July 12, 2010 VOAD
Meeting
Held at 9700 Bissonnet, Suite 2000
The meeting was lead by Roland Chambless
Attendees:
Michael Tseng Tzu
Chi Foundation
Stan Edde Houston
Food Bank
Lynn Davis Houston
Food Bank
Eric D’Olive Houston Volunteer Lawyers
Association
Mardie Paige Independence
Heights Assistance Ministries
Colleen A. Lowry Houston Volunteer Lawyers
Association
Kristen Thompson Grace
Community Services
Carolyn Gibbs Texas Episcopal Disaster
Relief
Earnest Dyer Society
of St. Vincent de Paul
Paulette Wagner American
Red Cross
Christine Ellery United
Cerebral Palsy
Julia H. Davis Houston Works USA
Kristina Clark Harris County
Office of Homeland
Security
Emergency Management
Marcela Berg Neighborhood
Centers, Inc.
Andrea Gillis Neighborhood
Centers, Inc.
Kathie Mann United
Methodist Church
– Texas
Annual Conference
Linda Hebert Harris
County Community Services Department
Linda Walker Adventist
Community Services
Jessy Burton Save The Children
Carole Billingsley Save
The Children
Paul Sofka American Red Cross
Roland Chambless Salvation
Army
Maverick Welsh Neighborhood
Centers, Inc.
Roland Chambless began the meeting by welcoming everyone and
thanking Neighborhood Centers, Inc. for hosting the meeting and providing
lunch. Roland announced that he was
looking for volunteers outside of the Executive Committee to preside over two meetings. He also requested that two individuals
outside of the Executive Committee recommend agenda items for the September and
October 2010 meetings. Andrea Gillis
with Neighborhood Centers, Inc. volunteered to preside over a meeting.
Carolyn Gibbs with Texas Episcopal Disaster Relief and
Development responded to the Agency Needs portion of the meeting by requesting
water for distribution. Stan Edde with
the Houston Food Bank stated that they had pallets of water set aside for
disaster relief. If no local disasters
occur, he will be releasing the water in November.
Mr. Edde also discussed two programs: 1) Help for seniors needing food. People who are interested in providing food
for seniors should contact Terrence Franklin with the Houston Food Bank. Approximately 30 pounds of food can be
provided to seniors that meet the requirements.
1) Summer Family Nutrition Program is open until September 30, 2010 to provide
50 pounds of food, including fresh meat and produce) to parents or guardians of
a child under the age of 18 who are 180% of the poverty level. They will deliver the food directly to them. These programs include the 18 county area
surrounding Houston.
Linda Hebert with Harris County Community Services
Department provided an overview of the 2010 Texas Unites Conference that was
hosted by Texas Citizens Corps and Texas VOAD in Dallas Texas
June 22-24, 2010.
Andrea Gillis, Director of Disaster Recovery with
Neighborhood Centers, Inc. provided an overview of what NCI does. She also mentioned that they have helped over
10,000 clients so far and 200 have registered recently. As of July 31, they will not be able to open
any new cases. The program will end on
September 30, 2010. An extension is
currently being reviewed but there is a major hurdle since NCI has a 40%
closure rate and other agencies have 10%.
She asked for a list of agencies that can absorb some of their clients
should the program end. She also
distributed a 2010 VOAD Disaster Response Inventory to build a database of
agencies that can assist clients.
Andrea also announced the tax program that NCI has. They are assisting individuals with amending
taxes for Ike related expenses. Everyone
is eligible for reimbursement of expenses that were not covered by FEMA,
insurance companies, etc., including the insurance deductible. Form 2194 must be used to claim the
reimbursement. They are also training
people to assist with helping others file their taxes for these purposes.
Jessy Burton
and Carole Billingsley provided an overview and presented a PowerPoint
presentation on Save The Children organization.
They are part of a global alliance which includes a Domestic Emergency
Unit here in Houston. They teach preparedness workshops for
children which includes a backpack full of emergency resources (flashlight,
games, etc.). Their organization are
concerned with ensuring that children’s needs are met and they have essential
items such as diapers, baby wipes, portable cribs, etc. Should a disaster occur, they could only
assist agencies that are in partnership with them. They are willing to partner with agencies and
train them on ensuring the safety of children.
Announcements:
Kathie Mann with the Texas Annual Conference, United Methodist
Church stated that Mexico was hit hard and the areas of Laredo, McAllen and Eagle Pass are in need of
beans and rice.
Tzu Chi organization announced their recycling center at 6200 Corporate Drive.
NCI has disposable nipples for bottle feeding. Contact Ms. Berg if interested.
Paul Softka announced the availability of several items from
his brother’s restaurant that is closing.
The next VOAD meeting is August 2, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. at United Way.