetic bird that I have ever seen or will probably ever see). After asking where the nearest I Hop was we were on the road again but this time with a new task ahead of us, probably the most important one of all… (Dun Dun DUN) finding food. After circling the same few blocks for an hour we gave up on the idea of I Hop and settled for Dunkin Donuts. The rest of the trip was a little less than eventful. A few highlights however were: All I want for Christmas Is a Hippopotamus, A magical sleigh ride through Southern Florida, Running out of the funds provided by the Humane Society and once again relying on the ever so faithful Exxon card, AND FINALLY GETTING THE HECK OUT OF FLORIDA!

That’s all… Peace Out…

NEW squadron leader of the Fearless Feral Four (including Marj but missing ARB) Kristen

PS-Go Out and Adopt some Puppies!!!
Hands On Gulf Coast

The Importance of Blogging

2006-11-01T22:56:00.000-06:00

I'm in New York right now, but the call of Hurricane Camp cannot be denied. That's why I'm writing a post. Just a couple days ago, the famed Blue 6 rolled through town on their way to the next spike. It was great to see them all (or at least most of them all ... next time David) and go out to dinner (why didn't you come with us Abby? :( ). In catching up a little, Abby and Crystal said that they didn't understand the importance of blogging, but now they look for blog updates whenever they get Internet access.

In New York, I'm checkin' in with New York Cares and visiting some former Hurricane Camp friends. Veenita and Janos are in school - Columbia and Fordham, respectively. Veenita told me that she and Janos love to look at the photos. They connect them to their experience in Biloxi and help them feel as though they're still part of something that continues to grow and evolve.

In my head, I know this, but it's always nice to hear that people actually do keep up with what we're doing. It also reaffirms how important a communication tool both the text and photo blogs are in providing current snapshots of the ever evolving repetoire of projects, challenges, and joys that Hands On executes, overcomes, and celebrates.

:: Chris :: (remotely from NYC ... the beauty of the Internet ...)

A day in the life

2006-10-21T16:58:00.001-06:00

It's not that this day really captures my job, or my life, but rather that it embraces why we are here, and what we are here for. In a series of thoughts and events:

I stopped by the Howard Ave trailer park to see a resident, the older black guy who lives in a trailer there. I walk around the park after talking to him. There are a bunch of trailers FEMA has reclaimed, which I don't understand. I don;t know if it means people have found a place to go, or have no where to go. And there are the trailers with cardboard duct-taped to cover the broken windows, which I understand all too well. The Howard Ave trailer park isn't necesarily an inviting place, all concrete and gravel, aside from these new developments. The resident and I sit and talk. I sit on the steps of the trailer he is worried about losing. "They are going to start making us pay rent, water, electricity, and our own gas." He tells me about the trailer he lived in on Magnolia street before this, and I know that he has no where to go, and no amount of FEMA recertification visits are going to change the fact that there is no where to rent anymore.

I take my lunch at the Biloxi Bistro, and talk on the phone to a friend from home. My street team is going door-to-door talking to residents about the new proposed CDBG plan out of the Gov's office, a meeting the superintendent called, and the upcoming elections. I had dropped off a few of the CDBG explanations at businesses downtown the day before, and when I walk in the woman behind the counter turns to the US Post office employee ordering lunch and says, "oh, you were asking who brought this info in; it was this young lady." I eat my lunch, and the two PO guys eat thiers, but before they leave they ask me about my info, my job, where I live, and what work I do. They are transplants. Retired military. Living here a decade or more. And one week after the storm they walked the destroyed streets of Biloxi. They tell me about the erie feeling of a town with its doors swinging open, abandoned. And the hope they had brought to residents. "Neither rain nor...." I think. But I think about the trauma of being the embodiment of "normalcy" to a place you don't recognize. Of how they are doing now, as they thank me for my work, a work that started after the barges had been cleared, the roads openned, the mail regular.

It starts raining so I rush off to round up my team. We drive back to base and I explain Living Cities. At quarter to 6 I am out again, stopping by Kryzra Stallworth's Neighborhood Watch meeting, which is sparcely attended. Then off to the schools meeting. There I learn not only that schools will open in thier old locations a month before they were projected, now on Dec 4, but that they will house the boys and girls club, Head Start, and Moore Community House. I have sat with so many parents lamenting the complete lack of childcare, that this information literally makes me glow.

I set off to meet the coordination center chicks. Amy, Ginelle (sorry if misspelled), Elish, Lucille, and Tim. They are a giggly bunch when I arrive at the bar, laughing about work, and life, and East Biloxi, PTSD. The usual. I eat, we drink, and set off to Just Us. I have been reading notes from meetings that happened months ago. They lament the lack of street lights, and I've been thinking about how we could help that situation. It's the kind of thing that seperates us from the community, that helps us not "get it" about East Biloxi. But we drive off, and there are lights on every street. And not only that. Lights shine out of houses. Amy and I look in wonder. People really living in thier houses.

