Click here for information on use of the Lend A Hand van.

March 20 – 28, 2010. Oakville, IA
Cost $150. See SCHEDULE for details.

April 17 – 25, 2010. Houma, LA
Cost $250. See SCHEDULE for details.

May 15 – 23, 2010. Oakville, IA
Cost $150. See SCHEDULE for details.

more info…

• An off-the-shelf data base system OR $1,500 to contract with a service provider
• A desk top computer (Dual processor, 4 gig RAM and 320 gig ROM) and a 19 inch monitor OR $1,000
• Tyvek suits, latex gloves, barn boots, Masks for hazardous materials removal OR $500
• Hats and T-shirts for volunteers or $1,500
• "HOW TO" CD's on dry wall hanging and finishing, roofing, framing, residential electrical and/or plumbing, and home insulation OR $20 per video.

Lend A Hand was founded in 1989 following Hurricane Hugo in South Carolina, and has since achieved national respect and recognition.

Lend A Hand coordinates reliable transportation, labor, housing and meals for volunteers who want to help those who have lost homes or are suffering extraordinary hardship as the result of a disaster.

Often one of the most valuable things Lend A Hand volunteers can do is to listen. Victims of disaster need to tell their stories of loss, hardship and recovery to a sympathetic listener.

The new friends you make with other volunteers and with those you’re serving are just one of the many benefits of participating on a Lend A Hand work team.

Many (but not all) jobs require physical labor. Most volunteers eagerly jump in and take on any job which needs to be done, from demolition and rebuilding to general disaster clean-up.

REVISED SCHEDULE
The April 10 ‐ 18 trip to Powder Springs, Ga. has been cancelled. In its place, a trip to HOUMA, LOUISIANA, from April 17 to 25 has been scheduled. We will return to the Bayou country of southwest LA. to continue the storm surge recovery of the shrimp farmers and fisher-people of this area. We will stay in a PDA tent city, prepare our own meals, and work with the welcoming and warmhearted people of the Bayous. Travel by bus. Stay overnight in Tennessee both ways. Cost is $250 per person. If we do not have 30 people signed on by Friday, April 2, the trip will be cancelled.

Volunteers also needed to continue the recovery efforts in Oakville, Iowa. The March trip is filled but volunteers are needed for the May trip.

HAITI UPDATE
Presently, LAH has not made any plans to visit Haiti. Phase 1, the ‘first responders’, is now underway. Distribution of food and water, the erection of tent cities, and the medical triage must be completed before home reconstruction can begin. Phase 2, Infrastructure, is now underway as well. Heavy debris must be removed from roads to provide access for local transportation. Utilities, particularly electric and telephone must be restored. During these phases, the airport is closed to commercial traffic.

Faith-based organizations, including medical teams, are being forced to fly to the Dominican Republic and travel hours by van or bus into Haiti. Other teams of well intentioned, compassionate, ‘do-gooders’ have been turned back at the border.

Phase 3, long term recovery, is the LAH phase. We are in discussions now with individuals and groups with a prior history of working in Haiti in order to locate potential housing for our volunteers and a local coordinator of supplies and job sites where our gifts might best be used.

If we can bring everything together, we anticipate our first group to travel later this spring or early summer. We will notify our volunteers by e-mail and postal service as soon as we can.

OFFICE HOURS
Because Lend A Hand is entirely staffed by volunteers, a person is not always present at the office. Ususally, either Bill or George are in the office from 9 to 10:30 daily and that is the best time to reach a 'live' person. Messages left on the answering system are usually returned within 24 hours. We also attempt to respond to all emails immediately and will send trip receipts and other materials within 24 hours of receipt at the officeof applications and checks. The office is open from 9 to 4 daily, Monday thru Friday and things may be picked up or dropped off by talking to Suzi, the presbytery's Administrative Assistant.

POLICY ON TRIP COSTS
1. For volunteers taking the bus, the cost will continue to be $250 per person.

2. a. For individuals or groups that elect to use their own vehicles or vans but wish to travel on the same dates as the bus and/or to ‘caravan’ with the bus, the cost is $150 per person for the cost of motels used at mid-points in the trip and for fees charged by the ‘tent city’ for utilities and meals.

2. b. For individuals or groups wishing to travel on dates other than the dates of the bus trip, we will provide you with the names and phone contacts at the motel and the ‘tent city’ but you will need to negotiate group rate discounts on your own at both the motel and the ‘tent city’. You can mention the LAH rates and ask for similar considerations.

3. For those volunteers traveling by personal vehicle or flying commercially to the disaster site but staying with us at the ‘tent city’, the cost is $75 per person for food and utilities at the tent city.

4. When the LAH van is used, the general cost will be set at $150 or a price which reflects a 'break even' cost for fuel, lodging and food. If additional vans are leased, the cost adjustment will reflect this expense and be set at a 'break even' cost.

VAN AVAILBLE FOR CONGREGATION USE
Lend A Hand has purchased a used, 15 passenger van. For our trips, the van will accommodate 8-9 passengers and their luggage and tools. When the van is not being used by Lend A Hand, it will be made available to any congregation's Session or Administrative Council-approved field trip or youth program at a recommended fee of $30 per day plus a full tank of gas.

“I didn’t know if I’d be useful, but there’s a job for everyone.”
Leanne, 1st-time Lend A Hand volunteer

“There are people in trouble and I can help”
Robert, 8-time Lend A Hand volunteer

“The week I spent working as a Lend A Hand volunteer made a hugh difference in peoples’ lives… especially mine.”
Lisa, 3-time Lend A Hand volunteer