Disaster Relief (Ongoing coverage)

This AFP Blog contains material about ongoing Disaster relief efforts gathered by the AFP Fundraising Resource Center and was renamed from Hurricane Katrina. Please Note: PRESS RELEASES where marked. Other Sites Disclaimer: AFP provides this listing of hyperlinks as a privilege to the user. AFP does not necessarily endorse, support or attest to the accuracy of information posted on those Internet pages. Some urls may require registration to view and/or may only be available for a limited time.

Friday, September 01, 2006

Pitt on building an eco-friendly New Orleans - Today - MSNBC.com

Pitt on building an eco-friendly New Orleans - Today - MSNBC.com: "Today show
Updated: 9:25 a.m. ET Sept. 1, 2006

All week, we've been looking at the shocking devastation that still remains in New Orleans as citizens there mark one year since Hurricane Katrina struck. On Thursday, actor Brad Pitt announced a major step forward in his effort to bring back housing in one of the hardest hit parts of the city. Not only did he vow that it will be built, ground-breaking is expected in a matter of months. I caught up with him in New Orleans on Thursday for an exclusive interview:

Brad Pitt: The first responsibility is to help those that are the most vulnerable. And we failed — and failed miserably. And to some extent we're still failing."

ContraCostaTimes.com | 09/01/2006 | Bush playing the part of saint as career gets under way

ContraCostaTimes.com | 09/01/2006 | Bush playing the part of saint as career gets under way: "Bush playing the part of saint as career gets under way
Rookie has captured the city's attention with charitable contributions
By Sam Farmer
LOS ANGELES TIMES

NEW ORLEANS - Shortly after the New Orleans Saints selected him second in the NFL draft, Reggie Bush toured some of the city's neighborhoods destroyed by the flooding that followed Hurricane Katrina.

House by pulverized house, he studied the bright orange numbers that relief workers had spray-painted on the front -- a grim count of the dead found inside.

'It's a humbling experience and it's sad,' the Heisman Trophy winner from USC said. 'It makes you appreciate what you have, makes you appreciate life in general. It can be taken away from you at any time.'"

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

BayouBuzz - President Bush´s New Orleans Katrina Statement

BayouBuzz - President Bush´s New Orleans Katrina Statement: "MRS. BUSH: Hey, everybody. Please be seated. We´re a little late because we´ve been in the library here at Warren Easton with the award grant winners of the Laura Bush Foundation, the 10 schools in Louisiana and Mississippi that have just won grants to restock their libraries. And it was really fun for us to have the chance to meet with the librarians and the students and the principals of these 10 schools that are across the Gulf Coast.

School people know they have to get to work right away, and really one of the great signs of recovery all along the Gulf Coast are the schools that are up and going again. A lot of them are in temporary buildings or portable buildings, but they have plans to rebuild. And it´s really a thrill to get to meet with the people who have worked so hard to make sure students all across the Gulf Coast get to go back to their own schools. We know that families can´t move back unless there´s schools for the kids. And so education is one of the most important parts of the recovery."

Inexperienced charities complicated post-Katrina relief, watchdog says

Inexperienced charities complicated post-Katrina relief, watchdog says: "Inexperienced charities complicated post-Katrina relief, watchdog says
By Hannah Elliott

Published August 29, 2006

NEW ORLEANS (ABP) -- Although Hurricane Katrina inspired an unprecedented relief response, some of the groups who answered the call were inexperienced and ineffective, according to a charity watchdog group.

The deluge of new and inexperienced charities that responded to Katrina complicated the relief picture, said Sandra Miniutti, director of external relations for the New Jersey-based Charity Navigator.

“The biggest concern that we had was that there were too many groups holding their hands out with no experience in this type of work,” she said. “I think that’s a big concern. Also, for the groups that popped up, the brand new charities, to take on a disaster of this scope, it’s almost impossible to be effective.”

