Hey guys, I normally do not do "mass forwards" of e-mail, but sometimes an exception has to be made.
Thankfully, Gustav didn't turn into a Katrina situation. However, New Orleans still has mass power outages, the sewer systems are still out and they aren't expecting some areas to be functional until next week.
There are 300 people who were evacuated into UAB's arena, and many others in the area as well. If you have the means (time or money), here is how you can help.
-----Original Message-----
To the UAB community:
Many of you have asked how you can help our Hurricane Gustav evacuees. As you know, Bartow Arena accepted 300 persons on Sunday evening who were evacuated from New Orleans.
Here is what you can do:
Volunteer - Go to the Birmingham Red Cross main office, 950 22nd Street North, Suite 750, Medical Forum, to sign up and receive a badge. You may request to work at Bartow Arena, but your services may be needed elsewhere, as there are many shelters throughout the metro area. The only need at Bartow is for a maximum of 20 people at any one mealtime to serve food, but mealtimes vary.
Please do not go to Bartow Arena and offer to volunteer without credentials. This presents unnecessary security and congestion problems, and the Red Cross has asked us to please work within their system.
The Birmingham Chapter phone number is 458-8282.
Provide financial assistance - This is the #1 need. Make checks payable to Birmingham Area Chapter, Red Cross and designate the funds for Hurricane Gustav. Mail or drop off your check at the address above.
Donate items - We are told that, as of this morning, the needs are clothing (primarily for men), infant formula Enfamil and Similac in powdered form, jars of baby food, and sanitary items for women. Drop items off at the Red Cross Service Center, 2250 9th Ave North. Call the Service Center at 458-8287 for updates on needs.
You may designate items for UAB Bartow Arena, but they may be redirected as areas of greatest needs are determined.
Give blood - Another way for the UAB community to help this week is to donate blood at the North Pavilion blood drive, 11:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. today, and 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Wednesday through Friday.
I am so very proud of how the UAB community has come together to assist in this effort. Many of our administrators and staff gave up their holiday weekend to work long hours to help prepare the arena, coming in on short notice and staying late into Sunday night assisting the evacuees to get settled in. We continue to have Bartow Arena staff and others from facilities, security, housekeeping and maintenance on-site 24 hours a day to help things run smoothly.
The Red Cross has a huge task in providing meals for evacuees around the city, but with the exception of lunch on Monday (which ran late), the meals are being served on time, and there are always plenty of snacks and drinks available around-the-clock in Bartow.
It is heartening, but not surprising to me, to watch the UAB community come together to serve others. I have spent a good bit of time at the arena these past few days, and many evacuees have asked me to express their thanks to all of you. It is my pleasure to do that now.
Sincerely,
Carol Garrison
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