Friday, February 29, 2008



CREW is featured at picture.com, please use this link to vote for our picture of Grace United Methodist Church tarping a roof destroyed home for CREW shortly after Hurricane Wilma in rural Hendry County Florida!





http://click.picture-email.com/?ju=fe4c1c7670660d7b7d13&ls=fe191d717d6d0d7e721676&m=fef9107276600d&l=fec51770726c067b&s=fe2c157470650d78761477&jb=ffcf14&t=

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Volunteers repair Wilma damaged roof.




CREW's wonderful volunteer group from Manassas St Thomas Virgina, (you can read more about in yesterday's post) is actually the combination of two churches, with relatives in each church. The other church is Creekside United Methodist Church in Cummings Georgia. In addition to working on the rebuild, they sent some of their CREW to repair Ana's roof. Ana is a 40 year old woman that lives with her disabled husband and their three children. Her husband has cancer along with multiple other problems. She used the money she received from FEMA to repair her siding.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008


St. Thomas Manassas United Methodist Church is here this week, beginning to rebuild Pam's home. Pam is a 53 year old woman who works for Southern Gardens and has been there many years. She also does some cleaning for extra money. In addition to all this, she volunteers at local agencies regularly.


Hurricane Wilma picked up Pam's mobile home and twisted it. Pam was inside the home during the storm and began to screw the wall back in as the storm was barreling down and ripping her home apart. After the Storm, she was told to leave, but she had no where to go, so she stayed where she was.

Just prior to the storm, her insurance company cancelled her policy, because she failed to have "hand rails" on her porch. FEMA gave her $2600.00. She used the money to repair the water system and set the trailer back on the blocks. Pam has multiple medical problems, and the mold in her home was adding to her issues. Only one room in the trailer was livable, so she moved all her belongings into that one room. She has been living, eating and sleeping in her living room ever since.
CREW received funds from CRWRC, UMCOR and are still raising funds to rebuild this home. The concrete slab was poured last week. Volunteers began working on it from the St. Thomas group this week. How blessed we are to have them helping Pamela. Stay tuned, we hope to put trusses up tomorrow!
CRWRC has been here, different CREW's each week, all month. They have been done an incredible amount of work. For Debra, a 46 year old who has lived in Clewiston for the past 33 years, they replaced her ceiling which was covered in mold as a result of Hurricane Wilma. Debra works for the school board and has for the past 17 years at Clewiston High School. Her income does not cover her monthly expenses. In April she suffered and heart attack, and often has problems with high blood pressure. Wilma destroyed her roof, ceiling and two windows. Her insurance covered nothing as the total of damages was less than her deductible. She applied to FEMA who gave her $340.00. CREW has raised the money from the United Church of Christ and found these volunteer, thanks to CRWRC to repair her home.

CRWRC also helped Bernadette, a 36 year old single Mom raising her three kids. She has lived in Clewiston her entire life. Hurricane Wilma destroyed her roof, windows, doors, skirting, drywall, Alum siding corner, counter top, and sink. In addition the shelves in her kitchen were really bad and moldly. She is disabled and has no income outside of her disability check. She had no insurance when Wilma hit, but did receive $1300 from FEMA which she used to make some repairs. The CRWRC volunteers used funds donated by CRWRC to repair the roof, replaced drywall and skirting and repaired the sink and shelves in the kitchen.


Eunice is a 68 year old retired woman living on social security. She lives alone and when Wilma hit her home, she used her insurance to make most of the repairs needed on her home, but it was not enough to repair her windows. CREW raised the money from Catholic Charities to replace her windows used our CRWRC volunteers to do the work. God Bless CRWRC!
78 year old Iris has lived in Clewiston the past 28 years. She is disabled and lives alone. Hurricane Wilma destroyed her roof, as well as her flooring, two front windows and back door. She used her insurance money to repair her roof, windows and door. We used funds from CRWRC (a little over $700) and volunteers from CRWRC to repair her flooring, and to paint.



Tuesday, February 26, 2008

CREW's Grace!


This picture, entitled "CREW's Grace" of Grace United Methodist Church's (from Cape Coral Florida) volunteers working for CREW shortly after Hurricane Wilma was featured in Tomorrow's Dreams, published by The International Library of Photography, ISBN 0-7951-5310-4. Grace United Methodist church has been here over a dozen times to help out our area. In the baseball cap is Will, this man has led most of the volunteers here and is a very skilled volunteer that has done an incredible amount of work for us over the past two years.

January brought a local volunteer!

One 12 year old youth from New Harvest Church here in Clewiston volunteered this month. Nick, helped us out on some of his days off from school. He is in 7th grade. He helped repair skirting and some electrical work that his Dad taught him to do. He hopes to be a contractor when he grows up and is interested in sports as well. He volunteered 8.5 hours for an in-kind donation of $159.37. We also had three local volunteers at our unmet needs meeting for in-kind donation of $56.25.

Christmas Time brought more Volunteers!

On December 2, 2007 Unity Hill United Church of Christ from the frozen north (Connecticut) came to sunny Florida for 7 days, sending 2 gentlemen to work on 3 projects. They did a roof repair for Jacqueline, repaired sub floor for Eris and wired an electric stove for Minerva. The two stayed at Community Presbyterian Church of Clewiston. The two gentlemen came all the way from Connecticut to help with these repairs. They contributed 80 hours of work that equals to $1500.00 of in kind dollars. The First United Methodist Church fed them on Wednesday night, and The Community Presbyterian Church fed them Thursday night, the Executive Director had them for dinner with her family at her home one night as well.

On December 15, 2007 a group of 7 volunteers from Memorial Methodist Church in Lake Placid came and worked cleaning up debris at Edith and Penny’s homes. This group consisted of 2 women and 5 men; they contributed 24.5 hours of work that equals to $459.38 of in kind dollars. This group is planning another trip with some of the youth at their church. They want to come and pressure clean and paint Edith's home. They will be supplying the pressure washer and the paint. We received a donation from Lifestyles Shutter Systems (They are one the contractors we use for our Mitigation program) for one of our clients that we are rebuilding a home for, with an in kind value of $2500.00. We also had our LTRO meeting on December 19, 2007 where we had 2 of our members who are volunteers donate an hour of their time.

Total volunteer hours donated in December was: 106.5 Total In Kind donations: $1996.88

November Volunteers!

We have continued to be blessed with volunteers. On November 11, 2007 we were blessed with one of our returning groups from Manassas St. Thomas United Methodist Church (http://www.mstumc.org/missions/mission%20trips.html). This group consisted of 2 volunteers who worked on 3 in depth projects while they were here. This group split into 2 groups, The A team (for the ants they had to avoid) and the B team (for the honey bee hive under the home for their project).The A team worked on replacing a fence for Linda whose neighbors have pit bull dogs and she does not feel safe in her own backyard. The A team also worked on tearing off and replacing plywood, and shingles on the roof at Edith's home. The B Team was occupied with tearing off siding, replacing backboard with plywood and installing vinyl siding on a double wide mobile home for Penny's. This group also had to replace some rotten wood on the framing prior to replacing the siding, they also replaced some damaged drywall inside the house. This group worked for the entire week and CREW hosted a BBQ luncheon for them to show our appreciation on Friday, November 16. One of the volunteers from this group stayed until Wednesday, November 21st to assist with another client who was in need of having damaged cabinets removed and replaced. When the damaged cabinets were removed we discovered that the flooring underneath needed to be replaced as well. The volunteer worked at Minnerva's Saturday the 17th through Tuesday the 20th replacing the flooring and cabinets. He then returned to Penny's home to complete the drywall repairs inside her home.

We received a donation from United Way/211 of an electric stove to replace the broken one at Minerva's home for an In-Kind value of $150.00. We also received a cash donation of $80.00 and an In- kind donation of some fencing material in the amount of $148.00 from Manassas St. Thomas United Methodist Church. We also had our LTRO meeting on November 14, 2007 where we had 3 of our members who are volunteers donate an hour of their time. Total volunteer hours donated: 938, Total In Kind donations: $17587.50

October Volunteers!




In October, we have had 26 volunteers. A group of 9 from Winter Haven Florida, Beymer Memorial United Methodist Church (http://www.beymermemorialumc.org/) that worked on laying flooring for Mr. Leopold during the week of 10/09/07 through 10/13/07. This group also presented CREW with a donation of $500.00. Another group of 7 from The First Presbyterian Church of Pompano Beach (http://www.pinkpres.com/) have been here several times before and worked on Leopold’s house returned again (they are fond of him and worked on his home before) and worked on the flooring at Leopold’s and installing some plywood and painting at for E.S. They were here on October 20, 2007. The third group of 7 came from Miami Shores Presbyterian Church (http://mspc.net/) and worked on completing the flooring at Leopold’s on October 27, 2007. We had three local volunteers at our monthly LTRO meeting that worked 425 hours for a total in kind donation of $7912.50.

