Disaster Response in the U.S.

Media contacts Mindy Mizell 202.355.3690 (c)

Latest press releases: 5/23/2011 World Vision raises U.S. tornado response appeal to $5 million to meet additional needs in Missouri, Minnesota 05/10/2011 JPMorgan Chase and NY Giants' Justin Tuck help with tornado relief efforts 04/29/2011 World Vision appeals for $3 million for tornado response 04/28/2011 World Vision prepares to respond to severe weather in Alabama, southern states More Press Releases ...

Preparation | Response | Rebuilding

Preparation

• Emergency supplies — World Vision actively solicits corporate partners to donate new products to be used by local partners who assist disaster survivors in their recovery. World Vision maintains and manages significant logistics capacity and warehousing resources that facilitate the efficient distribution of relief, recovery and re-building supplies. Our goal is for every distribution center to have a constant supply of emergency resources to be distributed at any moment’s notice. Products include such things as personal hygiene supplies, cleaning supplies, baby supplies, new clothing, paper goods, and child-friendly items like toys, schools supplies, crayons and coloring books. World Vision also provides an array of building materials used to repair and rebuild homes, churches and community buildings.
• Awareness — We monitor nature’s early warning signals —threats of hurricanes, wildfires, floods, and tornadoes — to anticipate needs and work to reduce the impact of a catastrophe.
• Training — Our staff train churches, faith-based organizations and community-based organizations how to prepare for and mitigate the impact of disasters they are likely to face in their area. We focus on building the capacity of our partners to more effectively engage in disaster response.
• Planning and coordination — World Vision serves on planning committees such as National and State Volunteer Organizations Active in Disasters (VOAD), State and local offices of emergency management (OEM), community disaster recovery committees and local community development networks. These relationships allow us to serve as a liaison to the community and come alongside them to help develop a voice for children and families affected by disasters.

Response

• Expert teams — World Vision’s Domestic Disaster Response Team stands ready for deployment within 24 to 72 hours of a disaster, working with local staff to assess and respond to needs.
• Local partnerships — World Vision has a rich network of local partnerships with churches, community organizations and government agencies that come to us when families in their community suffer a disaster.
• Immediate aid — Because of the large variety of product donations that we receive and distribute, World Vision is able to meet the needs of affected families, especially children. New clothes, shoes, furniture, mattresses, school supplies, building materials and cleaning supplies are only a few of the unique offerings that we are able to provide through our local partners.

Rebuilding

• Recovery resources — World Vision supplies items such as rakes, shovels, cleaning supplies, gloves, masks and building materials to help families return to their homes.
• Long-term development — With a commitment to recovery, our emergency interventions often lead to long-term development programs, including child-focused initiatives supporting out-of-school time education programs like the Youth Empowerment Project, equipping youth to transform their communities, and KidREACH, a mentorship program that provides both academic and confidence-building support.

Our Katrina response

• In 2005, World Vision responded within the first 48 hours after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast and is now completing recovery efforts three years later.
• World Vision raised $13,181,000 for its immediate and long-term response.
• A total number of 319,000 hurricane survivors have been served with cash grants and distribution center products through our partners.

More recent press releases
05/13/2010		World Vision responding to two U.S. disasters
10/09/2009		Samoan youth volunteers to help prepare World Vision shipment of tsunami relief supplies
10/09/2009		World Vision and the University of Washington Huskies partner to raise funds for American Samoa
03/28/2009		Flooding in Fargo: World Vision sending supplies and staff to help affected families
More press releases ...