Founded 2005 | Area served Worldwide | |
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Founder David Campbell, Darius Monsef Type 501(c)3 non-profit organization Tax ID no. US Tax ID #20-3414952 / UK charity number 1139938 Location 6 County Road, Suite 6 Mattapoisett, MA 02739 | ||
All Hands Volunteers is a U.S.-based, 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Founded in September 2005, All Hands provides relief to residents in areas affected by natural disasters in the U.S. and internationally. It is based in Mattapoisett, Massachusetts.
Contents
History
The organization that would become All Hands Volunteers was co-founded on September 6, 2005 by internet entrepreneur Darius Monsef and businessman David Campbell after the pair met in Thailand, where they had both gone to work in the aftermath of the 2004 Sumatran tsunami that killed an estimated 230,000 people. Many arriving volunteers found that they were being turned away by established charities, resulting in a group coming together to perform basic tasks, such as clearing debris and building shelters. The pair, along with Pete Kirkwood and Mike Cegielski, two U.S. citizens then living in Thailand, created HandsOnThailand, which brought more than 200 volunteers as well as several hundred thousand dollars to aid in the rebuilding of five Phuket fishing villages.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the pair joined with other HandsOn volunteers to establish HandsOnUSA, setting up an operations center in Biloxi, Mississippi within days of the storm. The organization signed on 1,500 volunteers, providing an estimated $2.5 million in volunteer time. HandsOnUSA worked on demolition and construction in the city, as well as clearing away debris and making space for the trailers supplied by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The group remained in Biloxi for five months. In January 2006, the group turned the project over to Hands On Network Gulf Coast and changed its name to Hands On Disaster Response (HODR), launching their next recovery project in Yogyakarta, Indonesia in May of the same year, following the 2006 Yogyakarta earthquake.
In August 2010, Hands On Disaster Response changed its name to All Hands Volunteers to avoid being confused with other organizations with similar names.
Volunteer process
When establishing a presence at a new location after a major disaster, All Hands first conducts a thorough assessment to determine the community where they will establish a base, after communicating with local community leadership, following up by inviting a set number of volunteers to join the project base as space and need allows. While many large volunteer organizations request that volunteers pay to participate, All Hands Volunteers only requests that volunteers cover their own travel expenses, while the group raises funds to cover the remaining expenses. Volunteers aren't expected to set a minimum set commitment period, staying only as long as they can. In addition, the nature of some of the work volunteers perform (mainly cleanup and demolitions in areas affected by natural disasters) is unskilled labor, meaning that volunteers can immediately take part in recovery efforts with little or no training. Work is often limited to physical labor, such as clearing debris or demolishing damaged structures, but has also included building of schools in Haiti, permanent homes in the Philippines, and an ongoing rebuild program in Staten Island NY as part of their Sandy response. The organization has engaged volunteers from more than 45 countries.
2006
On May 27, 2006, an earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale struck the Yogyakarta region in Java, Indonesia. HODR established a base in the village of Sawit, where volunteers participated in demolition and debris removal.
In November 2006, Typhoon Durian (Reming) struck the Philippines, resulting in extensive damage and loss of life. HODR established a base in the township of Santo Domingo, Albay in January 2007, assisting with rebuilding and cleanup.
2007
The organization's next project took place in Pisco, Peru, providing aid following the 2007 Peru earthquake. The group's final project in 2007 was in Rayenda, Bangladesh, following Cyclone Sidr, where they aided in restoration with a group of 50 volunteers from 10 different countries.
2008
In February, the organization established a three-week operation in Gassville, Arkansas, to aid in the cleanup after a category EF2 tornado, one of the Super Tuesday tornados, struck the town destroying 79 homes. They then moved to Newton County, Missouri, to aid with the recovery after the Picher/Neosho tornado on May 10 hit the county, destroying almost 200 houses and killing 18.
In June 2008, eastern Iowa was hit with massive flooding, forcing the evacuation of several cities, including Palo and Cedar Rapids. HODR established Project Cedar Rapids, bringing over 2,000 volunteers to the area during its four-month deployment. Volunteers traveled door to door, assisting residents with clean up.
HODR's final project in 2008 took place in Gonaives, Haiti, after a series of hurricanes hit the area, where the group aided in mud removal and the rebuilding of the city's infrastructure, including the cleaning and painting of the school and medical clinic.
2009
In April 2009, HODR set up operations in Mena, Arkansas to remove debris and downed trees after an EF3 tornado hit the town, damaging more than 600 homes and affecting thousands of people.
