Giving Time: A Group For Volunteers and Non-Profits

willowby for Serving Communities: Giving Time

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday February 26, 2011 · 11:34 AM PST

2011/02/26 · 11:34

Before September of 2005 I hadn't spent much time volunteering, other than for two political campaigns. It was something I thought about on occasion, and intended to do at some vague point in the future. I might occasionally attend a non-profit fund raiser, participate in a 5K walk, or go with a friend to deliver toys purchased at Christmas for a needy family. But there was no specific cause to which I felt a connection strong enough to make me sign my name and say "I'm in...what do you need?"

Hurricane Katrina changed that. On August 29, 2005 mother nature teamed with gross governmental indifference/incompetence; the end result was suffering of a magnitude that can never be quantified. And like literally hundreds of thousands of others around the world, I was compelled to find a way to do something. By mid-September I was headed south as a Red Cross volunteer, and in terms of outlay v. personal reward, it was the most selfish thing I've ever done.

Poll

0 votes Show Results

0 votes Vote Now!

MS Supreme Court to insurance companies: honor your policies

willowby

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday October 10, 2009 · 1:47 PM PDT

2009/10/10 · 13:47

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, property owners who suffered the loss of their homes and entire communities faced the ultimate nightmare: insurance companies began denying claims resulting from wind damage.

Katrina, according to the NOAA brought "peak winds near the surface of around 140 mph in the eyewall at time of landfall...the maximum sustained wind speeds peaked near 175 mph and remained at that speed until the afternoon". The winds caused damage in Mississippi as far north as Jackson where trees were downed, roofs were lost and some areas lost power for over a week.

willowby

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday November 10, 2005 · 11:16 PM PST

2005/11/10 · 23:16

In 1917 a hard fought mayorial race in New York City pitted the incumbent, John Purroy Mitchel of the Fusion Party (a coalition of Republicans, Jewish and Protestant reformers) against the Democrat candidate John Francis Hylan and Socialist candidate Morris Hillquit. Eighty-eight years ago Hillquit's campaign was deemed controversial more so over his anti-war stance (against the backdrop of WWI) than because of his adherence to Socialism.

Mayor Mitchel's stategy was to paint both Hylan and Hillquit as seditious and pro-German. It was a potent message, given that 116,516 Americans would be killed "making the world safe for Democracy" in the span of seventeen months. Read More

A laptop for Josh, thanks to Kossack Santa c

willowby

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday October 17, 2005 · 10:32 AM PDT

2005/10/17 · 10:32

This is a follow up to a diary I posted a week ago about a 16 year old high school kid named Josh, a New Orleans evacuee living in a hotel in Montgomery Al. For Josh and his family, as well as 600,000 other hurricane victims, a hotel room has become home.

Josh drew my attention because seeing a high school kid trying to do homework in a hotel lobby night after night is an unusual thing. I posted a diary and requested assistance, hoping to raise some quick cash to buy him an inexpensive laptop. The response was far more generous than I expected, and many people offered to donate. Kos user c also offered to send a laptop from his company right away, which I gratefully accepted. But many here raised the question as to whether there are other kids out there in need of an early Christmas as well. Read More

16 year old New Orleans evacuee in Montgomery, AL needs a few spare dollars

willowby

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday October 09, 2005 · 10:15 PM PDT

2005/10/09 · 22:15

Some of you may recall I headed to Montgomery, AL about three weeks ago as a Red Cross volunteer. I expected to be sent into the Gulf area after checking in at the Red Cross headquarters here. Instead, I was recruited to stay and supervise a team supporting shelters and volunteers in the field.

The reason for this diary is to ask for assistance for a teenage boy from New Orleans I've met. He and his mother and sister are staying in my hotel. FEMA has moved them here, pending more permanent housing--which means mobile homes. From what they've been told they'll be staying in the hotel at least another month, if not longer. Read More

rest in peace Edgar Hollingsworth

willowby

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday September 20, 2005 · 3:53 AM PDT

2005/09/20 · 03:53

According to the AP, the California National Guard has reported that Edgar Hollingsworth died Saturday. He will be buried today.

Edgar Hollingsworth, an Army veteran of the Korean War, died Saturday at a New Orleans area hospital, Air Force Capt. Brenda Hendrickson of the California National Guard told The Associated Press by phone from Louisiana. He had been found four days earlier buried under a pile of rubble.

Hollingsworth is scheduled to be buried at 2 p.m. Tuesday with military honors at the Port Hudson National Cemetery, 10 miles north of Baton Rouge.

At the request of his wife, Lillian, military personnel and other authorities who helped rescue him will serve as pallbearers, along with his son, Wesley, the California National Guard said in a statement.

willowby

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday September 07, 2005 · 2:52 PM PDT

2005/09/07 · 14:52

In 2003, FEMA published a strategic plan titled A Nation Prepared that detailed its goals, and the strategies by which they could meet them for the years 2003-2008. Goal number 2: "Minimize suffering and disruption caused by disasters". They go on to state that a basic objective of this goal is to "Respond quickly and effectively when States, Territories, Tribal Nations, and local governments are overwhelmed." So what strategy and measurements will FEMA utilize to meet such a goal?

