Washington, D.C., Sep. 28, 2012 -- FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate and United Negro College Fund Special Programs (UNCFSP) Interim President and CEO, Michael J. Hester, sign memorandums of agreement between UNCFSP and FEMA.

As a federal agency, there are lots of policies, procedures, and agreements that dictate how you do business.  The best of these documents are the ones that are flexible, have practical implications regardless of who the leadership is, and inspire action that makes a positive impact.  

Last week, FEMA signed a memorandum of agreement with the UNCF Special Programs Corporation (UNCFSP) that embodies the characteristics of those meaningful documents that result in a positive impact.

The agreement will specifically allow for:

• FEMA to participate in lectures, conferences and other events at minority institutions, providing students invaluable access to subject matter experts in emergency management and preparedness. 
• UNCFSP to work with FEMA to distribute potentially life-saving information, such as training and other educational and organizational resources to support community-based disaster preparedness efforts.

After the signing ceremony, I was able to catch up with the leaders of both organizations so they could explain, in their own words, why this agreement will make a difference.  Here are the questions and answers:

Question: Why is it important to involve members of the UNCFSP in emergency management initiatives?

Answer from Michael Hester, Interim President & CEO, UNCF Special Programs Corporation:

We are certainly glad to sign this Memorandum of Agreement with FEMA.  We think that it is important to involve historically black colleges and universities in emergency management and preparedness – mainly in the sense that historically black colleges and universities are often the anchors of their surrounding communities and can serve as natural partners to FEMA in times of needs. And so we are glad to sign this MOA today and we certainly look forward to greater collaboration with FEMA.

Question: How does this agreement align with your strategic goals for FEMA and how can it make a difference in emergency management as a whole?

Answer from Craig Fugate, FEMA Administrator:

It’s a way to partner with historically black colleges and universities across this great country to increase the recruiting pool as we continue to build the FEMA team.  One of the things we’ve learned in trying to answer the question of “how do we respond better?” – is we have to plan for what’s real and not always what is easy for us, but what communities really need.  That is hard to do without different viewpoints and different experiences. So as we continue to build a team, we also continue to look at how do we grow a team that looks more like the communities we serve, so that we have a better understanding of the citizens we serve as well as viewpoints and ideas that we haven’t had before. So this opportunity to partner and continue to grow FEMA and build a team, is important to both our current success and our mission as well as future generations of emergency managers.

Question: What could this mean for students in historically black colleges and universities?

Answer from Early Reese, Chief Operating Officer of UNCF:

It is our belief that this is a natural alignment to have our colleges and universities and their students be trained to better serve their communities and be a resource for not only the development of the students but for helping and aiding in the event of a natural disaster. To that end, we are very positive about this. We bring our institutions from 38 members to this partnership. We believe that with their 60,000 students, there will be ample opportunities to get them engaged not only from a development standpoint but as future employees of the federal government and the FEMA agency specifically.

To learn more about UNCFSP, visit www.uncfsp.org.

Other links

- Last year, FEMA signed a similar agreement with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities.

CAPTION: All Hands Volunteers work to repair a roof damaged from Hurricane Isaac. (Photo courtesy of All Hands Volunteers)

The national media attention about the Hurricane Isaac recovery has dwindled, yet some of the toughest work remains ahead in the areas impacted by the storm.  Over the past few weeks, we’ve highlighted the work of some of the non-profit and voluntary agencies pitching in to help the affected survivors and communities – organizations you may have heard of, like the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, and the Humane Society. 

The efforts of volunteer groups, large and small, as well as established and up-and-coming, have continued in full force across the Gulf Coast region since Isaac made landfall.  One of those partners, All Hands Volunteers, continues to make an impact in the affected areas by organizing groups of volunteers to tackle a variety of projects.  As part of the National Voluntary Organizations After Disasters (National VOAD), they are committed to being actively involved in emergency response and recovery efforts for disasters across the country.  Jeremey Horan, Director of Operations of All Hands Volunteers, was kind enough to offer his perspective of Hurricane Isaac and share All Hands Network’s model for rapid response.

Here is Jeremey’s story:

On August 28, Hurricane Isaac, which had already raged its way across Haiti and the Florida Keys, made landfall on the Gulf Coast of Louisiana. For days, its torrential rains drenched southern Mississippi and caused local flooding conditions that displaced families and destroyed properties.

As part of All Hands Volunteers’ rapid response model, we were on the ground in Vicksburg, MS the day the storm struck. Since it was confirmed that the three counties surrounding Biloxi were being heavily affected, we swiftly moved south to launch an assessment of the storm’s impact to determine how voluntary resources could be utilized to help those affected.

In many ways, we felt a bit of déjà vu, because it had been exactly seven years earlier that David Campbell, our executive director, formed Hands On USA to respond to the same area after Hurricane Katrina. Our name has changed, but our mission has not — we want to provide immediate, effective and sustainable support to communities in need by harnessing the energy and commitment of dedicated volunteers.

We also want to empower communities to swiftly and competently manage the chaos that typically surrounds a disaster event — especially as it relates to the pairing of community needs with volunteers to meet them.

As a member of National VOAD, we attended Southern Mississippi VOAD meetings in Biloxi and were quickly apprised of the known needs and helped to shape situational awareness based on our assessment findings. In collaboration with the VOAD, we were able to effectively vet pockets of unmet homeowner need and begin to clarify the scope of Isaac’s impact in communities along the MS Gulf Coast.

As a result, All Hands Volunteers is working to address the needs created by Isaac, working with volunteers who have pre-­-registered through virtual volunteer reception centers, getting homeowners to the next step in their recovery through direct service work. Because of the leadership provided by VOAD, we were able to access information before flood waters receded and to begin the process of aiding a community in its recovery. 

(Photo courtesy of All Hands Volunteers)

(Photo courtesy of All Hands Volunteers)

Editor’s note: FEMA is providing the following examples for your reference. FEMA does not endorse any non-government organizations, companies or applications. The views expressed above do not necessarily represent the official views of the United States, the Department of Homeland Security, or the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Learn more about organizations that are part of National VOAD at www.nvoad.org.

For more on FEMA’s role in the ongoing Isaac recovery, visit the disaster pages for Louisiana and Mississippi.