To All Club Members:
An advance team (headed by Mike Morris)for the HOPE program deployment will be arriving in Baton Rouge, LA on Wednesday, Sept. 7th. They will be located at Gerry Lane HUMMER in Baton Rouge who have offered their new facility to the Club for a staging area during the relief efforts. There will be a HOPE program training session on Saturday, Sept. 10th and 11th at the new facilities at Gerry Lane HUMMER. We have over 200 members in the area and invite any members in the area to finish their HOPE program training at this time so they may be deployed during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Official deployment of HOPE program volunteers will not be made for several weeks in the New Orleans area due to high water levels. Deployment to other areas surrounding New Orleans and in the states of Mississippi and Alabama is anticipated in two weeks time. We expect to deploy teams of volunteers over the next three months or more. Your help will be needed throughout this time.
Please remember that the HOPE program was started because we were NOT able to help during the West Virginia floods as we were NOT registered with a disaster relief organization. If you would like to volunteer your help WITH YOUR HUMMER, you need to be a member of the HOPE program. The $55 charge to become a HOPE volunteer goes to the Red Cross for indentification materials (T-shirt, door magnets, first aid kit, etc.)and admin. charges. It doesn't go to the Club.
Here is what you can do NOW:
1. If you are not registered as a HOPE volunteer, call the St. Joe Chapter of ARC at 574-234-0191 and ask for the HOPE program. This will get your name in the system! Extra personnel have been added to assist you. You may also enter the system by sending an email to:
hope@stjoe-redcross.org
2. If you ARE a member of HOPE, CALL 574-234-0191 and tell them you are available for deployment and give them the dates you are available. We are basically a transportation unit. If you have extended medical training (such as a licensed physician, EMT, fire fighter, nurse, etc.) give them this information and let them know if you are willing to work in that capacity in addition to your transportation capacity. The Red Cross will take it from there.
3. Michael Read, a member from the NW, asked if he could donate money to the HOPE program to off set some of the expenses of our volunteers who will be assisting in the LA, Mississippi and Alabama areas. If you are 'like-minded', our volunteers and our Club will be incurring huge expenses in our efforts to assist. We are currently looking for a satelite phone and service subscription to aid in communication. If you know of an available phone or system that the HOPE program could use for the next several months, please contact Mike Morris at
mike@thehummerclubinc.com. If you would like to donate to the HOPE program and its volunteers, you may send a check to
David Smee, CFO
The HUMMER Club Inc.
2761 Johnson Ave.
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
4. Please note that deployment will be ongoing for many months. There are no sleeping facilities at the dealership but there will be water and toilet facilities and a place to camp. You will need to be 'self contained'. If you have a camp trailer, etc. expect to bring it with you or sleep in your truck. You will need to bring enough fuel to get you 'out of the area' on your return trip home. Our advance team will be taking fuel with them but it can only stretch so far and will be used for the relief efforts.
5. Our annual meeting will be held at the Durango Moab event starting on Sept. 17th. We will be asking for donations for the relief efforts and these monies will be sent to the American Red Cross to assist their efforts. Again, if you wish to help our Club volunteers OR the American Red Cross, please send your donations to our CFO, David Smee. Please attach a note to let David know where you want your donation sent.
Again, if you have any questions or need further information, do not hesitate to call or email any of the directors. Mike will be without email coverage starting Sunday. I have received over 100 emails in the last couple of days. Many thanks to all of you who have opened your hearts and wallets and cleared your schedules to help with this effort.
Thanks, Linda North