Volunteer Resources in Hancock County

700 Tabor St., #8,

Waveland, Ms.  39576

Phone: (228) 466-4630

Cell: (228) 344-8616

Dear Volunteer:

We would like to thank you for your interest in coming to Waveland, Ms., to be a part of the rebuilding efforts from hurricane Katrina. I hope that in this letter I can address some of your concerns as you are prepare to come to the area, either as an individual or as a team.

As you start to prepare to come it is recommended that you have 2-3 different dates that might work for you or your team so that we can use one of those dates to schedule you or your team. You will be contacted by one of our construction coordinators to actually set that date.

If you are planning this as a youth mission trip there are many things to keep in mind as you plan. The youth must be at least 16 yrs of age, with a signed parental release. You also need a good adult/youth ratio. We recommend 1 adult to 4 youth and defiantly no more than 1 adult to 5 youth. It is also best to have some of the adults with some construction knowledge. The better supervised the youth and the better the skill of the adults the better your trip will be.

At this time housing of volunteers will either be at the Tabor St., site or the Spanish Trail Site. You will most likely be sleeping on cots. If you are staying at the Spanish Trail site - you will be travelling to the Tabor St site for meals. The group sets "meal times" but please be on time and consider the Chef's valuable time also.

Tools to bring will be the basic hand tools for construction and a list will be enclosed in this packet. There will be some tools available through the Katrina Relief or other organizations that will be also working in the area. Every effort will be made to have the special tools required to do specialized tasks.

If this is your first mission trip you are bound to be anxious and that is normal. The homeowners that you may be working with have experienced a very emotional event in their lives and the volunteers do much to bring healing to their lives. And you will find yourself going home with a different meaning to life.

Personal items, such as, sheets, towels, dishes and the like will vary depending on the place you will be staying. The noonday meal should be a packed lunch that can be eaten on the job site. Other meals, especially breakfast, will probably be prepared by you. Coolers can be provided, but you may also bring your own. That will be discussed with you by phone as your date gets scheduled and your housing arrangements are made. But the most important thing to bring with you and your group will be flexibility and patience. We have encouraged the local churches to help us welcome our volunteers and we will try to schedule a potluck type of meal during your stay.

Our office is in Waveland, Ms., where the repairs are taking place and we, or a representative, will meet you to insure that you get settled in to your housing arrangements. The morning of your first work day we will meet you to ensure there is no problem in getting to your jobsite(s). We would like to schedule the mission trips as soon as possible so we know what our calendar is going to look like. Thank-you for your interest in a mission with Your Agency and your patience as we start getting your mission trip scheduled. Volunteers are Jesus’ hands, feet and face in the time of need and a true blessing and miracle to the homeowners who have suffered loss from Hurricane Katrina.

God’s Blessings,

                                                                        Kathleen Johnson

                                                                        Director Katrina Relief

                                                                        KathleenJohnson@WavelandCitizensFund.org

                                                                        700 Tabor St.,,

                                                                        Waveland, Ms.  39576

                                                                        Phone: (228) 466-4630

                                                                        Cell: (228) 344-8616

Please email completed forms to:

Kathleen Johnson@wavelandcitizensfund.org

CHECK LIST OF ENCLOSED DOCUMENTS (See Links to left of webpage)

Please feel free to make copies of forms to be filled out by participants and we ask that you print all information on the forms other than the signatures.