Friday, February 22, 2008

CREW is one of the agencies United Way supports!

LOVE ROCKS FOR THE UNITED WAY

LABELLE, FL (February 21, 2008) – The United Way of Hendry and Glades Counties held their annual Valentine’s celebration and fundraiser at the Barron House in LaBelle on Saturday. The “Love Rocks!” event featured food, music and a silent auction. Phil Pelletier was the master of ceremonies and introduced the LaBelle Middle School and High School ensembles who entertained the crowd of over 200 people.

“Love Rocks” raised approximately $17,500 for the local United Way, its partner agencies and initiatives. The goal for the United Way of Hendry & Glades campaign is $180,000. The campaign has raised $164,000 thus far which is 91% of the goal. The campaign officially wraps up on February 29th.

“Because of the economic slow-down, there is an even greater need in our community than in previous years for United Way Services. It is extremely important that we reach 100% of our goal so that the United Way’s network of agencies and initiatives can assist more people in our community who need our help,” said Cliff Smith, President of the United Way of Lee, Hendry and Glades.

Event Chair, Julie Osterhout-Boardman said she was extremely pleased with the turnout and thanked the many sponsors of the event including: Alico Inc., Julie & Thomas Boardman, Florida Community Bank, Joe Marlin Hilliard, Climate Control, Church of the Good Shepard, LaBelle Rotary Club, Pavese Law Firm, Burson Weathers Real Estate, Current Electric Services, Family Eye Center, Goodlad State Farm, First Bank of Clewiston’s LaBelle and Clewiston branches.

Michael Talaga, Senior Vice-President, Human Resources and Information Technology for Alico, Inc., is serving as this year’s volunteer Campaign Chair for the United Way of Hendry and Glades Counties.

A local network of thirty-four agencies and programs will receive funds from the 2007-2008 United Way of Hendry & Glades fundraising campaign. These agencies include: The Salvation Army, the Children’s Advocacy Center, Child Care of Southwest Florida, Healthy Families and many others. This network serves a diverse range of needs such as nurturing children and youth, strengthening families, meeting critical needs such as helping the elderly and disabled live independently, and empowering communities by bringing health and human services to neighborhoods. The network of United Way agencies helped over 21,000 people in Hendry and Glades Counties last year.

Extensive volunteer involvement allows the United Way to keep fundraising costs extremely low, and community volunteers evaluate agency performance and thoroughly study agency budgets and programs to make sure United Way dollars are spent efficiently and with impact. All money raised through the United Way of Hendry and Glades Counties campaign remains in the Hendry and Glades area aiding members of the community who really need the help.

In addition to raising funds for human service organizations in our community, the United Way promotes partnerships and collaborations among agencies, helping them to work together focusing on issues and solutions that continue to improve lives.

This year is the organization’s 50th anniversary. The United Way of Lee, Hendry and Glades Counties has been “the way the community cares” since it was established in 1957. For more information please call United Way of Lee, Hendry and Glades House in LaBelle at (863) 675-8383 or visit http://www.unitedwaylee.org/.
Pictured are: Julie Osterhout-Boardman, event chair; Jennylyn Mitchell United Way staff and Kate English.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

CREW is featured in UMCOR's brightspots!

Here is just a quote from the article, click on the link to read more about CREW and our neighbors at C.R.O.S. working in western Palm Beach County.


"Over two years after the LTRO began its work, Executive Director Trish Adams can point to a number of accomplishments. “Since our inception, we have hosted 515 volunteers, who have logged over 15,000 hours of work making repairs to walls, ceilings, floors, roofs, cabinets, siding, skirting, and windows, and doing demolition and debris cleanup,” she said. Local churches have hosted groups with housing and meals.
“In all, we have assisted over 765 families in the two counties,” Adams continued. “Our case managers have done a remarkable job to reach and assist homeowners.”
The “house made out of miracles”
C.R.E.W. has completed one rebuild for Mr. Joachin and Miss Rachel. The homeowners and staff are eager to relate story after story to prove that the new home is a “house made out of miracles.”
The very day that the case manager interviewed the couple, who were an unexpected addition to the contact list, a volunteer group from Indiana called to say they wanted to come and build a house.
“The deadline was impossible,” said Mr. Joachin, “but the Lord’s hand was in it! The day we poured the concrete, it rained all around us, everywhere but at our house!”
After the initial blitz, volunteers from Maine, Michigan, Washington, Kentucky, Virginia, and Maryland helped. “I used to make fun of snowbirds,” Mr. Joachin laughed. “I don’t anymore!”

Thursday, February 14, 2008

CREW teams with CRWRC to do great things!

We currently have CRWRC volunteers (more commonly know as the "Green Shirts") working, and they have been all week. They have done some wonderful things! If you want to find out more about this great organization you can check out their website by clicking this link!http://www.crcna.org/pages/crwrc.cfm

The Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC) is the relief and development arm of the Christian Reformed Church. It reaches out in God's name to people, both in North America and around the world, who are struggling with poverty, hunger, disaster, and injustice to help them find lasting ways to improve their lives.

Since they have been here they have completed a lot of work. The six volunteers have completed an entire roof repair with shingles and plywood, painting, replaced drywall, replaced flooring, and replaced ceilings for 3 different families here in Clewiston, all the result of damage from Hurricane Wilma. They have a larger group (22 total) here working as well with our neighbors in Western Palm Beach County who are really suffering and have even more needs than us still remaining from Hurricane Wilma. This great organization sent 22 volunteers here, they arrived a few weeks ago, and will remain in Belle Glade until early April. A local church is housing them and First United Methodist Church of Clewiston hosted them for dinner one night, their first week in town.

Below is our latest CRWRC report for the $50,000 they have given to support our work:
CRWRC specific accomplishments:

From August 1st till January 31st we have spent $15,579.58. As of the end of January, we have spent $22,028.54 of the first installment of $25,000.00. Our second installment of $25,000 we are planning to use on our rebuild which begins this month, in February. We have helped the following families.

T.F. is a black single Mom of five ranging in ages from seven to three, including a set of twins. She lost her home in Hurricane Wilma. She and her family moved about from friends to family while without a home for almost a year. She did not qualify for government assistance through SHIP and other programs as the trailer that was destroyed was in her father’s name. He is not in contact with his family. She was able to find a mobile home to purchase that she could afford, but she could not afford the demolishing of her trailer or the removal of the debris. CREW found volunteer youth group from Zion Lutheran Church in Colorado to complete the demolishing. We used CRWRC funds to pay $318.12 in dumping fees and to buy supplies. (We had used $650.01 previously of CRWRC funds as seen on first report on this home as well.) We used local churches to house and feed the volunteers.

L.M. is a Hispanic married man who lives with his wheel chair bound wife and their two teen age daughters and teen aged nephew. Their trailer was destroyed in Hurricane Wilma. We assisted them in applying for a direct sale of a FEMA mobile home for $500.00 which the family’s church paid for. However, they needed a wheel chair ramp installed and did not have funds for that. We found volunteers from a United Church of Christ church, First Parish of Westwood Massachusetts, who came and built a ramp for the family. We used CRWRC to pay for $1085.93 (and another $1095.02 from previous CRWRC report) in supplies to build the ramp and set up the trailer. We used local churches to house and feed the volunteers.

M.R. is a retired Mexican woman who lives with her retired husband in a trailer. They live off their social security and have limited funds. They had roof, interior and skirting damage to their home. The husband tried to fix what he could but was unable to fix most of it. We found volunteers from Miami Presbyterian and funding from United Church of Christ to repair the roof. CREW found volunteers a youth group from Zion Lutheran Church in Colorado to complete the skirting and do some interior repairs, materials were paid for by funds from Catholic Charities, as well as $400 from CRWRC. We used local churches to house and feed the volunteers.

F.R. is a Spanish speaking married elderly man, with multiple heath problems including diabetes, who lives with his wife, and they are raising their two granddaughters and live in an unsafe area, Montura Ranch Estates. They received $9,000 in insurance funds which they used to repair their roof and fence. However they still needed insulation replaced, and interior wall damage which volunteers from Zion Lutheran Church in Colorado, First Parish Westwood of Massachusetts, and New Harvest Church in Clewiston. We used $699.15 in funds from CRWRC to pay for the materials (This is in addition to $557.38 spent on materials from CRWRC also in last report.) We used local churches to house and feed the volunteers.