A coordination team was deployed to Gowanda, NY, following the August 9–10, 2009 flash flooding in Cattaraugus County, where they set up a recovery center at the Gowanda Fire Department to connect agencies with volunteers seeking to help in flood recovery in the area.
In October, the group opened Project Sungai Geringging after Western Sumatra was hit by a 7.9 magnitude earthquake on September 30. The project operated until April 2010, demolishing damaged structures and salvaging reusable materials to aid in rebuilding.
2010
On January 12, 2010, an earthquake that registered 7.0 on the Richter Scale struck Haiti, with a death toll that some estimates quoted as high as 300,000, with another 300,000 wounded and more than one million people left homeless. The first volunteer staff from HODR arrived on January 21 where, after networking with contacts from their previous efforts in Gonaives, they launched Project Leogane on February 3, 2010 with an emphasis on deconstruction and salvage, as well as in the building of transitional schools. In what would become the organization's longest running project, HODR would remain until 2012 (by which time they would be known as All Hands Volunteers).
HODR also returned to the Cedar Rapids, Iowa area in April 2010, to aid in continued rebuilding following the 2008 flood, with the help of a $15,000 donation from the Greater Cedar Rapids Home Builders Association to pay for tools and supplies.
The group aided with flood recovery coordination for three U.S. incidents, establishing operations in Rhode Island, Tennessee and Iowa. Rhode Island received up to 15 in (380 mm) of rain in late March and subsequently suffered severe flooding. HODR responded to a request by the state branch of VOAD and the state's emergency management agency to establish and staff an inter-agency recovery coordination center (RCC). The center continued providing coordination until early May. As the Rhode Island project concluded, both Middle and West Tennessee experienced record rainfall and suffered exceptional flooding. Similar to the Rhode Island project, HODR helped optimize an RCC in Antioch, Tennessee that subsequently handled over a thousand inter-agency requests for assistance. In August, the Skunk River flooded parts of southern Iowa. Especially devastated was the city of Colfax in Jasper County. HODR teams helped with clean-up and recovery activities plus assisting in inter-agency coordination for Colfax and Jasper County.
2011
Relief efforts in Haiti continued in 2011, with the organization, now known as All Hands Volunteers (AHV), expanding to address the evolving needs of residents. One aspect of this involved the creation of a Biosand Filter Program to distribute water filters that kill pathogens and prevent the spread of waterborne diseases to Leogane and surrounding rural communities. Another was the creation of a Livelihoods program, which educated residents in business skills in order to increase their standard of living. They also collaborated with other relief agencies on the Vini Jwe project, which constructed a soccer field for the community Leogane, commemorating its completion with a tournament involving international aid organizations, Haitian league teams and members of the local community.
The organization launched Project Tohoku in Japan as well, setting up operations in Rikuzentakata city and Ofunato city, Iwate Prefecture, where approximately 7,200 homes were badly damaged by the earthquake and tsunami. There, they worked with hundreds of volunteers to clear debris from homes, canals, and public areas and repaired houses.
All Hands also established relief efforts in the U.S., following tornadoes that struck in Alabama, Massachusetts and Missouri. A "Good Friday" EF-4 tornado struck St. Louis on Friday, April 22. AHV's debris clearance team spent four weeks, beginning in May, clearing trees from buildings. A longer-term effort began in May to help relocate families and to de-construct houses that had to be gutted prior to being rebuilt. Dozens of tornados struck Alabama on April 27 in a super outbreak which killed over 200 people. AHV responded to requests by the State and the Alabama branch of VOAD to provide inter-agency coordination services in support of the ongoing recovery efforts. Coordination of needs was enhanced by a strong 2-1-1 system. Direct volunteer efforts included tree removal, debris removal, and de-construction. AHV efforts concluded in mid-July. While the Alabama recovery was underway, Western Massachusetts was hit by multiple tornados on June 1. The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) asked AHV to provide coordination services for volunteer agencies in the state. At the same time AHV partnered with United Way and using the 2-1-1 system provided field operations support throughout much of Western Massachusetts to match unaffiliated volunteers with agencies to assist in debris clean-up and roof and home repair.
AHV provided flood relief in Minot, ND, where the June flooding of the Souris River forced 10,000 residents to flee and damaged more than 4,100 properties.
They were also in the Catskills following Hurricane Irene, cleaning up damaged buildings and clearing debris.
