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Volunteers deliver and set up a temporary living trailer for a Biloxi resident. |
HURRICANE KATRINA
(Many of our more recent Disaster
Aid Projects are now being featured
in our Press Releases section located on our main page.)
Our area was devastated by Hurricane
Katrina's intense winds and unprecedented storm surge. A majority of our
club members either lost their homes and all of their belongings or suffered
major damage. Our meeting place was heavily damaged, but just three weeks
after Katrina struck, we began gathering again at temporary locations. We
are now back at our original location, Mary Mahoney's Restaurant.
While our club members struggle to put their own lives back together, they also find the time to stay involved in the club and its efforts to assist the community in its recovery. Our club has partnered with the First Presbyterian Church of Biloxi to provide building materials and manpower to those people in the community who need assistance with their rebuilding efforts. The outpouring of support from Rotary Clubs around the world has been overwhelming. We are grateful to all of our Rotary friends.
Our Rotary Club is partnering with the First Presbyterian Church of Biloxi. This faith-based organization is providing lodging, meals, and direction to the numerous volunteers and Rotarians who have traveled to this area to assist us with the massive rebuilding efforts along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Funds received by our Rotary Club and Rotary District 6820/6840 for building materials are being passed on to the church. Assistance is provided to anyone in need regardless of religious affiliation. Listed below are the accomplishments and projects of the 1st Presbyterian Church and the Rotary Club of Biloxi:
1) Rebuilding Efforts - Church and Rotary volunteers have assisted many local citizens with the gutting of homes, roof installation, insulating walls, hanging and finishing sheetrock and some electrical work.
2) Housing - Fifty refurbished trailers are being donated by the Christian Housing Relief Project, Bakersfield, CA. Their goal is to provide housing for families on the MS Gulf Coast. They have been refurbishing 50 modular homes that had been sitting vacant for several years. The homes are approximately 11' x 34' and will sleep 6-8 persons. Once repaired and refurbished, the homes are transported to Biloxi, Mississippi. Volunteers assist in towing the trailers from California to Mississippi, and setting them up there. These trips take 7-8 days for the 4,000 mile round trip.
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Volunteers deliver and set up a temporary living trailer for a Biloxi resident. |
Many local civic organizations in that area, including the Rotary Club of Bakersfield, are helping with this effort. The trailers come equipped with all new furnishings and new appliances, and are stocked with a host of other stuff, such as dishes, quilts, pillows, blankets, etc. The Rotary Club of Biloxi is providing financial assistance for the transporting and installation of these trailers. As of late January, approximately 25 of these trailers have been delivered to people in our community.
3)
Miscellaneous Projects -
Wheelchair Foundation (Las Vagas, NV). Rotarians along with 1st
Presbyterian volunteers and several other organizations assisted in unloading
800 wheelchairs from one temporary storage facility and into another temporary
facility. They are starting Wheelchair Foundation on the coast. We have a
commitment for assistance if we have a need for wheelchairs.
Christmas Toy Drive
Biloxi Rotarians donated toys and distributed them to the Back Bay Mission and
St. Vincent De Paul Society for the needy.
Wesley Academy
(Pre School) Our club made a financial contribution to this non-profit
organization which is sponsored by the Mississippi United Methodist Church.
The funds will help subsidize tuition for needy
families.
Shelter Boxes - a Project of the Lakewood Ranch, FL, Rotary Clubs.
Rotarians in several districts have delivered 1,400 Shelter Boxes which can
accommodate 28,000 people. Locally, Biloxi Rotarian Tracy Dedeaux served
as Shelter Box coordinator and helped pass out the green cases at the Salvation
Army's relief center.
Boys Scout Troop 212 Our
club made a financial contribution for the troops devastated Camp Wilkes.
Home Depot Gift Cards - Many people in the community and even in our own
club were given Home Depot gift cards to assist them with the huge financial
burden of rebuilding.
Mental Illness Facility - Our club made a significant contribution to a
local mental illness facility. Hurricane Katrina's tremendous impact has
led to an enormous amount of mental illnesses along the MS Gulf Coast.
Thanks! Special thanks to many Rotary Clubs who sent money or food donations, clothing, etc., and to the countless other Rotarians who volunteered their time and money to come to the Gulf Coast to help with our rebuilding efforts. Many came on their own or with various faith-based organizations. Many volunteer Rotarians still remain unidentified. We heard they were here helping us but our Club, unfortunately, never got to meet them or know their names. Listed below are just a few of the hundreds of generous Rotary Clubs/Members to whom we owe a special debt of gratitude.
UPDATE -
February 17, 2006
Thanks to a generous contribution from District 7450 (Philadelphia, PA
region), the Biloxi Rotary Club recently awarded
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| Pictured (from left): Carol Burnett, Moore Community House; Sheri Prestimon, Back Bay Mission; Paul Mallery, Club President; Ellie Vasilopoulos, Club Disaster Relief Chair; John Sullivan, Wesley Academy Pre-school. |
grants to some deserving organizations. These funds were to assist businesses with recovery from Hurricane Katrina, particularly non-profits involving day care and human services. Each entity filled out an application which was reviewed by a committee in District 7450.
A $5,000 grant was
awarded to Wesley Academy Pre-school. A $10,000 grant was awarded to Back
Bay Mission, an organization that directly serves the poor and struggling
through emergency assistance with food, clothing, utilities and rent; case
management, client advocacy and referral among other things. Another
$10,000 grant was awarded to Moore Community House. This organization runs
an early head start program, a preschool program, and offers family counseling
to east Biloxi's low income residents.
