To help survivors of recent disasters donate to the Governor's Emergency Relief Fund
Alabama Governor's Office of Volunteer Services
INCREASING THE ETHIC OF SERVICE AND VOLUNTEERISM ACROSS ALABAMA
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Hurricane Isaias Response
This page will be updated as new information is received.
If you want information on how to donate responsibly and need assistance in connecting with an organization involved in disaster response efforts, please email info@ServeAlabama.gov or call 334-242-1549.
DISASTER ASSISTANCE
2-1-1 Connects Alabama - Find Help Near You. Need help before, during or after a disaster? Text your ZIP code to 898211 (TXT211) for up-to-date storm resources. The service is free, confidential, and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are an organization providing resources, please call 2-1-1 or call 1-888-421-1266.
Crisis Cleanup - Call 844-965-1386 to register for help or visit crisiscleanup.org. You will be connected with volunteers from disaster relief organizations, community groups and faith -based community partners. Services are free, but assistance is not guaranteed due to the overwhelming need.
Alabama Rural Coalition for the Homeless (ARCH) - Call 334-273-0668. Need housing assistance? ARCH serves the following counties: Barbour, Bibb, Blount, Butler, Chambers, Chilton, Choctaw, Clarke, Clay, Cleburn, Coffee, Conecuh, Coosa, Covington, Crenshaw, Cullman, Dale, Dallas, Escambia, Fayette, Geneva, Greene, Hale, Henry, Houston, Jackson, Lamar, Lee, Macon, Marengo, Marshall, Monroe, Perry, Pickens, Pike, Randolph, Sumter, Talladega, Tallapoosa, Walker, Washington and Wilcox Counties
American Red Cross - Have you been affected by a home fire or other disaster? Call us 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767) - 24 hours a day.
Disaster Legal Hotline: Call 877-393-2333 Free legal help is available for disaster survivors. Phone lines open M-F 8:30 am - 4:30 pm
Disaster Distress Helpline: Text or Call 1-800-985-5990, or visit DisasterDistress.samhsa.gov. 24/7, toll-free confidential crisis counseling and emotional support for people experiences distress related to natural or human-caused disasters.
Español: Llama o envía un mensaje de texto 1-800-985-5990 presiona “2”
For Deaf and Hard of Hearing ASL Callers: To connect directly to an agent in American Sign Language, click ASL Now or call 1-800-985-5990 from your videophone. ASL Support is available 24/7.
Alabama Baptist Disaster Relief: 334-613-2237. Free assistance for homeowners affected by a disaster.
Salvation Army: 1-800-SAL-ARMY (725-2769)
Samaritan's Purse: 1-833-747-1234. Free assistance for homeowners affected by a disaster.
United Methodist: 855-228-3862. Free assistance for homeowners affected by a disaster.
Text. Don’t Call. Texting leaves lines open for emergencies.
DISASTER RELIEF FUNDS
Governor’s Emergency Relief Fund (GERF)
Donate: Alabama Governor’s Emergency Relief Fund (GERF) – United Ways of Alabama
Donate to the Governors Emergency Relief Fund. This is a “fund of last resort” for unmet needs of families and individuals working to recover from disasters in Alabama. This fund was created after Hurricanes Ivan and Katrina and continues to support unmet needs for individuals and families recovering from disasters in Alabama.
United Way of Southwest Alabama Hurricane Isaias Community Crisis Fund - Fund supports relief and recovery efforts across nine counties in Southwest Alabama and Northwest Florida. Donations can be designated to support a specific county and will help nonprofit agencies and community organizations provide assistance to storm victims.
The fund covers Baldwin, Clarke, Conecuh, Escambia, Mobile, and Monroe Counties in Alabama, along with Escambia, Okaloosa, and Santa Rosa Counties in Florida.
Donate Online: https://fundraise.givesmart.com/f/6bgp/n?vid=1svsgc
Text to Give: Text Isaias26 to 91999 and follow the instructions to complete your donation.
DISASTER VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Governor's Office of Volunteer Services helps residents and organizations get connected to better assist Alabamians in need.
Call 334-242-1549 or visit: https://serveal.galaxydigital.com/ to either register as a volunteer or register your volunteer organization.
Get involved with a disaster relief organization before a disaster happens. They can provide the necessary training to help when a disaster occurs. If you are already affiliated with a response organization, please contact them directly. They will let you know when conditions are safe and when they will begin deploying volunteers.
