The Center for a Better South has released a listing of ideas and recommendations it made to the U.S. Navy about how to improve the lives of residents of the Gulf Coast, particularly those impacted by the recent oil spill.
Included in the report is a recommendation from Clinton School Dean Skip Rutherford calling on the federal government to create a national volunteer network to match volunteers with needs in the Gulf region. Below is an excerpt from the report. Follow the link to for the full report: Gulf Report
We need to tap into America’s volunteer spirit of giving to help people in the Gulf. By focusing on helpful tasks, we can mitigate negative feelings of helplessness and start attacking the problems collaboratively in a more positive way.
We propose that the federal government quickly develop a national center to tap into this American spirit of trying to help neighbors in need of help. Such a center may be fueled by a national Web site and hotline that would coordinate what local Gulf communities and states need and match that to what communities, companies, churches, volunteer groups and individuals from across the country want to give.