J.M. is a 41 year old married man who lives with his wife and their three young children aged 11, 4 and 16 months. They were hit by storms in 2004 and by Wilma in 2005. Also in 2005, he was diagnosed with terminal Cancer. They have struggled to get the repairs done. He did some of them himself before he became too sick to do them anymore. Volunteers from Grace Ministries in Cape Coral, FL, Conway United Methodist Church in Orlando, Miami Shores Presbyterian, New Harvest Church in Clewiston, Grace Lutheran Church in Indiana, Boca Raton Christian School from Florida, University of South Carolina, Conway United Methodist Church in Orlando, and First United Methodist Church from Port St. Lucie came, over a number of months repairing drywall, installing plywood on flooring in master bathroom. The NFL/United Way Partnership paid for $3,000 of these supplies. We used $607.91 in CRWRC funds for materials for what the above noted $3,000 did not cover. (This is in addition to the $1095.02 we spent on them in our last report). We used local churches to house and feed the volunteers.

L.P. is an elderly retired Jamaican Man whose trailer in Harlem was half way destroyed and unlivable, he has been living with friends for two years. He used $15000.00 in insurance money to make many repairs himself. Half of his home had to be completely repaired, the other half had interior and roof damage. In addition he needed electrical and plumbing work to be done to repair damage done to both systems by Hurricane Wilma. Volunteers from Grace United Methodist Church, Holy Cross Lutheran from Colorado; King of Glory Lutheran Church in Williamsburg VA, the “Pink Church” a Presbyterian Church in Pompano Beach, Florida, a Lutheran Church in Michigan, and All Saints Lutheran Church from Plantation Florida. The NFL/United Way Partnership paid $7075.98 for materials and Grace United Methodist Church donated $200.00. We used $487.30 of CRWRC funds in materials on this home as well as $197.20 of CWRC funds for permitting fees for his home as well. We used local churches to house and feed the volunteers.

L.W. is a single black woman who lives in Harlem. She was uninsured at the time of Hurricane Wilma. Luckily her home did not get too damaged. She used money from FEMA to repair some minor damages including furniture. She works, but is very low income. The area she lives in is high crime and Wilma blew down her fence. We found volunteers from St. Thomas United Methodist Church in Manassas, VA to repair her fence. We used $360.51 in materials to complete work, and $500 to pay for the boundary survey required from CRWRC. We used local churches to house and feed the volunteers.

P.B. is a single mom raising her two teen aged daughters. She received $4713.57 from her insurance company. She used most of this to repair her roof on main house, the remainder she used to buy shingles and siding for her shed that a group of volunteers from Grace Lutheran Church installed. We used money from the Rotary to hire contractors to replace her windows. $487.14 in materials from CRWRC funds were used to pay for the materials which two groups of volunteers (Memorial Methodist in Lake Placid Florida, and St. Thomas Methodist Church in Manassas, Virginia) used to remove debris, paint and replace drywall and replace siding on her home.

J.G. is a single black mother of two teenage boys and a younger daughter. They live in a home owned by the family for sometime, several of her aunts and uncles share ownership of the home but have allowed her to live their. For this reason, she had difficulty getting any kind of government assistance to repair the home as it was not in her name. Volunteers from CREW early in our history provided and installed a blue tarp for her destroyed roof, which had to be replaced again a year later as funding to replace roof was still not found. We could not use volunteers for this particular roof, because of permitting issues related to flat roofs. We found funding from The Empowerment Alliance to hire Bryant Roofing to repair her roof; they covered all but $733.00 of it, for which we used CWRC funds to pay off the balance.

R.C. is a 43 year old disabled man whose medical problems include multiple strokes, diabetes, emphysema and high blood pressure. He lives on his disability and has no other source of income. Hurricane Wilma destroyed his roof, two windows, front door, flooring, skirting, and half of his screen porch. His main concern was his constant companion, Marty, his Chihuahua. He was worried to death that his dog would fall through the holes in the floor. The Rotary has contributed $700 towards his case. Conway United Methodist Church from Orlando sent volunteers to work on his home. We spent $288.55 from CRWRC funds on dumping fees on his home and $445.00 on materials from CRWRC which the volunteers used to make the repairs.

M.G. is a single Hispanic mom of two teenage boys, who works as a nurse (mostly at night) and sleeps during the day. Her AC, roof, windows and doors were all destroyed by Hurricane Wilma. She received help from FEMA which she used to repair all but her air conditioning and windows. The Rotary paid for the materials used to replace windows. We used $2,600.00 of CRWRC funds to pay Robert S. Hunton & Company, Inc. to replace the air conditioners, as we could not find qualified volunteers to do this.

B.G. is a single disabled black mom of her young son and daughter who lives with them and an elderly disabled friend. Hurricane Wilma did damage to her roof, bedroom ceiling, skirting and kitchen. Her insurance covered about $6000 worth of the damages which she used to repair the roof; we used $1701.09 of CRWRC funds to cover the remaining bill from R & R Roofing. Her skirting and ceiling were repaired by Beymer Memorial United Methodist Church from Winter Haven for which we used $356.00 of CRWRC funds to buy materials.

E.B. is a widowed white disabled elderly woman who lives alone and has difficulty walking. She and her husband are members of the local VFW, and they provide her with a lot of emotional support to this day. We used CRWRC funds of $2234.30 to buy materials for a group of Volunteers from St. Thomas United Methodist Church in Manassas, VA to repair her roof. We are still looking for more volunteers to complete interior work. We are also using Volunteer Florida Foundation grant funds to pay for hurricane shutters to be installed on her home.

G.C. is a Spanish only speaking Hispanic severely disabled single mom with heart problems who lives with her teenaged son in Montura, a remote high crime area outside of Clewiston. We spent $600.39 of CRWRC funds in materials for volunteers to repair her skirting, roof and siding who will be coming in February.

P.A. is a single black low income working mother with a severely disabled autistic handicapped adult son who receives a disability check. While awaiting the sale and set up of a FEMA trailer, CREW used grant funds from Volunteer Florida Foundation ($1600) to pay the first two months of her rent, she went into default for the second two months before we were finally able to get her home permitted. She has yet to pay the landlord, who is a friend of CREW’s. The home was moved and set up using Red Cross Means to Recovery Funds ($8,500). However, the funds did not pay for the shell rock needed in order for the trailer to pass inspection, and thus the family was not allowed to move in. We used $200 of CRWRC money to complete this, and the family has since moved in.

E.W. is a black working low income single mom of three teenage boys who live in Harlem. Hurricane Wilma tore off the shingles on her roof, and left interior damage. Her children all attend Harlem Academy where she works. She fixed the majority of the interior work her self. Volunteers from Southwest VIM team in Baltimore, MD came in February and the NFL/United Way partnership paid their expenses and most of the materials needed for their repairs (at the cost of $3000.00). We used $78.28 of CRWRC funds to pay the remaining costs. This group tore off shingles and replaced felt paper and shingles on the roof. Under this same NFL/United Way partnership grant (at the cost of $2989.07), volunteers from St. Thomas United Methodist Church in Manassas, Virginia came in March and did some repairs to the interior of the home.

P.H. is a 53 year old Caucasian working woman who lives alone in a very rural high crime area called Montura. She has worked for Southern Gardens for many years, and also does some office cleaning on the side for extra money. In addition to working her two jobs, she often volunteers for local non-profits. Hurricane Wilma picked up her trailer and twisted it. She was inside the home at the time and began screwing the walls back together as they were ripping apart. She was told to leave her home as it was condemned, but she refused fearing her belongings would be stolen if she did. Her insurance company cancelled her insurance a few days prior to the storm because she did not have hand rails on her porch. She received $2600.00 from FEMA which she used to repair her water system and sit her mobile home back on its blocks. She has moved into the living room, the only livable room left. She applied but was denied assistance from USDA rural development and SHIP. We are currently working on building her wood frame house, and have volunteers to do the work and are working on raising the money for this rebuild. We have used $75.00 of CRWRC funds to pay for demolition permit fee on this home and $956.13 of UMCOR funds on this home to pay for boundary surveys, portable restrooms and pods for the volunteers coming later this month. We will need approximately $50,000 to rebuild this home, UMCOR has committed $5,000 and we are planning most of the remaining CRWRC funds towards this home. We already have three skilled volunteer groups scheduled to work on this home in the next two months.

We also used $1124.71 of the money from CRWRC for administrative costs as follows: $11.98 for office supplies in September,
$13.87 for mileage for in October,
$13.06 for office supplies and tools in November,
$39.98 for office supplies in November,
$24.69 in August, $177.61 in October, $1.31 in January for postage,
$192.82 in October, $93.53 in November, $55.97 in January, towards our telephone bill, $193.92 in October, $55.97 in January for our cell phone
$250.00 in December for our monthly accounting bill

Also, please note that on our previous report, I had reported $11,000 in hauling and dumping fees when it was actually $1,100.00 for M.S. thus, we had reported previously spending $16,348.96, when in actuality we had spent only $6448.96.

