Dear Friends,
We are approaching the third anniversary of Hurricane
Katrina’s devastation in the Gulf Coast and our
government's failed response to this national crisis. As we
at United Peace Relief reflect over the last two years, we
have much to be proud of in our coming together and working
tirelessly to help in any way we can. When we came together
in early September of 2005, we thought we were traveling to
the Gulf to help the first responders but quickly realized
we were among the first responders. Help was slow in
reaching the Gulf and we mobilized to help in local Red
Cross Shelters, helped set up much needed clinics,
delivered supplies, helped families reconnect and helped
listen to local residence who were in shock.
As the on-going crisis continued, we helped volunteers find
grassroots organizations that could use their talents, we
staffed clinics, and formed a base camp for volunteers to
stay at while they worked in the Gulf. We continue working
in both Pass Christian, Mississippi. and New Orleans,
Louisiana with rebuilding efforts. Though we are deeply
committed to continue in this on-going recovery effort, we
never thought we would have to be here this long or that
government response would continue to be this slow.
It is at this juncture, we realize that we cannot continue
our mission without the help of a growing membership of
volunteers and an expanded search for funding resources.
Weather related crisis has hit many areas across the
country this past year. This along with the ever increasing
realization that much of our infrastructure is in disrepair
throughout the country, we can expect an ever growing
number of devastating events. We would like to be able to
respond to all crisis that effect our fellow citizens. With
your help, we can expand our ability to help more people
through recovery to empowerment.
At the present time, we are developing chapters of United
Peace Relief (UPR) in Ukiah, California; Tallahassee,
Florida; and Detroit, Michigan. We have family, friends,
and fellow grassroots alliances in the Gulf Region. We wish
to invite you to become an honorary member of our volunteer
network. We wish to help our members establish UPR chapters
in their own communities. Over the last two years, we have
witnessed the importance of volunteers coming together with
a wide range of skills. We have seen the positive effect of
self-empowerment when someone discovers they have skills
that can help in a crisis and that they never knew they
had.
Friends and associates have been asking us over the last
two years how they can join UPR. We were not sure how to
answer that at the time because we were not quite sure how
long we would be needed to do relief work. As it turns out,
more and more relief work is needed all the time. We would
like to invite you to join us in this important on-going
network of volunteers to provide relief when called to in
as many areas of the country as possible.
Thank you for your past, present, and future support.
United Peace Relief honorary members will receive
notification in the event we deploy to a disaster area.
Membership privileges do not include board voting rights
but do include:
Friends Level -$25.00 per year
As a friend of UPR you will receive a quarterly newsletter,
a United Peace Relief button or our homemade incense, our
most gracious gratitude, a place on any volunteer crew you
are able to attend and be self- sustaining at (with a lot
of emotional, meal, and general support from the Camp), and
you will have an opportunity to create a chapter of United
Peace Relief in your very own neighborhood with guidance
from our Board of Directors. Thank You!
Supporting Level-$50.00 per year
By being a supporting member, you receive the same
privileges as our friends -- you just help us do more. Very
rewarding! But if you need more send us a note and we will
gladly send you whatever swag (ie. T-shirts, buttons,
incenses, whatever) we have around the office. Thank You!
Angel
Level -$100.00 per year
As an Angel you will receive all the same privileges as our
supporters and friends, and you will be listed in the
Angels of UPR section of our newsletter. Thank You!
Become a member today by filling out the contact form on
the Member
Registration page, submit and pay via
Paypal. Don't worry -- we will limit emails to
notifications and newsletters.
Of course, one-time donations of any size are always
welcome and greatly appreciated. Through membership and
donations, we will be able to continue our good works in
the Gulf Coast and beyond. If you would like additional
information contact us at membership@unitedpeacerelief.org.
Sincerely,
Kate, Carol, Steve, Wendy, and Mike
United Peace Relief Board
P. O. Box 486
Ukiah, CA 95482
info@unitedpeacerelief.org