Hopefully, today we put the first piling in the ground for the four houses we're building under the United Way grant. That's the exciting news! The "not so exciting news" is that we've been notified this week that we no longer have 200 days to complete these houses. We now have to have them done
It’s easy for us on site here in Plaquemines Parish to get “lost in the weeds” (I probably should have used “swamp” instead of “weeds”) of what we’re doing and accomplishing each week. Periodically God gives us a strong refresher of what we’re about. This past week we were blessed to have our many-times volunteer
This has been an exciting week here in Plaquemines Parish! We had teams from another Fuller Center—Jersey Pines—and St John Lutheran Church, Charles City, Iowa. Both are special—St John is associated with Joining Hands, the Iowa arm of Peg Sennett’s group, and has been to the Gulf Coast many times. You’ll recognize other names from
We’re having a great week here in Plaquemines loaded with boomerangers. One of Heather’s favorite memories of the week is seeing Pastor Melissa, California Lutheran University, come into the Fellowship Hall on Sunday night and recognizing at least five of the St John’s team from previous visits. With all the hugging, the orientation was delayed
In June 2009, we “declared victory” over Hurricane Katrina and moved our mission to Hurricane Ike country in East Texas. As you know by now, I’ve admitted to a premature declaration of victory (I’m in good company anyway). We might have been correct in assessing a greater need in East Texas than the Mississippi Gulf
Homeowners and volunteers express deep gratitude (See a Disaster ReBuilders volunteer video at the bottom of the story.) In June 2009, Fuller Center Disaster ReBuilders (FCDR) arrived in Orange, Tex., with a crew of four construction leaders and several years of experience repairing hurricane damaged homes in Mississippi. While many had already forgotten or moved
Michelle Warren and Kelly Hedgpeth tarring a roof In November 2005, before Disaster ReBuilders was part of The Fuller Center, before there was much hope for the reconstruction of the Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina, Bart Tucker approached an AmeriCorps team in Biloxi, Miss., and invited the volunteers to spend a day working
Learning lessons and changing lives The success of the Fuller Center Disaster ReBuilders (FCDR) team is a tribute to the high value of volunteers, both skilled and unskilled, working together on affordable housing. Most weeks, the FCDR headquarters in Orange, Tex., is teeming with activity as groups of people move in and out for a
Team offers year-round volunteer opportunities A FEMA trailer viewed from the window of a hurricane-damaged house being worked on by FCDR A FEMA trailer viewed from the window of a hurricane-damaged house being worked on by FCDR As The Fuller Center works to put into place its response to the disaster in Haiti,
Fuller Center Disaster ReBuilders will uplift Hurricane Ike victims over the next two years with a massive reconstruction effort When you drive around Orange and Bridge City, Tex., the homes look like a Hollywood set, says Robert Hyneckeal, one of the leaders of The Fuller Center Disaster ReBuilders program. The outsides of the houses appear