About $3000 of the remaining money has been earmarked in our unmet needs meeting for jobs that we have not had volunteers to complete yet, or are awaiting permits. In addition, we are hoping to save the remainder of these funds for our rebuild which begins with a volunteer group that is coming at the end of February.

Thursday, February 07, 2008

2007 Yearly report

CREW had a very productive year, which saw a lot of successes in different areas. Our greatest accomplishment was our ability to work with others, and bring together people of all faiths and all walks of life to work for a common cause. This all grew out of the dream of some dedicated pastors at the Clewiston Ministerial Association who vowed to work together, across denominational lines and help out the community here in CREW.

One of the first groups to help us, even before we had paid staff were the “green shirts” who are know all over the world for their remarkable response and assistance in times of disasters. These members of the CRWRC (http://www.crwrc.org/relief/na/) canvassed our two rural areas, going door to door in both Hendry and Glades Counties. Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC) is a relief, development, and educational ministry of the Christian Reformed Church in North America. In addition to this initial assistance, they have provided our paid staff with lots of resources to find volunteers and learn about disaster recovery, and have given us $50,000 in cash to provide direct assistance to disaster victims.

Volunteers are the back bone of CREW. This year we were blessed with 416 volunteers from all over the country. We have had 22 different groups come and help with repairing our community. These groups consisted of 12 Lutheran groups and 1 Lutheran Individual; 14 Methodist groups and 6 Methodist Individuals; 7 Presbyterian groups; 3 United Church of Christ groups; 1 Baptist group and 2 Pentecostal Individuals. We also had two more individuals’ work that were not connected to any church but heard about us over the internet. These groups worked on 33 homes making repairs to walls, ceiling, floors, roofs, cabinets, siding, skirting, installing windows, building handicap ramps, demolition, and debris cleanup. In 2007 we had a total of 416 volunteers come and help with several projects. They contributed 12,390 volunteer hours with an in kind value of $232,312.50. Theses volunteers also gave cash donations in 2007 totaling $14,265.81 from several different volunteer groups.

In 2007, the assistance we received from local churches is immeasurable. Community Presbyterian Church provided housing for 4 different groups of various faiths and provided 196 meals for all of our groups for a total of in kind donations of $1470.00. In addition, First United Methodist Church of Clewiston provided housing for 9 groups and provided 185 meals for all of our groups for a total of in kind donations of $1387.50. In addition, they have often hosted our UMCOR Storm Recovery liaison for dinner when she is in town helping CREW. First United Methodist Church of Moore Haven provided meals for 2 of our groups with a total of 43 meals for a total in kind donation of $322.50. They also housed two groups of volunteers. First Baptist Church of Clewiston provided housing for 5 groups and provided 99 meals for a total in kind donation of $742.50. Iglesia De Dios Pentecostal Church provided housing for 2 groups in 2007.

If we combine this with our 2006 numbers, it is staggering. In 2006 we had 99 volunteers (not counting the ones before March when we did not have paid staff and were not keeping track) who worked a total of 2840 volunteer hours with an in kind value of $52,540.00. Community Presbyterian Church provided housing for 3 groups and provided 74 meals for all of the groups in 2006 for a total in kind donation of $555.00. First United Methodist Church of Clewiston provided housing for 3 groups and provided 68 meals for all of the groups in 2006 for a total in kind donation of $510.00. Iglesia de Dios Pentecostal Church provided housing for 1group in 2006. We received cash donations in 2006 totaling $1,500.00 from two different volunteer groups.

So, since inception until the end of 2007 we have had over (as no records exist for the earliest volunteers) 515 volunteers, 31 groups and 11 individuals. Most of our volunteers came from out of state and elsewhere in Florida. Often they slept on cots or in sleeping bags in our local churches, some stayed in motor homes they drove here in, few rented motel rooms while they were here. Most often they answered a call for help that came from their church, others read about us on the internet. All came selflessly and willingly to help out their fellow man. They are the heart and soul of our organization.

However, the volunteers would have nothing to do if not for all the casework we do. Including all cases, we have assisted over 765 families or individuals (681 in Hendry County), (not including over 60 we tired to assist who were in FEMA trailers but declined assistance). We have 107 cases remaining in Hendry County and 12 in Glades. We started the year with 5 case managers, and are ending the year with only 3 and ½. During the last few months of the year we had 6 case managers in order to help out the FEMA Close-Out Program.

During 2007 our volunteers completed a lot of work. For our families our volunteers installed insulation for five families, installed paneling for 3 families, installed drywall and ceiling for 29 families, and finished 24 drywall and ceilings, installed floor covering for 5 families, re-roofed 17 roofs, and made roof repairs on 6 roofs. Our volunteers also installed windows for 32 families and doors for 12 families. They installed tile for 4 families, base boards for 1 family, repaired trims for 4, replaced light fixtures in one home, and installed a hot water heater for another family. Sub flooring was removed and replaced for 15 families. Volunteers removed blown down trees for 4 families, and completed interior painting for 24 families and exterior painting for 2 families. Plywood ceilings and trims repaired in 2 homes, removing old windows in 1 home, demolishing damaged and replacing new fencing for one family, and removing and replacing rotten studs for 6 families was also completed by volunteers. Volunteers repaired and replaced siding for 7 families, skirting for 9 families living in mobile homes, replaced sophist in one home, built a set of steps in another, replaced and fixed electric plugs, switches, junctions, boxes and ran wire for appliances for 3 families. They also cleaned up debris for three families, installed closet systems in one home, install tubs in two homes, repaired screened porches for 3 families, and built handicapped ramps for two families. Finally our volunteers also replaced mobile home siding for 2 families and repaired mobile home duct work for 1 family. The total cost of all these jobs were about $45,161.97. In materials, appliances and furniture and other we received donated items with an in-kind donation of $6242.50.

Through our partnership with Volunteer Florida Foundation’s Florida Disaster Recovery Program (http://www.flahurricanefund.org/), we have two programs, the FEMA Close out and our Mitigation Program though My Safe Florida Home (http://www.mysafefloridahome.com/FreeHomeInspectionsPrint.htm) program.

We have a total 89 applicants in our Mitigation program, 15 are completed, and 45 are in progress. We are awaiting inspection reports on 29 more and need to submit 11 more families to the mitigation program to have it completed. The total cost for completing these homes was $30,327.80. At the end of this quarter the mitigation account has a total of $15,768.55. The total balance that is left from the mitigation grant is $204,342.38. As of December 20, 2007 CREW received an extension until March 31, 2008 to complete 100 homes in the Hendry and Glades County areas. CREW will continue in its effort to mitigate 100 or more homes in Hendry and Glades Counties. There will be a continued effort to reach clients by advertisement by flyers as well as going from door to door in the communities of Hendry and Glades Counties. S.H.I.P. Coordinator Aida Barnhart of Hendry County has continued in her effort to gain clients for Mitigation.

One program, our FEMA Close-Out Program, has had extraordinary success. The final report on this program is as follows. Since March, C.R.E.W. has been working with FEMA, Hendry County, and the City of Clewiston to find suitable housing solutions for FEMA clients still housed in FEMA units as of April 24, 2007. Originally, FEMA gave C.R.E.W. a list of 65 families whom FEMA believed would be in need of additional assistance. Additionally, the city of Clewiston supplied a list of approximately 20 other families residing in FEMA mobile homes on non conforming lots inside Clewiston City Limits. Of these cases, C.R.E.W. was able to help the majority of these families find permanent housing solutions.

Hendry County is unique in that it is small, rural and has few conforming mobile home lots. Over 90% of the mobile home lots available in Hendry County are located on a flood plan. FEMA will not set up a mobile home on a flood plan. Therefore, the majority of the families who participated in the FEMA modified sales program had to find money to pay for the set up, tie down, permit fees, skirting, stairs and connection of all utilities in order to make their mobile home livable. Furthermore, for permitting issues, families were required various surveys depending on the lot to which the mobile was going. Because of lack of competition among licensed contractors and Clewiston’s location, the fees for the above mentioned services are higher than in other areas, costing on average $9000 to set up the mobile home. To add to complications, Hendry County has a lack of industry that could help support the financial needs of community members. Thus, for C.R.E.W. the FEMA close out project has been very unique and expensive as compared to other counties in the state.

When helping a family reach final recovery and independence, the first step was to search for funding. Throughout the course of the project, C.R.E.W. was leveraged funding in excess of $250,000 from the Volunteer Florida Foundation, The American Red Cross’s Means to Recovery Program (http://www.redcross.org/general/0,1082,0_294_,00.htm) land other local funders in our community. This money was used specifically for direct services provided to our clients. Once funding had been attained, C.R.E.W. ran into another obstacle, permitting. At the beginning of this project, a new code inspector began employment with Hendry County. This led to delays in the permitting system. Then half way through the project, the individual resigned, and for a while Hendry County had no inspector. However, the county was able to make arrangements with Glades county to have permits issued. Currently, it takes approximately one to two weeks to receive a permit in Hendry County. This is a great improvement over the three months that it took for the first permits applied for to be issued.

