Every Share Helps!

In the wake of natural disasters, entire communities, cities, and countries are left devastated. Because governments are oftentimes not able to respond quickly enough to the aftermath of such destruction, nonprofits and relief organizations are nearly always the first to take action and continue to work on reconstruction for years afterwards.

Relief efforts are needed in almost all countries around the world, and organizations look for volunteers year round. If you’re interested in providing aid to the victims of a natural disaster, you have a multitude of organizations available to you.

Here is a look at just three great organizations to check out!

Common Ground Relief

Common Ground Relief is a grassroots, volunteer-run, nonprofit American organization created in response to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and has not ceased to assist the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans since. They have also expanded to helping victims of more recent hurricanes as well. Common Ground Relief’s various projects require constant influxes of volunteers in the short- and long-term. Since the inception, this organization has served more than 35,000 victims of Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters.

Volunteers take on leadership roles in projects ranging from home construction, renovation and rebuilding; house elevation; advocacy; gardening; free legal clinics—including mortgage application assistance and most other types of civil litigation; education about food security; wetlands restoration; and community gardening. Volunteers help victims rebuild not only their homes, but also their lives in sustainable ways.

Common Ground Relief welcomes volunteers from all walks of life, but specifically seeks out those with expertise in construction, legal assistance, environmental science, education, and computer technology.

• Time commitment: Short- and long-term
• Accommodations: Volunteer houses
• Location: Lower 9th Ward, New Orleans

For more information, check out: www.commongroundrelief.org/volunteer

Christian Appalachian Project

The Christian Appalachian Project (CAP) is an interdenominational organization located in eastern Kentucky, serving all 13 Appalachian states for more than 50 years in an effort to improve the lives of the poverty stricken populations—especially children—in the area.

Volunteers take on roles in disaster relief, including construction and hunger relief, as well as a variety of other projects, such as childcare, assisting in domestic violence shelters, aiding substance abuse recovery, working in a food pantry or thrift store, providing counseling services, helping with family advocacy, and more. Volunteers also have several lengths of service to choose from, ranging from a few weeks, to a summer, to an entire year.

Volunteers working on any project may be given the opportunity to assist the Disaster Relief Response Team in the event of a natural disaster in the region.

Opportunities are available to individuals and groups, as well as Spring Break opportunities for high school and college students.

• Time commitment: Three weeks to one year
• Accommodations: Volunteer houses
• Location: Appalachian region of eastern Kentucky
• Requirements: Volunteers must be at least 18 years of age, 21 for the more sensitive projects

For more information, check out: www.christianapp.org

Feed the Children

Feed the Children is an international, nongovernmental charity headquartered in Oklahoma City. Since 1979, this organization has provided food, medicine, clothing, and shelter to individuals and families—specifically those with children—especially in the wake of natural disasters, famine, war, and extreme poverty. In 2010 alone, Feed the Children provided over 133 million pounds of food and other essentials in the United States and worldwide.

Volunteers work on medical mission projects and provide emergency disaster relief, assisting families who face some of the greatest hardships in developing countries.

Due to the nature of the missions Feed the Children takes on, trained doctors, nurses, optometrists, and laypersons are needed to assist on the medical mission projects for the physical and spiritual rejuvenation of those in need.

Volunteers of the emergency disaster relief projects should be physically and emotionally prepared for hard work that is physical, demanding, and that sometimes may cause them to face harsh conditions. Volunteers should have special training in civil engineering, logistics, pastoral services or social work, public affairs, or media communications. Also needed: those with training in firefighting, search and rescue, police and military training. Emergency disaster relief projects take place both in the United States and abroad.

For more information, check out: www.feedthechildren.org