cities3

Local veteran social worker Rita Adair is spearheading an effort to bring 20 displaced families to Dane County. She is coordinating a grassroots volunteer effort to provide these families with furnished apartments, employment, food, medical and legal assistance as well as ongoing case management. Arrangements to bring them here are in full gear, with arrival expected by the end of this week.

A powerful aspect of this effort is that these families will be coming to a home they can call their own (however long they are with us) and multi-faceted mental, medical, educational, administrative and financial support to help them navigate the months ahead as they rebuild their lives. Many Dane County volunteers, corporations, churches and organizations are supporting this effort.

How can you help? There are a number of options:

Donate cash: Money is needed to support rent, groceries, living expenses and transportation costs. You can donate directly to the Katrina Disaster Fund at the Dane County Credit Union, 2160 Rimrock Road, Madison 53713-1444 (256-5665). Your contribution is tax-deductible and ALL of your contributons will go to the direct support of families, as all of these efforts are 100% volunteer.

Donate furniture: There is a huge need for furniture to furnish 20 apartments. The goal is to have all the furniture in apartments by tomorrow (Wednesday) night. Please call Sharon Patrick at 238-0633 if you have furniture you can donate.

Donate clothing: We are assuming most people will arrive in Madison with just the clothes they are wearing. Children's and plus-sized adult closing and shoes in good condition are among the items we anticipate needing. If you have clothing to donate, please contact Sandy Spiece at 221-9141, or email her at sspiece@charter.net .

In addition, they are looking for people who can offer jobs to the resettled families (call Rita Adair at 217-2219), people who can donate professional services, such as legal and medical services (call Shannon Kunstner at 236-2164 or e-mail srdeininger@wisc.edu ). They are looking for donations of carpet cleaning services, and for someone who can do small home repairs--please call Sharon Patrick if you can provide these services.