Finally, there have been issues with the FEMA contractor’s schedules. Once the permits have been issued, C.R.E.W. families are at the mercy of the schedule of the FEMA contractors as all trailers have to be moved by FEMA contractors. For as many trailers that have been delivered as scheduled, we have the same amount that were not. However, most trailers are being delivered in a timely manner currently. Once trailers are delivered, it takes the contractors who are working with C.R.E.W. about one week to set up the trailer. Depending on the schedule of the county inspectors issuing the Certificate of Occupancy, families are waiting approximately one week to a week and a half to move into their mobile homes if no issues arise.

Of our clients, two cases were closed because of the families’ failure to comply with their service plan. For the other families, C.R.E.W. was able to find a funding plan that would cover the cost of fully setting the mobile home to county code – with the exception of three families. For the three families who did not have a funding plan, C.R.E.W. had planned on using money from the City of Clewiston; however, the funding has not come through. C.R.E.W. is committed to continuing to work with these families to find alternate funding for this family. C.R.E.W. was also able to work with a local contactor who was willing to begin the permitting process so that the client would not be dropped from the FEMA modified sales program.

It was the hope of FEMA to have all trailers set and families in their new mobile homes by Christmas. However, due to amount of time involved in the entire set up process, the lack of contractors that can set up the mobile homes and the schedules of the FEMA contractors, this was logistically not possible. However, all of the mobiles were delivered by Christmas. C.R.E.W. is following our families into the New Year as our contractors continue to work diligently to set up these mobile homes as quickly as possible. At this point, it is realistic to believe that all FEMA mobile homes will be set up and families will be in their mobile homes by the end of January 2008.

Partnerships are another great accomplishment CREW has made. We would never have been able to complete as much as we have without the help of our partners. Through our partners, grantors and donors we have been able to buy not only the supplies and materials that our volunteers use, but have also been able to hire local, licensed contractors (thus helping the local economy) to repair roofs, put on new roofs, complete electrical and plumbing work for our rebuild as well as many of our repairs. Especially with the financial troubles builders are facing in today’s economy, this has been especially helpful.

Our partnerships with faith based groups are our crowing achievement. The Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and United Methodist Committee on Relief have funded our staff members for 2 years. They, along with United Church of Christ Disaster Ministries and Lutheran Disaster Response have provided volunteers and funds to repair and rebuild homes and lives. While working on homes, many of these volunteers have also ministered to the souls of our hurting clients, and provided emotional and spiritual support to our staff as well.

The First Baptist Church of Clewiston, Community Presbyterian Church of Clewiston, First United Methodist Churches of Moore haven and Clewiston, and Iglesia De Dios Pentecostal ME have all housed our volunteers as well as fed many of them and had them join in their worship services as well.

First United Methodist Churches of Clewiston and Moorehaven as well as Community Presbyterian Church of Clewiston have also funded some of our projects. In addition both the First Untied Methodist Church of Clewiston and Moorehaven gave CREW office Space when we first needed it.

Community Presbyterian Church of Clewiston also donated us the use of their shed to store our tools, donated furniture, appliance and materials.

Pastors and lay leaders from Community Presbyterian Church, First United Methodist Church of Clewiston and Moorehaven, Iglesia De Dios Pentecostal ME, First Baptist Church of Clewiston, Calvary Baptist Church have served on our board or our unmet needs committee and always volunteered whenever we asked.

Calvary Presbyterian Church sends money to us each month to help defray the cost of our cell phones. Volunteers often donate money while they are here, and several churches and other agencies and individuals read about us or hear about us and donate money or volunteer.

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, United Church of Christ, United Methodist Committee on Relief, Lutheran Disaster Response and other faith based organizations send us volunteers on a regular basis.

Catholic Charities has also provided immeasurable assistance to our clients as well, and their staff members are part of our unmet needs committee. Church World Service provided us with start up funds.

We have partnered with many community agencies as well, such as The Empowerment Alliance of Southwest Florida, shared staff with them, and given office space to one of their employees who provided credit counseling and helps low income families finance new homes responsibly. They have also funded projects for many of our clients.

We also work with the United Way of Lee Hendry and Glades. They have paid the salary/ benefit package for our Executive Director for two years. In addition they have funded a small amount of direct assistance as you can see in our financial section of the report. They have also given us use of our current office space, and through their 211 referral sources we have been able to get donated water heaters, stoves, clothes and other items to our clients.

Our partnership with Volunteer Florida Foundation has funded our FEMA Close out Project, our Mitigation Program, and provided direct assistance to those in FEMA housing. It has also provided invaluable training to several of our staff members.

We also assist the Homeless Coalition of Hendry and Glades, Family Services Network and the Emergency Services Committee by attending and participating in their meetings to help improve the life of our clients through out our two rural communities.

American Red Cross (local and national) have helped our clients immeasurably, giving donated supplies after Tropical Storm Ernesto, serving on our unmet needs committee, and providing funding to clients through their Means to Recovery program.

We also have partnered with government agencies as well. The City of Clewiston gave CREW office space for an entire year. In addition many of their staff assisted us in many ways, teaching us building codes, assisting with uncooperative clients, and more. The City also gave us one of their old retired work trucks which has allowed us to haul materials to job sites. We also returned the favor, playing an active part in their City wide Clean up day when our staff volunteered time and helped pick up trash throughout the city.

Hendry and Glades County SHIP program, USDA Rural Development, Emergency Management of Hendry County and Emergency Management of Glades County are also partners. Two of our staff are CERT trained and will assist Hendry County in the event of a disaster.

Financially, CREW has done wonders. For 2007, CREW paid $203,502.01 in wages, tips and other compensation, withheld $16021.75 in federal income taxes, $12617.11 in social security taxes, and $2950.78 in Medicare taxes. It also does not include the $18,963.41 we have paid Empowerment Alliance towards our half time case manager shared employee.

In addition we have received in kind funds, such as the money that United Way paid for our Executive Director’s salary and benefit package ($65,171). Also, donation of volunteer hours valued at $232,312.50 and in kind donation of meals for our volunteers valued at $3922.50. We also received donated furniture, materials, tools, and other supplies valued at $6242.50. In addition The Empowerment Alliance paid over $7000 to contractors at our request for CREW clients. The United Way of Lee Hendry and Glades paid $65,171 for the Directors Salary and Benefits.

One of our greatest accomplishments has been our ability to keep our administrative costs at 4.8% of our total budget.

In-kind donations for 2007: $379,819.50. Total revenue in 2007 was $576,005.54 of which we spent $495,671.21, leaving a balance of $80,334.33.

Gala Fundraiser raised $9,028.99 at a cost of $3,670.86 leaving us with $5,358.13 profit.
CRWRC donated $50,000.00 of which we have spent $19,106.86 leaving us $30,893.14.
VFF Grants provided $230,668.13 of which we have spent $244,829.61 leaving us -$14,161.48.
NFL/UW raised $60,000.00 of which we have spent all of it.
Lutheran Grant raised $10,000.00 of which we have spent all of it.
PDA Grant raised $22,916.60 of which we have spent $19,094.95 leaving us $3,821.65.
UMCOR grant raised $167,224.00 of which we have spent $95,256.11 leaving us $71,967.90.
General Funds had $37,996.82 deposited of which we have spent $33,858.69, leaving us $4,138.13.
Rotary grant raised $12,000.00 of which we have raised $9,205, leaving us $2,795.00.

We received the following donation throughout the year: United Way of LHG $150.00,
iGive.com $73.15, Client contributions $700.00, From Volunteers $4,265.81, Cash Contributions $887.50, Individual Donors $1,840.00, Clewiston First United Methoidst Church $2,740.77, Community Presbyterian $6,014.75, Calvary Presbyterian $750.00, Moorehaven First United Methodist Church $24.00, Peace Valley Lutheran Church WG $25.00, Presbytery of Tropical FL $75.00, Lykes Brothers $500.00, LWM L Dorcas Society $25.00, Sunniland Corporation $79.60

Expenses for 2007 were as follows: Accounting $3,750.00, Advertising $238.05, Contractors $84,221.08, Dues $30.00, Training $36.52, Fund raisers $397.00, Gas $438.94, Insurance $8878.00, License and taxes $617.50, Mileage $1,2346.71, Office Supplies $9,367.67, Bonus $35,000.00, Payroll $203,502.01, Payroll Taxes $19,706.36, Postage $1,772.14, Telephone $4,888.03, Truck Expenses $5.00, Utilities $420.00, and Work Team Expenses $43,298.22.

