U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
http://www.myfwc.com/oilspill/OilSpill_Rehab.htm

Mississippi

Mississippi Emergency Management Agency
Oil Spill Questions: 866-519-MEMA (6362) 8am-6pm or http://www.msema.org
MEMA Media Information Line: 866-920-MEMA.

Charities, businesses, and individuals who would like to volunteer please contact the Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service: 1-866-472-8265 or www.volunteermississippi.org


Donations can be made to Mississippi Disaster Recovery Fund Inc.

Anyone who would like to contribute can donate either through the web site or by sending a check to:
Mississippi Disaster Recovery Fund
c/o BankPlus
4450 Old Canton Road, Suite 101
Jackson, MS, 39211

Message from OilSpillVolunteers.com

Volunteer opportunities are very limited. In the disappointing absence of a statement to potential volunteers from BP or the Deepwater Horizon Unified Command, I'll do my best to summarize the situation.

All oil cleanup work and oiled wildlife rehabilitation is being done exclusively by paid workers who are employed by BP contractors. Everyone working directly with spilled oil is required by OSHA to have Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Standard (HAZWOPER) certification. Special protective equipment is required. Similar training and license requirements are placed on those working in oiled wildlife rehabilitation. Volunteers without the required certifications will not be allowed to do any tasks involving oil or oiled wildlife. Volunteers may be able to assist with other tasks and support work. However those opportunities to date have been few in number and limited primarily to cleaning beaches in anticipation of oil arrival.

If you live away from the Gulf Coast, I suggest that you do not travel here as a volunteer unless you have identified a specific volunteer task. There are thousands of us who live here on the Gulf Coast who are eager to help, but there's almost nothing for us to do. Coming here now solely to volunteer just can't be justified.

There are commercial companies who offer HAZWOPER and wildlife rehabilitation training, but I'm guessing that it would be unlikely that even if you completed the training that you'd be hired without some previous experience. I know of people here on the Coast with certifications and experience who are unable to find a place in the cleanup effort. An ongoing survey of qualified people for whom we submitted contact information to BP on May 13 reveals that they are not being called.

Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida have each established a single group responsible for volunteer coordination within their states. I encourage you to sign up with one or more of these groups. Their web-based volunteer forms allow you to describe your qualifications, skills, certifications, and interests in detail. Volunteers who registered through OilSpillVolunteers.com must still register with the state groups. The new state registration forms provide much more detail on volunteer qualifications and interests, so that the OilSpillVolunteers database is not directly transferable. The state organizations will contact volunteers as needs arise.

Volunteer Louisiana - http://www.volunteerlouisiana.gov/ - 800.755.5175

Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service - http://www.mcvs.org

Volunteer Florida - http://www.volunteerflorida.org/

211 Connects Alabama - http://211connectsalabama.org - 866.869.4921

After offering our volunteers to BP for nearly a month without success, we have transferred our contact lists to the states. I understand that BP intends to turn over their volunteers lists to the states, too.

In lieu of working on the spill directly, perhaps you can use your time to learn more about the situation leading to the spill, the way the recovery has been handled, how we can more effectively mitigate the damage, and how we can reduce the possibility of future accidents. After reaching your own conclusions, you can lobby your elected officials and our federal and state agencies with your suggestions.

Please remember that eleven people died in the Deepwater Horizon accident. The way of life and livelihoods of thousands of people in southern Louisiana have already been seriously damaged by the oil polluting bays, marshes, and beaches. As the spill continues, it is likely that other areas will be severely affected. As trustworthy and effective opportunities emerge for assisting people who are out of work because of the spill, you might consider a contribution.

I sincerely respect and appreciate your concern and your interest in helping. It's heartening to be reminded that there so many caring people willing to pitch in to make things better. That knowledge makes it much easier to deal with the frustration and heartbreak of this ongoing crisis.

Don Abrams
OilSpillVolunteers.com
Ocean Springs, Mississippi