UPDATE - March 14, 2006
Here is a partial list of some residences that have been repaired in
the Biloxi area by volunteers working in coordination with the Rotary Club of
Biloxi and the First Presbyterian Church of Biloxi:
UPDATE -
March 30, 2006
Funds Needed:
Storage Units:
The storage unit we are giving to people with FEMA trailers are 8' tall 8' wide
and 8' deep and they cost $500. We have given away 40 storage sheds.
Modular Houses:
The modular house is 20' wide and 48' long. It is made in 2 peices so that it
can be hauled on a
trailer. They are built 10X48 and bolted together. The cost is $10,000 for each
side $20,000 for the house with out fixtures and cabinets. $25,000 dress out.
They are located at Buccaneer State Park in Waveland, MS right now. They
have completed almost the 2nd house
Non-Profit Organizations: There is a significant number of non-profits
here on the Mississippi Gulf Coast (many are not affiliated with any national
organization) and are in dire need of funding. Listed below are just a few of
the non-profits we are working with to obtain needed funds:
Gulf Coast Mental Health Center
Loaves and Fishes (Feed the Needy)
Interfaith Hospitality Network (Working to keephomeless families together)
Women's Crisis Shelter (Battered Women's Shelter)
St. Vincent DePaul
Back Bay Mission
Costal Family Health Center
Boys and Girls Club of the Gulf Coast. (Many of their facilities were
destroyed: The Administrative Building, Biloxi's Lunday Unit, Gulfport's Forrest
Heights, Pass Christian, and the school facility in Waveland, MS )
Museums: Many of our museums have been destroyed or are severely
damaged.
Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art
Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum
Beauvoir - Last Home of President Jefferson Davis, the only confederate
president.
Lynn Meadows Discovery Center
Walter Anderson Museum of Art
UPDATE - April 25, 2006
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| Deb Melton representing Interfaith Hospitality Network received $10,000; Paul Mallery, President of the Rotary Club of Biloxi; Rita Baldwin representing Loaves and Fishes received $10,000; and Ellie Vasilopoulos, Chairperson, Disaster Relief Committee for the Rotary Club of Biloxi. |
Once again, District 7450 (Greater Philadelphia District) provided the Rotary Club of Biloxi with a generous contribution for local charities. The Rotary Club of Biloxi and the grant recipients would
again like to thank the Rotarians of District 7450 for their kindhearted donations. To date, their donations to the Biloxi area have totaled $45,000! A special thanks goes to Joann Hunnington and Russ DeFuria who coordinated with us.
UPDATE - May 2, 2006
For many, many years the Rotary Club of
Biloxi has supported Boy Scout Troop 212 and its camp located on Biloxi's back
bay - Camp Wilkes. Recently,
 A.J. Stanovich, Asst. Scout Master, Boy Scout Troop 212 received a $10,000 contribution on behalf of the troop's Camp Wilkes. |
 David Fionda, District Governor - Dist. 7930 (Boston area); Ellie Vasilopoulos, Chairperson, Disaster Relief Committee and Paul Mallery, President, Rotary Club of Biloxi. |
the club was able to make a contribution to the group in the amount of $10,000. The camp suffered tremendous damage. Some buildings were destroyed, many were heavily damaged and lots of major equipment such as A/C units, commercial cooking appliances and pool and well pumps were lost. The camp's current wish list is below:
Boy Scout Troop
212/Camp Wilkes Recovery Wish List
> Swimming Pool - $7,300 equipment, $1,000 labor
> Mess Hall - $4,000 ice machine, $16,000 walk-in cooler, $4,000 three
door freezer, $2,000 20 tables
> Hart Hall - $1,500 A/C unit
> Camp in general - $1,250 five cold water drinking fountains, $5,000 new
Gator utility vehicle, $4,000 one small minitruck utility vehicle, $37,000 new
cabin, $32,000 new first aid cabin, $37,000 new A.J. Lodge, $7,000 new restroom.
> At the Waterfront - $4,426 for materials to repair pier
> Cabins - $18,000 for 90 beds and mattresses
David Fionda, District Governor of the Boston-area Dist. 7930 presented the Rotary Club of Biloxi with a check for $17,000. He encouraged the club to use the money for fellow Rotarians who are still recovering from the storm.
UPDATE - June 5, 2006
The Rotary Club of Biloxi and its District (6840/6820) will be donating $40,000,
matched with a $40,000 DAF grant from Zones 29-30 ($80,000 total donation) to
the Lagniappe Presbyterian Church in Bay St. Louis (BSL), MS. The church
is currently in the process of renovating a large building in BSL to house
relief workers who provide assistance across the MS Gulf Coast. Once the
building is up and running, it will feature a commercial kitchen, bathrooms with
showers, 250 beds, plus RV hookups. More funds will be needed to maintain
this project and cover costs. The rebuilding efforts will be long term.
Click here
to get an update on this project.
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ABOVE: David Hardy, President, Rotary Club of Biloxi; Marjorie Gowdy, Executive Director, Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art; Betsy Grant, Executive Director, Lynn Meadows Discovery Center; Robin Krohn-David, Executive Director, Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum; Heidi Brescher, Director of Special Programs, Gulf Coast Women's Center for Non-Violence; and Patrick Hotard, Executive Director, Beauvoir. |
UPDATE - July 18, 2006
The Rotary Club of Biloxi today awarded checks in the amount of $2,000 to the
following organizations: Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art; Maritime &
Seafood Industry Museum; Lynn Meadows Discovery Center; Beauvoir; and the Gulf
Coast Women's Center for Non-Violence.