This is quite a comparison when we look at our total income in 2006 which was $66,310.68. This income came from the following sources: 2006 Ministerial Association $6,000.00, Community Presbyterian $4,000.00, First United Methodist Church $4,125.00, Church World Service $5,000.00, Lutheran Services $25,000.00, Rotary $7,500.00, United Church of Christ $2556.82, NFL Grant reimbursements $6477.40, Donations $2,088.95, Special Needs Gifts $5,62.51, and Client Contribution $3,000.00.

We have been blessed to be able to help so many and find so many wonderful people and agencies willing to give their money and time to make our community better. We still have a lot to go. Here is an outline of what we have ahead of us.

Remaining Needs

As of the end of the year we have quite a few remaining needs, mostly Wilma victims.

We still have funds for 9 more Mitigation clients we have yet to find. We have completed 23 to date. 50 have been given to the contractors to complete. We are waiting on inspection reports for 18 before we can give to the inspectors.

We have 13 clients still needing help in Glades County. We have several clients, with funding approved awaiting volunteers or contractors to complete work. Several more need to bring in documentation to complete their intake assessments, before we can determine eligibility.

Three of our clients, we were hoping to get funding from the city on; we may need to look elsewhere for the $19,959.50. We have been unsuccessful in getting the funds we expected from the City of Clewiston.

We need an additional to cover the costs of currently assessed needs, plus more for the jobs where costs have not been estimated. We have 18 jobs, including a rebuild which we already assessed; money funded and simply need volunteers. We have another 17 cases that need to be assessed by our construction coordinator. 50 more clients need to complete their applications so that eligibility can be determined and needs assessed. If they are eligible for existing programs such as USDA rural assistance, or SHIP then we would make a referral to these agencies and assist the client through the application process. If they are not eligible we would present to our unmet needs committee. All but 4 of these are Hurricane Wilma related.

To close out our 13 open cases in Glades County we need:
  1. $5700.00 and volunteers to replace drywall, roofing and two doors.
  2. $3500.00 and volunteers to complete roof and ceiling repairs
  3. $1310.00 and volunteers for repairs for roof, skirting, door and plumbing repair.
  4. we are just waiting on title transfer for two
  5. we need volunteers for four homes where money was already funded
  6. 5 more need to complete their paperwork & have construction/damage assessment

To close out our 105 cases in Hendry County we need:

  1. We need $350.00 and volunteers to repair ceiling for one client.
  2. We need $800.00 and volunteers to finish drywall, painting and floor for one client.
  3. We need $20,000.00 of the $50,000 estimated cost and volunteers to complete the rebuild.
  4. We need $3000 and volunteers to repair doors, flooring, cabinets and drywall
  5. We need to complete assessments and funds for 9 jobs.
  6. $19,959.50 in funding for 3 clients we thought we had funding from the City of Clewiston for.
  7. We are awaiting: Contractor to set up FEMA unit for one client, Contractors to complete work on 5 homes, Final C.O. from county or city inspectors for 3 clients, 22 Clients to complete their paperwork verifying eligibility (1 is a fire victim (all other clients noted here are Hurricane victims), 14 title transfers, Construction coordinator to complete 16 assessments which will determine more needs, Funding to relocate 5 FEMA units (1 of which also needs a lot), 1 AC unit assessment, Funds (already approved) from local social service and faith based agencies for 5 cases waiting to be closed, Electrician to okay repairs for 1 inspection, 1 client to get her shell rock and disconnect electric so contractors can begin work, 1 client to pay first $5000 of her needs as she has funds, Volunteers to complete 11 projects already funded: Roof, cabinets, facia, and soffets; Flooring; Doors and interior damage; Ceiling, windows and repairs; Roof and interior; Roof and windows; Roof repairs; Porch repairs; Roof, floor and drywall; Roof, flooring, ceiling, door and window; and Drywall
  8. Make referrals for 3 clients we have already helped but who have more non-disaster related needs.

In addition, funding for administrative costs, such as phone bills, internet service, mileage, office supplies, accounting, insurance, and computer equipment is always needed. Our administrative costs are very low, as we pay no rent or utilities thanks to the United Way of Lee, Hendry and Glades.

It would be also wonderful if one day we maid enough to provide health insurance to our employees. We need to stay intact after all Hurricane Wilma victims are helped with a skeleton crew to continue to provide Hurricane Awareness and Prevention as well as to provide assistance to small scale disasters such as flooding and house fires. Furthermore, we want to be ready to respond should another major disaster affect our area.

January's Monthly Report

JANUARY MONTHLY REPORT

This New Year brought lots of changes. We have said good bye to Amanda, our part time case manger, although she stills share office space with us as she continues her work with The Empowerment Alliance of South West Florida. In addition, our Executive Director has gone to part time also working part time for The United Way of Lee, Hendry and Glades.
Our LTRO (Long Term Recovery Organization) and Unmet Needs meeting is now on the 4th Thursdays of the month. Our Board of Directors meeting is on the Monday of the prior week. Both meetings are held at Hendry Regional Medical Center.

Our Board of Directors has also undergone some changes. We had elections this month it is our pleasure to thank our board members who continue to give us great advise and help, and welcome our new board members. We are looking forward to doing great things with our new Board. Pastor Thom Street of First United Methodist Church in Moorehaven is our new Board President. He has formerly served as our Glades County Representative. He also oversees the Glades county part of our UMCOR funds. Pastor Angel Ramos of the Community Presbyterian Church is our new Vice President. He previously served as our President. He also represents us and assists us with the funds we receive from PDA. Scott Jones, a civil engineer for Johnson and Prewitt continues to serve as our Treasurer. We welcome Sarah Hammock, who has a degree in Accounting and will be running the new Glades County First Bank when it opens will serve as our Secretary. We also welcome Craig Cudworth, CEO of Hendry Regional Medical Center to our Board as well. He brings a wealth of experience to the table. We are sorry to say good bye to Pastor David McClusky, who in addition to being the new pastor at Calvary Baptist in Clewiston, also serves as the education coordinator for Hendry Regional Medical Center. We look forward to continuing to work with him, even though he is no longer serving on our board.
Although we are no longer funded to help with the FEMA close out project, we have continued to do so. We are still trying to find funding for three clients we had hoped to get from the City but have been unable to do so.

As of January 31st in Hendry County 82 cases have been assigned to case managers who have updated recovery plans in all of these cases. There are 10 cases assigned to a case manager that are pending documentation before they are officially opened.
In Glades County, 7 cases have been assigned to case managers and 8 of these have updated recovery plans completed or in the process of completion. There are 3 cases assigned to a case manager that are pending documentation before they are officially opened. To date there are 0 unassigned cases.

This department currently has 3 full time and 1 part time case managers that are reviewing case information. Case managers are contacting clients to get needed documentation quickly. They are also helping with contacting clients for the Mitigation Program on a weekly basis.
Although we still work with The Empowerment Alliance of South West Florida, and provide offer space to one of their employees, we are, as of December 31st, no longer sharing a staff member with them, as our funding has run out. The Empowerment Alliance of SW Florida is working on getting her more permanent funding.

The partnership between Means to Recovery (Red Cross) has come to a close. The Red Cross has directly assisted 23 of clients for a total of $203,060.20.
Since March, C.R.E.W. has been working with FEMA, Hendry County, and the City of Clewiston to find suitable housing solutions for FEMA clients still housed in FEMA units as of April 24, 2004. Originally, FEMA gave C.R.E.W. a list of 65 families whom FEMA believed would be in need of additional assistance. Additionally, the city of Clewiston supplied a list of approximately 20 other families residing in FEMA mobile homes on non conforming lots inside Clewiston City Limits. Of these cases, C.R.E.W. was able to help the majority of these families find permanent housing solutions. We have been unable to close 24 of these cases. Three of these are in need of funding that we expected but did not receive. The rest are either waiting on permits, in the process of being set up, or waiting for the families to raise the money needed to transfer their titles.

Our construction coordinator has assessed 5 jobs (all in Hendry). In addition he completed 9 material cost quotes for Catholic Charities. He has also assisted in research and planning for the upcoming rebuild. He supervised one volunteer this month. He also completed a material inventory and did completed quotes for materials we had and will need of the rebuild.
The total cost of projects completed this month was $87.00.

A laser jet printer valued at $25.00 and a sectional sofa valued at $100 were donated, picked up and delivered by CREW staff members to CREW clients this month as well. Hendry Regional Medical Center donated space for our unmet needs meeting and meals for 14 of our staff, volunteers, and friends. We value this at $42.00.

We had one local youth volunteer 8.5 hours for an in-kind donation of $159.37. We also had three local volunteers at our unmet needs meeting for in-kind donation of $56.25.