At Just Us, Hands On arrives in full force, after Tim and I get a chance to catch up. Astrid stands up and sings "leaving on a jet plane," tears fill my eyes because suddenly I know she won't be returning from her vacation on Saturday. The rent cast performs "Seasons of Love," Jeff and Guillermo "Don't stop believing" and many many many more. I am filled with love and sadness.

:and you will know me as"
the falcon

Thornton's Update

2006-10-18T22:38:00.000-06:00

Well, today's almost the day that the Thornton's move into their new house. I passed Luc on Division St. and it was as if we knew that we needed to talk to one another. I pulled over to call him, then my phone rang ... he was calling me. "I'll be right back to the house." "OK." How'd he know that's where I was headed? I guess I make the rounds enough to be fairly predicatable.

It was surreal when I arrived. Normally, I unabashedly enter the house to check on folks. Today the door was closed; I felt something different about this closed door. I expected to see Amanda sitting behind it, doing touch-up painting. But no, there was something different. As I reached for the knob, I felt that I was entering the Thornton's home, not our work site. It felt wierd to just walk in.

After all this time, the Thornton's are finally ready to move into the house. We gutted the house to the studs, scraped off the mold, painted the studs with Kilz, then worked on the framing of the house. When all the subcontractors completed their work and the house passed its rough-in inspection, we hung drywall, painted, and trimmed it all up. What a transformation. It's the first house we've taken from start to finish.

Despite the low-key perusal of the house, I don't have descriptive adjectives that can accurately capture the feeling that accompanies the knowledge that Hands On Gulf Coast, AmeriCorps, and NCCC volunteers took a resident from a FEMA trailer into their home. Yeah, there's a back door that needs hanging, and maybe the ice make doesn't work, and the dryer trips the break, but the house is liveable. Lights, refrigeration, and air conditioning! What more do you need? Oh yeah, cable TV.

Luc must feel pretty awesome about the work he's done. The Thornton's still need furniture, bedding, and other household items, but the house work is pretty much done. Wow! Congrats to Luc and the steadfast Amanda for finishing the work started by Brian, the Blue 6 warriors, the Bay St. Louis crew, and all the other volunteers who passed through the walls of the Thorntons. It's the first of many!

:: Chris ::

Rent

2006-10-16T22:36:00.000-06:00

Wow. Who would have thought a bunch of volunteers rebuilding Coastal Mississippi would take on a production of Rent? Well, I guess at Hands On we should expect as much. The creative talent, resourcefulness, and determination that marks the volunteers we have around here applies to the fun stuff, too.

Now you might wonder why I'm not talking about the work we're doing down here. That's because it's moving along. We're doing great stuff at John Henry Beck Park - making planter boxes for the community garden plots - the Thornton's are almost in their house; and we're working on two other houses from start to finish. It's pretty awesome. Still, work doesn't necessarily leave an imprint everyday. It sustains our sense of purpose; it makes us think, "Wow, my friend it working at the Gap ... I'm sure glad I'm here trying to help someone get into their house." But the truly exceptional events, especially ones that showcase talent, creativity, and energy, sustain our need to be social and human.

So, off the philosophical meandering and back to the lesson at hand ... Rent. Wow! The idea of a production of Rent has been bandied about ever since Akudo brought forth the first No-Talent Talent Show back in March. In October, it finally came together.

We've worked pretty closely with the Biloxi Little Theater since Hands On USA volunteers gutted the place last year. So tonight they let us use their stage to put on the show. About two weeks ago, you could see the cast working from the script, singing, and just trying to adapt the musical to Hurricane Camp.

How can I describe the production? I'll start by saying, "I'm not a fan of musicals." With that as the premise for me being in the audience ... I loved the show!!!

Where else can you get a group of volunteers to work full days building, organizing the community, thinking about public art, or making garden plots, then dedicate their evenings to make a full-on production of a musical? Hands On. Look no further.

The cast did an awesome job bringing the musical to the Biloxi Little Theater. With a packed house of at least 140 Hands On folks - I think the camp was probably empty - plus locals - like the Thorntons (front row seats) and Sharon from Coastal Women for Change - they had a supportive audience who cheered, clapped, and catcalled through the entire performance.

Congratulations to Astrid, Dan, TJ, Garrett, Jeff, Akudo, Elizabeth (the Falcon), Dan (Rudy), Suzanne, Luc, Caitlin, Ali, Mike, Elly, Grace, and everyone else I've forgotten for doing everything from lights to staging to playing the lead. You all did an awesome job!!

:: Chris ::