Guest Blog Written by Dani Greenwald, Corporate Relations Manager at All Hands And Hearts
Redfora’s partner All Hands and Hearts is a global disaster relief nonprofit powered by volunteers. Dani Greenwald, Corporate Relations Manager for All Hands and Hearts, shares about the importance of the full cycle of disaster relief, including preparedness, immediate response and long-term recovery.
When disasters strike, many relief organizations like All Hands and Hearts see an immediate outpouring of short-term aid to assist the affected communities. We see headlines in the news, a spike in donations and an influx of volunteer applications. The reality of the situation, however, is that disaster recovery is not measured in days or even weeks; it’s measured in months, and more commonly, years. Unfortunately, once the media dwindles and public attention moves on, support for disaster-affected communities slips away without meaningful long-term solutions.
About All Hands and Hearts
All Hands and Hearts aims to continue offering relief services, using our unique volunteer model, long after disaster events. We arrive early and stay late to assist families who are unable to secure the necessary resources or other forms of assistance to rebuild. After disasters, we conduct swift and thorough assessments, carefully listening to the community to identify its greatest needs, and then mobilize volunteers to complete the necessary work.
Our organization makes long-term commitments where needed. Our Texas Hurricane Relief Program, which launched days after Hurricane Harvey made landfall in August 2017, just recently closed in March 2021, after impacting 4,318 disaster survivors through activities including debris removal, muck and gut, mold sanitation and interior home repair. In Nepal, our teams have rebuilt 24 schools damaged by the 2015 earthquakes, and our work in the country continues with plans to start rebuilding a health post in fall 2021.
A Long Term Strategy
Meanwhile, we stay ready to respond to future, unknown disasters, and we take strides to empower communities and build resiliency through Renewal Projects like Disaster Risk Reduction training. We recently expanded our organizational work scopes to include preparedness, in addition to response and recovery.
In February 2021, we launched a pilot Wildfire Relief Program in Paradise, California, focusing on wildfire mitigation projects, including creating a fuel break to reduce the likelihood and scale of damage from a future wildfire. We are also engaging in hazard tree removal on private residential properties, and we plan to expand our work to include interior repair in homes damaged by the 2018 Camp Fire. With recognition of the immense need for wildfire mitigation and recovery work in the region, our goal is that this program will run year-round.
Partnering with Redfora
Our partner, Redfora, is an expert in disaster preparedness and committed to long-term recovery. We appreciate the company’s great efforts to help families prepare for unpredictable yet inevitable disasters through effective tools and plans in place before a disaster occurs. When disasters devastate communities around the world, we are proud to have the Redfora team by our side to assist those affected through generously donating a portion of sales, as well as their time volunteering. Redfora has also helped All Hands and Hearts promote a safe environment for our volunteers, staff and the communities we are serving during the COVID-19 pandemic by donating 1,360 Everyday Sanitizer Sets to our Bahamas Hurricane Relief and Los Angeles COVID-19 Relief Programs.
With thoughtful partners like Redfora and their network of dedicated and passionate supporters, All Hands and Hearts is able to continue making long-term commitments to serve communities impacted by disasters.