Total volunteer hours donated: 11.5 Total In Kind donations: $382.62

We have a volunteer group, Manassas St. Thomas UMC, coming from Virginia on February 23, 2008 and working on the rebuild for a week. They will be hosted by FUMC of Clewiston. March 1, 2008 thru March 8, 2008 we have a Lutheran group coming from Seattle Washington to work on the rebuild; they will be staying at the Community Presbyterian Church while they are here, after they leave we have another group the Lutheran Laymen’s League from North Dakota is sending a group to help complete the rebuild, I have asked the First Baptist Church to host this group and I am waiting for verification.

This department currently has 3 full time and 1 half time case managers funded by UMCOR that are reviewing case information. Case managers are contacting clients to get needed documentation quickly. They are also helping with contacting clients for the Mitigation Program on a weekly basis. We were sad to loose one of our half time case managers this month; Amanda who was has been with CREW longer than any of our current employees. We also said Good bye to Edie, who had run the VFF Close out Program.

In the month of January there have been 0 new applicants for mitigation. There are 90 clients entered in the Hurricane Relief Database, 10 are needed to complete the contract amount. Since December, CREW had received 13 more inspection reports that have been given to our current contractors (CAT 5 & Alufab). In the month of January there were 8 more home completed by Alufab. The total cost to complete theses homes was $16,245.00. CREW has now completed a total of 23 homes. The total amount allowed for each home is $3000 thus usually costing $69,000.00. CREW completed these homes for a cost of only $43,287.80. We hope to have 73 completed by the end of the month. We are trying to get the remaining 9 clients by going door to door and advertising in the paper and on the radio. We also will be having a booth at the Hendry County Fair where we will be promoting the program this month as well.

This month we met with Hendry County’s new building inspector, Bob Ott. It was wonderful to meet him and he provided CREW with some great resources, and we look forward to working with him this year. We have continued to work with the Family Services Network for our two counties. This month, our Director and shared employee with United Way met with First United Methodist Church in Moorehaven and a representative of Harry Chapin Food Bank to see how we could help those needing food in Glades County and to discuss the possibility of expanding the churches current program. Our Director also did two presentations for the Southwest District of the United Methodist Women about CREW and raised $175.00 in doing so. Our director also met with Susan J. Meister, of Gulf Coast Communications for UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief). She has been writing for the agencies newsletter Bright Spots about the damage from Katrina and Rita, but came and interviewed us and many of our clients and we look forward to reading her article on http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umcor/work/emergencies/ongoing/hurricane2005/brightspots/. Our director also met with CRWRC (Christian Reformed World Relief Church) volunteers who are working in Belle Glade and Pahokee, for a neighboring LTRO, this month for dinner for which the First United Methodist of Church of Clewiston hosted them. Furthermore, our director served as a volunteer for the Homeless Coalition, assisting them in completing Point- In-Time surveys on the homeless with the Hendry County SHIP coordinator and Empowerment Alliance of SW Florida staff.

Financially, we brought in $53,467.88 this month. $6,176.22 went into the general account. $350 was credited to the mitigation account. $2,291.66 was credited to the PDA account. $45,000 was credited to the UMCOR account. We spent $43,413.65 this month. We spent $565.92 on advertising, $9,595.86 to pay contractors, $111.34 on staff appreciation lunches and lunches for our funders, $38.73 on fundraising activities, $110.00 on gas, $56.10 on licenses and taxes, $300.84 on mileage, $325.19 on office supplies, $29,072.96 on payroll, $1,724.53 on payroll taxes, $68.76 on postage, $485.30 on telephones, $12.84 on the truck, and $954.28 on work team expenses including supplies.

We have $27,971.46 left in our CRWRC account, although most of this has been earmarked for upcoming jobs in February and March. We have a -$25,845.12 in the FEMA account, but are expecting a check to zero that out in February. We have $5,358.13 in the Gala account which needs to be used out the Lutheran account of -$1995.47, and the remainder put in the general account. We have $7069.72 in the general account. We have $5, 378.47 in our mitigation account. We have $14,529.35 in our NFL account which needs to be used to zero out the VFF 3 account which has -$6,163.09 and the rest placed in our general account. We have $3992.03 in our PDA account. We have $2795.00 in our Rotary account. UMCOR Clewiston account has $45,027.55 in it and UMCOR Moorehaven has $47,290.87.

Looking ahead, we are raising money to do a rebuild in February. We are also applying for grants including Hurricane awareness grants. We are planning a fundraiser in April. We are still awaiting response from grant requests to PDA and Lutherans.

WE NEED VOLUNTEERS AND FUNDS!!!!

We need volunteers who can help repair homes, but also need volunteers to assist in the office, as well to help work booths at the upcoming fairs and festivals throughout Hendry and Glades Counties. We are currently in need of a shredder that can handle the amount of shredding necessary to keep our clients information confidential.

You can also help by simply shopping through the iGive portal and registering CREW as your charity of choice. Simply visit the link below to do so. http://www.iGive.com/html/refer.cfm?memberid=324218&causeid=35958

Donations can be sent to 352 W. Arcade Ave., Clewiston, Florida 33440. We are a registered non-profit and donations are tax deductible. Call Renee to volunteer at (863) 983-2390.
DECEMBER MONTHLY REPORT

Changes are in the air. We have said good bye to Amanda, our part time case manger, although we still allow her to share office space as she continues her work with The Empowerment Alliance of South West Florida. In addition, our Executive Director has gone to part time also working part time for The United Way of Lee, Hendry and Glades. Our meeting our now on the 4th Thursday of the month and will likely be moving to quarterly meetings in March.
Beginning January 1st, our Executive Director will be working ½ time for CREW and ½ time for United Way of Lee, Hendry and Glades Counties. We should not need a full time director, unless another major storm were to cause major damage to our counties again, at which time we will reevaluate need.

We have demonstrated continual efforts to help FEMA (Florida Emergency Management Association) through our VFF (Volunteer Florida Foundation) grant (which ended at the end of year). The cases detail where the problems are, some are due to a long wait for inspections, some are due to failure to comply on the part of the families, some are awaiting titles and paperwork from FEMA, and some are due to the long process of applying for funding through the American Red Cross and others. It should be noted that our list is considerably longer than FEMA’s list, as we are working with families who purchased trailers on non-conforming lots (not though CREW), especially within the City of Clewiston. We are still awaiting payment on three cases from the City of Clewiston. One of the issues we are running into is that the client hears from us that the trailers cannot stay in the parks where they are, however the park owners are assuring them that they do not have to move. One of the greatest challenges of this grant was the shear amount of time we had to spend on conference calls and in meetings with FEMA, as well as the intense and detailed information needed for cases to be approved for funding. Clients have to prove that they truly need the money by showing income and expenses, and many are referred to Credit Counseling through our partnership with The Empowerment Alliance of South West Florida as a result. The paperwork related to all these processes is quite intensive.

Although we still work with The Empowerment Alliance of South West Florida, and offer space to one of their employees, we are, as of December 31st, no longer sharing a staff member with them, as our funding has run out.

The partnership between Means to Recovery (Red Cross) has come to a close. We have directly assisted 23 of clients for a total of $172,192.40 and we have 4 pending applications in the approval process in the amount of $36,500.00. Only one of which was not a FEMA (Florida Emergency Management Association) client. These checks come to CREW to verify that the contractors had done the work, before we could give the checks to the contractor. In addition, CREW had to do a great of work taking 5-10 hours a client on case management work in order to complete applications, submit them, and follow up on their progress, hire the contactors, get the check and deliver checks to the contractors after ensuring work was done adequately. In addition, we received $95,923.73 total from VFF (Volunteer Florida Foundation) for staff to manage these clients and for $69,000 direct service from the dame agency. We were offered up to $30,000 from the City of Clewiston for city residents for this program as well, and we have managed to only need and formally request $19,959.50 thanks to our case management and ability to use $769,000 VFF (Volunteer Florida Foundation) and over $200,000 of direct services through Means to Recovery Funds for some of the city residents.

Since March, C.R.E.W. has been working with FEMA, Hendry County, and the City of Clewiston to find suitable housing solutions for FEMA clients still housed in FEMA units as of April 24, 2004. Originally, FEMA gave C.R.E.W. a list of 65 families whom FEMA believed would be in need of additional assistance. Additionally, the city of Clewiston supplied a list of approximately 20 other families residing in FEMA mobile homes on non conforming lots inside Clewiston City Limits. Of these cases, C.R.E.W. was able to help the majority of these families find permanent housing solutions.

