Immediate Assistance Requested

And you can do it from home if you have a phone and a computer and some Google skills.Federal Disaster Declarations for Katrina encompassed over 90,000 square miles, an area covering almost as much area as the United Kingdom (see the Wikipedia article on Katrina for more). The Katrina Grace Team that returned early this morning reported that it's often easier for folks in the affected areas to communicate with people outside their state than with their own neighbors. There are damaged, small cities and towns that are seriously under resourced. The Trinity Church folks in Covington, LA agreed with us that it would be worth attempting to determine where those areas are and what kind of help they need. Then we can partner with Trinity to reach out to help.Moreover, a number of folks with 3 full-size trucks and trailers are interested in traveling to the Katrina Zone this weekend. Consequently, we are asking for volunteers to use Internet Search Tools (such as Google) and their telephones to find out the status of these cities, all within a 50 mile radius of Trinity:

• In Mississippi


• Bay St Louis


• Pass Christian


• Lyman


• Diberville


• Vancleave


• Lumberton


• In Louisiana


• Slidell


• Hammond


• Picayune


• Nicholson


• Bagalusa


• In Alabama


• Theodore Mon Louis


• Citronelle


• Mt Vernon


• Stacton

In these areas, we are asking volunteers to find either

• the Mayor's Office, or


• the City Hall, or


• The Chamber of Commerce, or


• the Police Station, or


• a church in that city

and then find out

• What is the status of your city?


• Are you being helped? Do you have everything you need?


• If not, what do you need now? (This needs to be as specific as possible.)


• Do you know of any specific needs in the outlying areas of your city?

Based on this information we will work with Trinity to determine our next move. We would like to gather all of this information by close of business Wed 14 September for a trip that's being organized for this weekend.If you can help with this, then let us know by emailing beth.shields@gmail.com and tell her specifically what cities you want to call. We will then post which cities have already been assigned. Please wait for a confirmation email before you make phone calls, so we are not doubling up on our efforts.This information might also be helpful for future trips.Thanks!