Alabama Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (AL-VOAD): https://alabamavoad.org/ Members and partners are serving communities hit by disasters as long as necessary. For a list of organizations involved in disaster response in affected areas, visit their websites and social media sites for more information.
Phone Volunteers for Crisis Cleanup: Serve disaster survivors from home by answering hotline calls and connecting people with help. Contact for phone volunteers and phone volunteer coordinators: Lene Dotzler - Director of Volunteer Coordination 414-531-5322 or Lene@crisiscleanup.org.
Samaritan's Purse: For volunteer opportunities call: 251-369-0377
We will keep you updated on volunteer opportunities and let you know when response organizations are accepting additional volunteers.
IMPORTANT: Volunteers must affiliate with an organization. Under no circumstances should a volunteer self-deploy to an affected area! Unaffiliated, self-deployed volunteers can create additional burdens on affected communities and can pull resources away from survivors.
KEEPING VOLUNTEERS SAFE AND HEALTHY
Preparedness for Volunteers and Volunteer Organizations: If you are feeling sick, or displaying any symptoms of illness, please stay home. We love our volunteers, but we need you to be healthy and operating at 100% to make that happen. Our first priority is to keep all volunteers and their families’ safe.
Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) VOAD is a coalition of non-profit and faith-based, public and public and private organizations and agencies that respond to disasters by bringing all available resources together to assist those impacted by disasters. VAODS provide a forum promoting cooperation, communication, coordination and collaboration that fosters a more effective delivery of services to disaster affected communities.
ALVOAD and National VOAD
Support those who help survivors and respond to disasters. Consider donating to one of the following member agencies:
Alabama Baptist Disaster Relief
Alabama Emerald Coast Conference of the Global Methodist Church
The Alabama-West Florida Conference United Methodist Church
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)
Alabama Rural Coalition for the Homeless
Black Belt VOAD
Central Alabama Disaster Relief
Calhoun County VOAD
Civil Air Patrol Alabama Wing
Compassion Coalition of Tuscaloosa County
Concerned Citizens of Atmore "Unity in the Community"
Etowah County VOAD
FODAC (Friends of Disabled Adults and Children)
Friendship Mission
Hope Animal Assisted Crisis Response
Jackson County VOAD
Jefferson/Shelby/St Clair County VOAD
Legal Services of Alabama
Madison County VOAD
Mobile County VOAD
Morgan County VOAD
North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church
Operation Blessing International
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance
Rotary International District 6880 S/AL Disaster Response
Tuscaloosa VOAD
United Way of East Central Alabama/1st Call for Help
United Way of Northwest Alabama
United Way of Selma & Dallas County
United Way of Southwest Alabama
Walker County VOAD
FOR VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATIONS
Volunteer Toolbox: Resources for non-profits utilizing volunteers in times of disaster.
Volunteer Hours Tracking: Please see link below to download form to track volunteer hours.
Helpful tips for Donating
Cash is best. The best way to help people after a disaster is to donate cash to a recognized disaster relief organization. Monetary donations allow charitable organizations the flexibility to purchase items that are needed most, and, unlike material donations, cash donations entail no transportation costs. Cash donations avoid the process of collecting, sorting, and transporting donated goods. Cash donations may be tax deductible.
Cash donations allow relief organizations to:
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fund response and recovery efforts
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get goods and services and
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give financial aid to survivors.
Do not send unsolicited goods. It is important that prior to collecting any relief items, donors should contact the receiving local or national relief organization to verify the need and to make necessary transportation arrangements. Failure to do this will result in personnel, time, space, and money being spent to process uncoordinated items and will further detract from the resources being available to provide direct support to those affected by the disaster.
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Donate goods that are specifically requested or needed by recognized organizations. Contact your chosen organization before starting to collect or donate.
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Make a food donation to a local food bank that may distribute food to those impacted by the disaster.
Helpful tips for Volunteering
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Call 2-1-1 to register to volunteer.
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Affiliate with existing non-profit organizations before coming to the disaster area. Immediately following a disaster, a community can become easily overwhelmed by the amount of generous people who want to help. Contacting and affiliating with an established organization will help to ensure that you are appropriately trained to respond in the most effective way.
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Be safe: Do not self-deploy until a need has been identified and the local community impacted has requested support. Wait until it is safe to travel to volunteer sites and opportunities have been identified. Once assigned a position, make sure you have been given an assignment and are wearing proper safety gear for the task.
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Be patient: Recovery lasts a lot longer than the media attention. There will be volunteer needs for many months, often years, after the disaster - especially when the community enters the long-term recovery period.