Hendry County is unique in that it is small, rural and has few conforming mobile home lots. Over 90% of the mobile home lots available in Hendry County are located on a flood plane. FEMA will not set up a mobile home on a flood plan. Therefore, the majority of the families who participated in the FEMA modified sales program had to find money to pay for the set up, tie down, permit fees, skirting, stairs and connection of all utilities in order to make their mobile home livable. Furthermore, for permitting issues, families were required various surveys depending on the lot to which the mobile was going. Because of lack of competition among licensed contractors and Clewiston’s location, the fees for the above mentioned services are higher than in other areas, costing on average $9000 to set up the mobile home. To add to complications, Hendry County has a lack of industry that could help support the financial needs of community members. Thus, for C.R.E.W. the FEMA close out project has been very unique and expensive as compared to other counties in the state.

When helping family reach final recovery and independence, the first step was to search for funding. Throughout the course of the project, C.R.E.W. was leveraged funding in excess of $250,000 from the Volunteer Florida Foundation, The American Red Cross and other local funders in our community. This money was used specifically for direct services provided to our clients. Once funding had been attained, C.R.E.W. ran into another obstacle, permitting. At the beginning of this project, a new code inspector began employment with Hendry County. This led to delays in the permitting system. Then half way through the project, the individual resigned, and for a while Hendry County had no inspector. However, the county was able to make arrangements with Glades county to have permits issued. Currently, it takes approximately one to two weeks to receive a permit in Hendry County. This is a great improvement over the three months that it took for the first permits applied for to be issued.

Finally, there have been issues with the FEMA contractor’s schedules. Once the permits have been issued, C.R.E.W. families are at the mercy of the schedule of the FEMA contractors as all trailers have to be moved by FEMA contractors. For as many trailers that have been delivered as scheduled, we have the same amount that were not. However, most trailers are being delivered in a timely manner currently. Once trailers are delivered, it takes the contractors who are working with C.R.E.W. about one week to set up the trailer. Depending on the schedule of the county inspectors issuing the Certificate of Occupancy, families are waiting approximately one week to a week and a half to move into their mobile homes if not issues arise.

Of our clients, two cases were closed because of the families’ failure to comply with their service plan. For the other families, C.R.E.W. was able to find a funding plan that would cover the cost of fully setting the mobile home to county code – with the exception of one family. For the one family who does not have a funding plan, C.R.E.W. had planned on using money from the City of Clewiston; however, the funding fell through at the last minute. C.R.E.W. is committed to continuing to work with this family to find alternate funding for this family. C.R.E.W. was also able to work with a local contactor who was willing to begin the permitting process so that the client would not be dropped from the FEMA modified sales program.

It was the hope of FEMA to have all trailers set and families in their new mobile homes by Christmas. However, due to amount of time involved in the entire set up process, the lack of contractors that can set up the mobile homes and the schedules of the FEMA contractors, this is logistically not possible. However, all of the mobiles were delivered by Christmas. C.R.E.W. is following our families into the New Year as our contractors continue to work diligently to set up these mobile homes as quickly as possible. At this point, it is realistic to believe that all FEMA mobile homes will be set and families will be in their mobile homes by the end of January 2008.

Our construction coordinator has assessed 13 jobs (all in Hendry). He assisted two volunteer groups with getting the supplies they needed. They repaired a roof, a sub floor, replaced wiring for an electric stove (previously gas), and cleanup debris at two clients homes. One volunteer group donated a $55.00 belt sander to complete one of the jobs. The total cost of the projects was $805.00.

This report reflects the volunteers from December 1, 2007 thru December 31, 2007.
On December 2, 2007 thru December 7, 2007 Unity Hill United Church of Christ sent 2 gentlemen to work on 3 projects. They did a roof repair for J. F., repaired sub floor for I. F. and wired an electric stove for M. H. The two stayed at Community Presbyterian Church of Clewiston. The two gentlemen came all the way from Connecticut to help with these repairs. They contributed 80 hours of work that equals to $1500.00 of in kind dollars. The First United Methodist Church fed them on Wednesday night, and The Community Presbyterian Church fed them Thursday night, the Executive Director had them for dinner with her family at her home one night as well. On December 15, 2007 a group of 7 volunteers from Memorial Methodist Church in Lake Placid came and worked cleaning up debris at e. Brewer and P. Barton’s homes. This group consisted of 2 women and 5 men; they contributed 24.5 hours of work that equals to $459.38 of in kind dollars. This group is planning another trip with some of the youth at their church. They want to come and pressure clean and paint Ms. Brewer’s home. They will be supplying the pressure washer and the paint. We received a donation from Lifestyles Shutter Systems (They are one the contractors we use for our Mitigation program) for one of our clients, with an in kind value of $2500.00. We also had our LTRO meeting on December 19, 2007 where we had 2 of our members who are volunteers donate an hour of their time. All of our volunteers this month were Caucasian, 1 female age 20-25, 1 male and 3 females age 26-60, and 6 males over the age of 61.

Total volunteer hours donated: 106.5 Total In Kind donations: $1996.88

There is a group from Good Shepherd Lutheran Church from Gaithersburg, MD returning soon. They are in the process of finalizing their plans and will contact me when they have the dates. We are getting things together for the rebuild for Ms. Hopper. As of today we have 2 groups committed to helping with the process. One group from Manassas St. Thomas United Methodist Church in Virginia will be here February 24, 2007 thru February 29, 2007.
The other group committed to coming is St. Lukes Lutheran Church returning from Washington State. We are still trying to recruit groups to help get this completed by the end of March, as well as find funders for it.

As of December 31st in Hendry County 107 cases have been assigned to case managers and 98 of these have an updated recovery plan completed, 7 of these cases are pending documentation for completion of recovery plans. In Glades County, 12 cases have been assigned to case managers and 7 of these have updated recovery plans completed, 5 of these cases are pending documentation for completion of recovery plans. In December 14 cases have been closed in Hendry County. With all clients needs being met or clients refusal of services. In December 0 cases in Glades County have been closed. There are no unassigned cases.

This department currently has 3 full time and 1 half time case managers funded by UMCOR that are reviewing case information. Case managers are contacting clients to get needed documentation quickly. They are also helping with contacting clients for the Mitigation Program on a weekly basis. We were sad to loose one of our half time case managers this month; Amanda who was has been with CREW longer than any of our current employees. We also said Good bye to Edie, who had run the VFF Close out Program.

In the month of December there has been a total 6 new applicants for mitigation. Only 3 have been entered into the Hurricane Relief Database and 3 are awaiting completion of paperwork. There are 87 clients entered in the Hurricane Relief Database and 13 are needed to complete the contract amount. For the months of October and November a total of 47 inspection reports have been received. The 47 clients that have received inspection report have been divided between two contractors, Alufab Hurricane Shutters and CAT 5 Hurricane Products. Mitigation for the clients given to these contractors is expected to be completed January 31, 2008. 30 clients are still awaiting inspection reports. CREW’s contract with VFF expires on December 31, 2007. As of December 20, 2007 CREW received an extension until March 31, 2008 to complete 100 homes in the Hendry and Glades County areas. CREW will continue in its effort to mitigate 100 or more homes. There will be a continued effort to reach clients by advertisement by flyers as well as going from door to door in the communities of Hendry and Glades Counties. S.H.I.P. Coordinator Aida Barnhart of Hendry County has continued in her effort to gain clients for Mitigation. Our Mitigation program will not be extended after March. We can reapply for a new grant in March which would then not begin till July.

Our bank account balance as of 12/31/07 was $137,027.30. In the month of December, we received $17,236.60 in grants and donations. We spent $850 in Accounting, $10,480 on Contractors, $269.80 on licenses, $589.00 on mileage, $38.51 on office supplies, $18,425 on payroll, $1409.57 on payroll expenses, $27.15 on postage, $278.72 on telephone, and $549.61 on work team expenses. We spent $19, 323.25 in CRWRC and have $30,676.75 remaining. The VFF, FEMA account shows a negative $25,845.12, balance which we are awaiting a reimbursement check for. Our Gala account show a balance of $5,358.13 which needs to be moved over to the general account. We have $1132.83 in the general fund. The Lutherans account has a -$1995.47. This needs to be zeroed out with NFL account which has $14,529.35 and closed. The Mitigation program has $14,590.63. Our PDA account has $3,821.65. The Rotary account has -$2,795.00, we are expecting a check for $6,000 to replenish this account. Our UMCOR account has $24,319.68 left in the Clewiston account, $36,035.26 in the Moorehaven account.

Looking ahead, we are raising money to do a rebuild in February. We are also applying for grants including Hurricane awareness grants. We are planning a fundraiser in April. We are still awaiting response from grant requests to PDA and Lutherans.
We are currently in need of a shredder that can handle the amount of shredding necessary to keep our clients information confidential. A lap top would also be extremely helpful for the executive director due to the large amount of work she takes home and would allow her to not have to continue to use her personal computer for work.