USA Supports Rita and Katrina Victims

In what seemed to be a repeat of the 2004 hurricane season, the 2005 storms once again ripped through the Gulf Coast, leaving many individuals homeless and in need of assistance. “USA employees have been incredibly generous with hurricane relief efforts. The need in our communities has been unprecedented, and employees have risen to every challenge,” said Jeff Carr,
Director of Communications and Public Relations for USA.

On August 29, Hurricane Katrina devastated southern Louisiana and Mississippi, affecting NASA facilities and hundreds of thousands of residents. As evacuees poured in to Houston, USA employees jumped into action.

Houston officials converted Reliant Stadium into a large shelter that and was home to over 20,000 evacuees. Volunteers spent countless hours at Salvation Army Shelters, the Food Houston Bank, Interfaith Caring Ministries, local churches and Reliant Stadium helping where needed.

In response to tremendous employee interest, USA established a relief fund. In less than a week, contributions reached $180,000; by the end of the campaign, totals reached almost $250,000, which was matched by a company contribution bringing the total relief contribution to $500,000.

In September, Hurricane Rita made landfall on the Texas gulf coast just southeast of Houston. Although the Greater Houston area was spared, Rita raged through East Texas, leaving a trail of debris across many of the same small communities that were host to thousands of recovery workers after the Columbia accident in 2003. Several East Texas communities requested assistance from Johnson Space Center in their recovery.

Space Center Volunteers (SCV) stepped up to lead the effort. Kim Nahas of USA and Peggy Wooten of Johnson Space Center co-chaired the response team and coordinated volunteer opportunities.

“Many of us spent months in East Texas during the Columbia recovery efforts. Those small towns embraced us and took great care of us during our darkest hours. Those same folks needed our help,” Nahas said.

SCV hosted a drive for goods and donations at the JSC Credit Union. They collected 12 large pallets of goods and raised over $5,000. Over three weekends in October, teams of volunteers took chainsaws and a lot of muscle to haul debris away. They worked with local volunteer fire departments in Woodville, Ivanhoe and Jasper to help clear downed trees and limbs. Over 150 volunteers helped 37 families during those work weekends.

“I knew we needed to do something for the people in Woodville, so I started with an e-mail, asking NASA-JSC folks for help. They responded immediately with food drives and offers to volunteer their time. I had an overwhelming response – much more than I expected,” said JSC employee Gregg Gelmis.

The volunteer effort quickly targeted Ivanhoe, a small waterfront community just south of Woodville, that was especially hard hit. Many of the residents in Ivanhoe are retirees, and the extensive damage makes cleanup efforts particularly difficult for them.

“I have to send a big thank you to everyone who helped with cleanup,” said Susan Y’Barbo, USA employee and Ivanhoe homeowner. “[You] have no idea how much [the volunteer efforts] meant and how wonderful it makes us feel.”

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