STRATEGIES
C. Develop, acquire, and coordinate a national operational capability, and the resources and assets to simultaneously respond to four catastrophic plus twelve non-catastrophic incidents, anywhere in the country.

Yes--that says they will be able to respond to 4 concurrent catastrophic and up to 12 non-catestrophic disasters. Btw, in case you're not paying attention, concurrent means "all at the same time". Read More

document request on cuts to levee project: accountability

willowby

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday September 02, 2005 · 9:22 AM PDT

2005/09/02 · 09:22

Are there any public records available documenting discussion/analysis on federal cuts to the flood control project (SELA) in New Orleans? Specifically I'm asking for congressional committees, hearings, floor debates, memos, budget proposals, budget negotiations, the final budget, etc., or any by the Army Corps of Engineers.

The documents are out there; we need to examine them. And I could personally care less about who ends up looking bad. Our government should be held accountable, no matter which side of the aisle allocated dollars with abject, jaw-dropping indifference to public safety. Read More

a poll on History diaries

willowby

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday August 29, 2005 · 8:38 AM PDT

2005/08/29 · 08:38

After spending far more time than I should have doing research on a long-ago state election in New York, I wonder now about the interest.

Granted, I should have wondered before I immersed myself in dusty old newspapers in the bowels of the library*...but better late than never.

So take the poll. Just curious as to general interest in history diaries on Kos.

Thanks!

* okay that's a lie since they're mostly online now. I was just being folksy.

Happy 85th Anniversary 19th Amendment, with thanks to Harry Burn's mum

willowby

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday August 18, 2005 · 5:32 PM PDT

2005/08/18 · 17:32

On August 18, 1920 history was made by way of a telegram sent by a mother to her son. Harry Burn, age 24 and a member of the Tennessee legislature, heeded his mother's plea and fundamentally changed America.

Little more than a year had passed since the US Senate approved, on June 4 1919, the 19th Amendment, which would extend the right to vote to half the nation's citizens. Thirty-five of forty-eight states had already ratified the measure, and only one more state was needed to meet the constitutional requirement that amendments become law when ratified by "the Legislatures of three fourths of the several states..."

The 20th Century "War of the Roses" was raging in Nashville, and reporters from the big cities of New York, Boston, and Chicago were there to cover it. The men in the state legislature wore either a red or yellow rose on their lapel to signify their position: red against, yellow for, giving women the right to vote. And as the red roses outnumbered the yellow 49-47 before the roll call, the outcome appeared almost certain. Appeared certain, that is, until a mother's words were considered.
Read More

a thank you from OH-2, from a lifelong native

willowby

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday August 03, 2005 · 2:59 PM PDT

2005/08/03 · 14:59

I'll be forever grateful for the work DavidNYC, Bob Brigham and Tim Tagaris did, and the attention they brought to Paul Hackett's campaign. By calling out the latest tactical smear on Democratic veterans, they awoke a sleeping tiger. The contributions simply would not have poured into Hackett's coffers, and there would not have been an actual race for the open congressional seat. I've just become the newest registered member at Swing State Project, and look forward to reading them cover the races we all need to be aware of.

For everyone who contributed, again...wow. Every time I hit the refresh button on the ActBlue Hackett page, I was overwhelmed that so many people across the country cared about the race in this corner of the world. "Thank you" sometimes doesn't even come close, but the outpouring of support here left me speechless at times. I honestly believe that you all helped change the political landscape here, and for the first time in years have hope that our message can get through. So yeah...thank you. Read More

Jean Schmidt: extremist position on life support

willowby

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday August 01, 2005 · 6:55 PM PDT

2005/08/01 · 18:55

It's obviously way late in the day, but I think it worthwhile to point out again the extreme and plainly dishonest position Jean Schmidt promotes with respect to end of life issues. I posted much of this on another diary a few days ago, but hearing Bill Cunningham (WLW Radio) voice admiration today for her involvement with Right To Life almost gave me an aneurysm. And it wasn't about abortion; what bothered me was his spin that this group is a voice for mainstream America.

I expect we'd all agree that it is Jean Schmidt's right to hold beliefs about refusal of life support in accordance with her faith. What's more, there is no question that people of good conscience can hold differing views on the subject.

That said, voters have a right to know if Jean Schmidt will attempt to legislate her rather extreme religious convictions into binding law if she is elected to Congress. It seemed to me that the most resounding message mainstream America sent to its government during the Schiavo debacle was when a 76% majority told Congress to STAY OUT of that particular sphere of privacy.
Read More

Newer
Older

RSS

Giving Time: A Group For Volunteers and Non-Profits

MS Supreme Court to insurance companies: honor your policies

A New York election, WWI style: November 6, 1917

A laptop for Josh, thanks to Kossack Santa c

16 year old New Orleans evacuee in Montgomery, AL needs a few spare dollars

rest in peace Edgar Hollingsworth

FEMA Strategic Plan '03: capacity for 4 concurrent major disasters

document request on cuts to levee project: accountability

a poll on History diaries

Happy 85th Anniversary 19th Amendment, with thanks to Harry Burn's mum

a thank you from OH-2, from a lifelong native

Jean Schmidt: extremist position on life support