Most Impacted Clubs
The Boys & Girls Club organizations that have been hardest hit are:
•New Orleans – four Club units destroyed.
•Naval Air Station Youth Center in New Orleans – heavily damaged.
•Biloxi/Gulfport, Miss. – five of seven Club units and administrative offices destroyed.
•Moss Point/Pascagoula, Miss. – three of five sites destroyed.
•Keesler AFB Youth Center/BGC in Biloxi – severe damage.
•Mobile, Ala. – two Clubs flooded and one with roof damage.
From Devastation, Hope

The human suffering wrought by Hurricane Katrina touches us all. The storm and its floodwaters destroyed thousands of homes and businesses. Total damage along the Gulf Coast could amount to $200 billion. The region faces years of reconstruction. The ongoing human toll – rebuilding shattered lives – is impossible to calculate.

Our Boys & Girls Club family has also experienced loss. Club children, Club professionals and their families are among the nearly 1 million people dislocated by the hurricane.

It will take months to fully assess the extent of damage, but this much is clear: Clubs in three Gulf Coast states – Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama – were either destroyed or severely damaged by the hurricane. As of this writing, it is estimated that 16 Clubs, with a total annual enrollment of 20,000+ children, were impacted by the storm. In addition to losing facilities and jobs, these Clubs have also lost fundraising capabilities and will need tremendous financial support.

But from devastation there is hope. Faced with the need to rebuild facilities and, most importantly, serve thousands of children whose lives have been disrupted by this tragedy, Boys & Girls Clubs of America has established a Hurricane Relief Fund. BGCA has also approached government and corporate partners to ask for supplemental funding for these Clubs, and is working to help displaced local Club staff find jobs in other cities. Moreover, Clubs across the Movement have challenged each other to raise funds for Gulf Coast Club organizations.

In the immediate aftermath of the storm, hundreds of Boys & Girls Clubs quickly responded by opening their doors and hearts to thousands of evacuees relocated to communities across America. Many Clubs offered their facilities as shelters, serving displaced families and youth at no charge. Some are also providing staff and financial support.

First Responders
The first order of business for Clubs in affected areas was to bring normalcy to thousands of displaced children. Clubs inland from the worst devastation set up facilities that enabled children to get something to eat and play games, while parents accessed the Internet to e-mail loved ones, apply for aid and contact insurance companies. Here are just a few examples of how such Clubs took action:
  • At the Boys & Girls Clubs of Acadiana in Lafayette, La., one of its locations was quickly turned into a shelter for evacuees. As a result, the Club itself was relocated to a school next door. Club staff worked hard to provide activities to kids – an estimated 1,500 – located there.
  • With electricity in scarce supply, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Baton Rouge, La. – a community whose population seems to have doubled – provided temporary Club services for evacuees at the RiverCenter Shelter. In one day, more than 160 children arrived at the Club site.
  • The Boys & Girls Club of West Monroe, La., opened its doors to the children of evacuees by conducting shuttles from a Red Cross center.
How to Give
BGCA is encouraging donations to the Hurricane Relief Fund. Please advise donors of three ways to give:
1.Go to www.bgca.org to make an online gift
2.Call 1-800-805-CLUB, (Mon. - Fri., 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. ET)
3.Mail a check to:
Boys & Girls Clubs of America
Hurricane Relief Fund
1230 W. Peachtree Street NW
Atlanta, GA 30309-3447
Action Nationwide
Boys & Girls Clubs everywhere worked hard to address the needs of displaced children. Clubs as far away from the storm as Wyoming, Waukegan, Ill., and even Heidelberg, Germany, conducted food and clothing drives for hurricane victims. Many Clubs offered free memberships to displaced children and use of Clubs during non-school hours. Club staff found many other ways to help out:
  • Three sites from The Salvation Army Boys & Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Houston were used as disaster relief shelters. Many other Clubs in Texas – the state that has taken in the most storm victims – also served evacuees.
  • The Salvation Army Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Tulsa, Okla., reached out to evacuees at Camp Gruber, a military camp an hour away that took in 1,400 evacuees, 300 of them children. Club staff arrived at the camp with games and other recreational supplies, and set up an outdoor Club under tents in a field.
  • Near another military base, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Cape Cod was ready to help as Massachusetts received more than 100 hurricane evacuees to be housed at Camp Edwards.
  • Club staff at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Goshen, Ind., drove to Hattiesburg, Miss., to bring back a family whose school and house were leveled during Katrina. The kids, ages 11 and 13, are now in school, have new clothes and attend the Club in Goshen every day.
In the coming months, much work lies ahead. The Boys & Girls Club Movement is committed to providing care and comfort to the thousands of children whose lives were disrupted by the storm. Since the relief situation is constantly changing, the best resource for information is www.bgca.net. Check the site regularly for updates and ways to aid in the relief efforts.

Although our country and Clubs have experienced a terrible disaster, the spirit of our cause endures. "Americans have always been able to count on each other in times of crisis," says BGCA President Roxanne Spillett. "This is the time to show our support for those in desperate need."

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