Volunteers invited to sign up for Katrina relief effort

A team of volunteers from the Hilton area will be traveling to the Mississippi or Louisiana coast to help in the recovery program due to the hurricane destruction. The trip is planned for November 5 through November 12, 2006 and will be coordinated by HOPE Unites. Although church affiliation is not required, organizers would like the trip to be faith-based.

According to Lois DeWitt who has volunteered previously, "the work may be hard at times, but it is a very rewarding experience, not only for you but also for the people that you will be helping. The hurricane victims like to talk about their experiences and rarely complain about what happened to them. They are very grateful for whatever the volunteers are able to accomplish while there. The exact nature of the recovery efforts our team will be assigned have not been determined, but this will likely be a construction effort assuming the area isn't impacted again by this year's hurricane season. The minimum age for volunteers is 14, but parents must accompany anyone 16 or under."

Travel to the Gulf will be by plane (HOPE Unites will obtain the tickets) and everyone will pay for his/her own ticket. There will also be expenses for van rental, gas, lodging, meals, and HOPE leader. The more volunteers on the trip, the less each person will pay.

Fundraising events will be planned to help defray the costs for each volunteer and participants would be asked to help at least once at these events.

An information meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 6, at the Hilton United Methodist Church, 21 West Avenue, Hilton. Contact the church office, 392-8761 for information. Leave name, phone number and address either with the church secretary or on the answering machine.

May 21, 2006