Many groups emerged post-Katrina that didn’t have the same focus, experience, methodology or priorities as established disaster-relief charities, Miniutti said. That meant well-meaning donors sometimes gave money that wasn’t used responsibly or efficiently."

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Gambit Weekly : Time to Answer the Call : August 29, 2006

Gambit Weekly : Time to Answer the Call : August 29, 2006: "COMMENTARY 08 29 06

Time to Answer the Call
Last week in this space, we anticipated the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina by looking ahead to the two-year benchmark, suggesting specific goals for New Orleans as it struggles to gain some traction in its recovery efforts. This week -- in an issue dated on the one-year anniversary of the killer storm -- it's appropriate to look back at the progress, or lack of it, since Katrina struck. The news is mixed: parts of south Louisiana are rebounding nicely, some parts are even flourishing -- and then there's New Orleans, which remains stuck on stuck."

DelcoTimes - Editorial: Post-Katrina blunders offer lesson in charity

DelcoTimes - Editorial: Post-Katrina blunders offer lesson in charity: "Editorial: Post-Katrina blunders offer lesson in charity
08/29/2006
email this storyEmail to a friendpost a commentPost a Commentprinter friendlyPrinter-friendly
One year later and the shocking images of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast of Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina hit land last Aug. 29 are seared into most Americans’ minds. For two weeks, television video replayed scenes of destroyed homes, displaced residents and unclaimed bodies of the dead on streets once packed with tourists.

One year later and the same video images show little or no progress in most of the hardest hit areas. Bourbon Street is back. The French Quarter is back. But, according to electric bills and school enrollment figures obtained by the Washington Post, less than half of the pre-storm population of 455,000 has returned."

The Shreveport Times-"Nonprofits still awaiting repayment from FEMA

The Shreveport Times: "Nonprofits still awaiting repayment from FEMA
August 29, 2006

S
By Diane Haag
dhaag@gannett.com

A year after they housed thousands of evacuees, many nonprofits are still waiting for federal reimbursement of their expenses.

The quantity of agencies applying and the precautions to guard against fraud means the process has been slow, delaying money that churches and agencies would like to spend on other hurricane-related expenses.
"

Grantmakers Releases Donors' Guide to Gulf Coast :: PNNOnline ::

Grantmakers Releases Donors' Guide to Gulf Coast :: PNNOnline ::: "Across the Gulf Coast, local residents are working through community-based organizations to help their neighbors rebuild their homes and their lives after the devastation wrought by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Their indomitable spirit attests to the vitality of the numerous rebuilding efforts that are taking place.

To assist the public in connecting to these critically important efforts, the New York Regional Association of Grantmakers (NYRAG) has produced a 137-page resource guide. The Donors' Guide to Gulf Coast Relief & Recovery distills and makes accessible invaluable information regarding nearly 400 organizations involved in recovery, rebuilding, and transformation efforts in hurricane-affected areas. Individual donors, businesses, and foundations will all find useful resources to help them make solid giving decisions that will help residents across the hurricane-ravaged region."

Monday, August 28, 2006

The Shreveport Times-"Katrina-giving: By the numbers

The Shreveport Times: "Katrina-giving: By the numbers
August 28, 2006

By the numbers

The world donated $3.3 billion after Katrina. Here's where it went:

American Red Cross: $2.1 billion

Salvation Army: $363 million

Catholic Charities: $146.5 million

Clinton-Bush Katrina Fund: $129 million

Habitat for Humanity: $122 million

Greater Houston Foundation: $75 million
"

Outlines Emerge for a Shaken New Orleans - New York Times

Outlines Emerge for a Shaken New Orleans - New York Times: "Outlines Emerge for a Shaken New Orleans

By ADAM NOSSITER
Published: August 27, 2006

NEW ORLEANS, Aug. 26 — At one edge of this city’s future are the extravagant visions of its boosters. Awash in federal cash, the New Orleans they dream of will be an arts-infused mecca for youthful risk-takers, a boomtown where entrepreneurs can repair to cool French Quarter bars in ancient buildings after a hard day of deal making."