NORTH CAROLINA RELIEF HURRICANE RESPONSE UPDATE (December 2018)
CURRENT ACTIVITIES (RESPONSE STAGE) ● Critical repair assessments - Recovery efforts officially start Jan. 7th, 2019 ● Residential flood cleanup: assessment, mucking and gutting, debris removal, debris clearing, and mold sanitation ● Coordinated the New Bern Volunteer Reception Center (facilitated 1451 spontaneous volunteer hours) DISASTER PROFILE Hurricane Florence made landfall just outside of Wilmington, North Carolina on September 14th, 2018. Despite weakening in intensity to a Category 1 storm, 90 mph winds uprooted trees and left 800,000 people without power. Dumping 18 trillion gallons of water, Florence is the wettest tropical system to ever hit North and South Carolina. Record breaking rainfall, coupled with storm surge, caused a flooding crisis and emergency evacuations across the Carolinas. A total of 48 people have died as a result of the hurricane, 37 of which in North Carolina. The coastal communities of the state were some of the hardest hit, so our initial response efforts are focused in New Bern and its surrounding areas. OUR WORK All Hands and Hearts – Smart Response has been focusing efforts in North Carolina on debris clearing and residential flood cleanup. Having completed nearly three months of response work, we have shifted our focus away from the initial stages of relief (chainsaw work, mucking and gutting, debris removal), and more towards mold sanitation. With an impressive response from the community for cleanup assistance immediately after the storm, mold sanitation is the greatest need at the moment. Mold sanitation is a critical step in helping homeowners begin to rebuilding.
Upper Right: Volunteer Steve leads a group of day volunteers from DPR in a stretching circle before getting started on a sanitation site Upper left: Volunteer Kyle and homeowner Joe discover their mutual love for suspenders at the homeowner dinner. Kyle had worked on Joe and Hazel’s home earlier in the project and had a great time getting to know Joe even more.
OUR IMPACT
337
PEOPLE IMPACTED
147
JOBS COMPLETED
272
VOLUNTEERS
2957
VOLUNTEER DAYS
VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT Esteban Avila has volunteered on four different projects. With that experience, Esteban feels confident in stepping up to cover responsibilities on base. The Volunteer Relations Coordinator (VRC) job description states that it "allows you to be a part of the volunteer's journey," which is something that really resonates with Esteban. "I want to ensure that volunteers come in and have a transformative experience because that's what I had when I did my first project. That's a niche I want to make sure is filled and that's why I'm interested in doing the VRC role."
HOMEOWNER HIGHLIGHTS Once a month, we invite homeowners to come have dinner with us on base. We sit down to get to know each other better, and reminisce about some of the work we have accomplished together. Here, Marvella sits with Operations manager Jeri and Logistics Coordinator Sarah. Really active in the community, and a board member on the Pamlico Disaster Coalition, Marbella is an advocate for rebuilding the county. We helped to muck and gut her home this last month and she is in our queue for further assessment of recovery work.
OUR MISSION To effectively and efficiently address the immediate and long-term needs of communities impacted by natural disasters. By listening to local people, and deploying a unique model of engaging volunteers to enable direct impact, we rebuild safe, resilient schools, homes and other community infrastructure.
OUR NORTH CAROLINA PARTNERS
4 YEARS IN A ROW! Only 13% of charities have received at least 4 consecutive 4-star ratings. This means All Hands and Hearts outperforms most of the other 1.5 million charities in America in operational and financial efficiency.
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For additional information: Hana Wilder, Partnership Manager hana.w@allhandsandhearts.org or (774) 762-3180 www.allhandsandhearts.org