The Sun Herald | 05/18/2006 | Clearinghouse idea works

The Sun Herald | 05/18/2006 | Clearinghouse idea works: "GULFPORT - Most sectors of the Governor's Commission on Recovery, Rebuilding and Renewal crafted lengthy lists of recommendations for creating a better post-Katrina South Mississippi. But the Non-Governmental Organizations Committee made only three suggestions.

'That's because every meeting we had, we heard the same things time after time, even when different people were there,' said Reginald Sykes, chairman of the committee and vice president of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College's Jefferson Davis campus. 'We felt as a committee that the main thing we needed is to do a better job of organizing nonprofits. That's where the idea of a clearinghouse was mentioned.'

And the Mississippi Center for Nonprofits promptly began working on the three recommendations.

Nonprofit and faith-based groups played a crucial role in people's survival after Katrina and continue to play a key role in recovery and rebuilding. Thousands of volunteers and billions in relief dollars have flowed from every corner of the nation and world through these groups. In the case of the federal government's slow, lackluster response to Katrina, nonprofits in many cases were the first responders."