2012
Following the addition of teaching programs in Leogane, All Hands concluded their presence in Leogane. They established a presence in the Philippines with Project Cagayan de Oro, aiding in the cleanup and rebuilding efforts following Typhoon Sendong which hit on December 16, 2011, leaving at least 1,200 people dead, and destroying 50,000 houses.
In March 2012, they provided aid in coordinating volunteers for debris removal in Morgan County, KY after an EF-3 tornado caused a large amount of damage and killed six. Following the June flooding of Duluth, MN, the group aided in the restoration efforts, establishing a volunteer center where efforts could be coordinated, and flood victims could be matched with volunteers.
Following Hurricane Isaac, the group returned to the Mississippi Gulf Coast to provide hurricane recovery aid in the same region where HandsOnUSA had been formed to aid in the Katrina recovery efforts, providing cleanup and home repairs. The same season, they were situated on Staten Island and Long Island following Hurricane Sandy, gutting houses and aiding in cleanup and restorative efforts. Volunteers in Long Beach, Long Island slept on the second floor of a church during the restorative efforts, staying there for eight months.
2013
In 2013, the organization conducted the second phase of their response to Typhoon Sendong, building 88 new permanent homes for the victims of the storm. In May, they set up a rapid response in the Rancho Brazos community in Granbury, Texas, following a tornado in that area. Immediately afterward, they moved to Oklahoma, to aid in restorations after more tornadoes had hit in the areas of Moore and El Reno. In September 2013, the group set up an operation in Northeast Colorado following massive flooding. They organized volunteer teams, helping residents and business owners clear debris and salvage belongings, as well as helping farmers clear debris from their fields.
In October, the group responded to a 7.2 earthquake in the island province of Bohol, Philippines. The group performed debris removal and salvage. While the project in Bohol continued, the group set up a second response site on the nearby Island of Leyte in response to Typhoon Yolanda. Volunteers on Leyte worked to demolish damaged structures and deliver food to rural residents. At the same time, the group set up a stateside response project in Washington, Illinois following a series of tornadoes in November 2013. FEMA had denied aid to the area, saying that infrastructure damage after the storms wasn't severe enough to warrant federal help.
2014
On April 30, 2014, the All Hands Assessment Team arrived in Tupelo, Mississippi, two days after a tornado outbreak devastated the Southeast United States. All Hands chose to focus their response efforts in Itawamba County. Over the course of their response, 328 volunteers completed 84 jobs, which included basic debris removal, demolition of homes and barns, and significant salvage work. Less than two months later, a set of tornadoes struck the town of Pilger, Nebraska destroying 80% of the town and injuring dozens. In our two weeks in Pilger, a total of 2,943 All Hands-coordinated volunteers completed work on 35 sites and removed debris in over three-quarters of the town. In August Detroit experienced severe flooding and the All Hands quickly launched Project Detroit to help those in the area begin to recover from the damaging floods, and by project close had gutted and sanitized over 400 homes in the Detroit metro area.
As cleanup after Typhoon Yolanda moved toward completion in the Philippines, All Hands shifted their focus towards long-term recovery, concentrating on building permanent homes in both of the cities of Ormoc and Tacloban. For this program Project Leyte designed 40 two-story disaster resilient homes in order to focus on building upwards in a community where space for homes is limited. Typhoon Hagupit struck the area late in the year, delaying construction activities in Tacloban. The construction team helped both during the preparation and immediate response phases. Immediately following Typhoon Hagupit, the AHV Disaster Assessment Response Team (DART) spent six days on the island of Samar, which bore the brunt of the typhoon assessing the island. All Hands found a village, Calampong, where the organization began a traditional disaster cleanup, clearing fallen trees and debris, and deconstructing ruined homes.
2015
Two years after Superstorm Sandy, All Hands opened its third rebuild project in Brooklyn, New York, in January to help those whose homes were damaged by the hurricane. Similar to reconstruction on Staten Island, the work included minor framing, drywall installation, mudding and taping, and painting.
That same month, Malawi experienced heavy flooding and All Hands worked with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to track the status and needs of those displaced by the floods. A few months later, All Hands phased into rebuild work and began the digging and bricking of irrigation wells to provide water to crops affected by the floods.
On April 25, a 7.8 earthquake struck Nepal. AHV deployed a team of disaster response experts to help distribute goods and coordinate local volunteer efforts. Teams then began working in Kathmandu and Sindhupalchowk District clearing debris and demolishing unsafe structures. This work was followed by building temporary learning centers and homes.