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Latest Report from Louisiana Thursday, September 15, 2005 Team arrives from Louisiana at San Diego Airport at 3:40 P.M. on Continental Andrea Stone, Rescue Task Force (RTF) Team leader, and Mrs. Sally Shidler, wife of RTF Board member and Board CFO, Robin Shidler, are returning from another Œhands on&Mac226; mission to victims of Hurricane Katrina. As normal for RTF, we are serving those in remote areas who have had NO assistance prior to RTF arrival. The Rescue Task Force team has been in Louisiana working with local RTF volunteers procuring and personally delivering emergency relief. They were invited speak at a community gathering at St. Bernadette church in Houma, La. for local disaster victims left suddenly homeless. Mrs. Shidler, a victim of the October fires of 2003 spoke of the terror and heartbreak of loosing her family home, and neighborhood, and community. And she spoke of hope and healing. One couple that attended the gathering hugged and thanked Andrea and Sally after the meeting: „We came here tonight without hope. Now we have hope, Thank you.‰ Thanks to RTF donors the team was able to give out $100 gift cards to 100 displaced families. At Larouse, La. The team found that the local evacuation center&Mac226;s refrigerator had failed and all provisions were lost. The center is home to 95 victims and 30 volunteers. The refrigerator was soon repaired and the team stocked it, and the „pantry‰, with provisions for the next three meals and gave gift cards to the chef to buy additional foods that they will need until their expected supplies arrive. On Thursday the team is headed for Algiers, La. to assist at an evacuation center housing suddenly homeless police officer&Mac226;s and their families. Report to follow. Media opportunities available at the airport UPDATE Friday, September 2, 2005 Just heard from Andrea. She is on the ground in Louisiana. Phone lines are down but she was able to briefly update by cell phone on situation and activities. She is in Houma, La. and will be distributing water, blankets, underwear, etc. to hundreds of evacuees this evening. Will sleep on boat tonight and then head out before daybreak along the coast, where at some point she and supplies will transfer to an airboat to do distribution along waterways. They will try to make their way to Bellechase, La. which also needs help. As usual, RTF, is working the remote areas that are often overlooked by the traditional relief organizations. The RTF assessment team is purchasing emergency supplies locally and trucking them into the disaster zone for distribution by boats. The initial team of Andrea Stone of RTF and La Jolla Volunteer Richard Stakelum of San Diego (formerly of this area of Louisiana,) are setting up local volunteer teams for distribution of immediate emergency relief supplies and for RTF's long term assistance projects. To donate immediately to RTF follow the links on the top banner of the web site or click here. U.S. Congressman Duncan Hunter to join Rescue Task Force emergency response team in Louisiana. Accompanying Congressman Hunter into the disaster zone will be Mr. Scott Turner, former NFL player with Chargers, Redskins and most recently the Denver Broncos. Just in from Andrea: Two airboats loaded with over two thousand dollars worth of bottled water, crackers, tuna, toilet paper etc delivered today. We are now headed Fourchon. We are working with the parish (county) they are currently loading MRE (Meals, Ready to Eat) to be delivered by us to the relief workers, power lines workers etc. We will deliver supplies there to relief workers than work our way to Grand Isle - hit very hard- roads to Grand Isle are gone, can only access by our volunteer air boats. I am safe. Yesterday we dropped of fifteen hundred dollars worth of diapers, blankets, pillows underwear, socks, towels, diaper wipes, baby food, socks etc to new shelter opening up next to volunteer fire dept for homeless police and families relocated here from New Orleans. We helped set up the shelter. The victims had to go through decontamination, they must go through shower, shots etc. It is hot and we are working hard. Over 1000 lbs of supplies loaded and currently loading more for relief workers, police electrical etc. Andrea To donate immediately to RTF follow the links on the top banner of the web site or click here. Rescue Task Force supporters providing funds that enable RTF&Mac226;s team led by Andrea Stone and Congressman Duncan Hunter to purchase and distribute more truckloads of relief supplies and: shoes, meals, mattresses, And First Aid For the Heart: Coffee and Coffee Cup for adults, Toys for children, Football games with former NFL (Chargers & Broncos) player Scott Turner And, BIBLES Just in from Andrea via cell phone: Duncan and his team arrived OK. They drove in from Houston where they rented a large van and had filled it up with much needed supplies. As soon as they arrived we went to work: First stop was at Civic Center which now has over 2,000 evacuees. We distributed baby food and baby supplies and easy-to-open canned food such as tuna. 1,100 people there needed mattresses &Mac246; they are sleeping on the floor and raw ground. Duncan got onto his satellite phone and found supplier that could get 999 mattresses, we placed the order, cost will be $15,000 plus. The mattresses will be delivered tomorrow. Please, thank all of the donors for answering prayers. We also delivered needed items at evacuation center that we had formerly helped set up for firefighters and police officers. That center is being closed now that help is beginning to arrive and they are being moved to another center. Duncan and I did distribution of relief supplies and Scott played some football with adults, helped with children, and gave out Bibles. We returned to Wall-Mart (The store is not open to public yet, but they let us in as anybody wearing a RTF T-shirt has access to anywhere, we are so appreciated here.) We loaded supplies that people at the evacuation center had asked for, and fixens for hundreds of sandwiches. Many of the children will be able to go to local schools starting tomorrow so the families needed lunch supplies. We are also providing back-packs for the children. Some people needed shoes which we were able to get - by size!!! We also arranged for what you (dad) and Wendell have taught me to always remember at disasters; Little things count as much as the big when you have nothing but clothes on your back - "First Aid For The Heart". We bought coffee cups and hundreds of pounds of coffee for adults and "Hot-Wheels" and Barbie dolls for the kids. So many smiles and such appreciation when we rolled back into the evacuation center with our truck loads of supplies. (Trucks: While loading the cargo at Wall-Mart we had more than we could carry. Two guys in a large pick-up were close by and offered to haul the excess for us. They turned out to be great volunteers. They had just gotten out of jail and wanted to help somebody. RTF gave them the opportunity to "give back".) The director at the center thanked us with hugs and tears. Rescue Task Force is touching lives, and hearts - thanks to our wonderful donors. We will be going out on airboat Tuesday to reach isolated victims and will be taking as many supplies as the boat will carry. Cellular phone started breaking up - more to follow later. Andrea To donate immediately to RTF follow the links on the top banner of the web site or click here. |
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