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Latest Updates
13 July 2006
STATE COLLEGE, PA - KRTF Director: "Central PA, We Did and Are 'Doing Our Part.'"
"Thank You Central PA!"
I've heard this many times on 6 trips to the Katrina devastated Mississippi and Alabama coasts. Mayors, Police Chiefs, Fireman, Librarians, Shrimp Fisherman, boat builders, Doctors, book-lovers, young moms, old men and complete strangers who would simply notice the PA license plate and come over to say, "Thank You for coming to help us."
I am proud of Central PA
As 'Doing Our Part - Central Pennsylvania's Katrina Reconstruction Task Force', more than 70 volunteers, on 7 teams, ranging from age 10 to 65, from State College, Tyrone, Pennsylvania Furnace, Oceola, Reedsville, Curwenville, Lewistown, Bellefonte and PSU have traveled to rural Alabama and Mississippi to help. Many individuals, companies, and community groups have joined with us through donations of time, expertise, materials and money.
In addition, several other great organization and many churches from the Region have collected items and funds and sent a variety of very affective teams to the Gulf Region. Well over 175 volunteers, student and non-students from several organization, including Penn State Departments and classes traveled South, over spring break alone, to help.
Central PA, we did and are 'Doing Our Part'.
We, like many fellow Central Pennsylvanian's, watched the slowly unfolding Katrina catastrophe awed by the scope of the devastation, angered by images of so many waiting so long for help and eventually saying 'Ok, Let's do something!'.
We gave money, as we should, to the Salvation Army, Red Cross and other national agencies. An industrious few of us, lead by the Ryder Organization and others, in the first week mobilized immediate relief convoys of water and supplies. Eventually 'rescue & recovery' efforts turn to 'shelter and resettlement' and then, the last and longest phase, 'reconstruction'.
In each phase it became glaringly apparent that this job was too big for government, yes, too big! It would take too long and cost too much if left to the public sector. The ingenuity, mobility, sacrifice of many, many private citizens and groups working, nose to nose, with local Gulf officials, business leaders, regular people could do it...easily, yes easily!!...and in a fraction of the time and cost. We, as Central PA just needed to do our part.
Bureaucracies allow large entities to function, but they can be slow and sometime unwittingly put up barriers preventing others from getting something done. Government and large agencies were regularly telling people and groups, 'Do not go. You will be in the way. You will not be allowed to get close enough to help', even, 'You are not needed.' Politely speaking, this proved to be bureaucratic non-reality.
By mid-September, a group of frustrated local builders, bankers, engineers, media experts and business people met to make a way to be able to make a difference. The focus was to be the repair and reconstruction of public buildings, which were not covered by flood insurance located in rural areas or small towns. We would organize the engineering and planning and mobilize workers, equipment and materials for 'turnkey' reconstruction and repair. 'Doing Our Part' was formed and the project entitled 'Central PA's Katrina Reconstruction Task Force'.
Congratulations, Central Pennsylvania!
A Mississippi fireman told me, 'The thing that amazed me was the people who would just show up to help. There was a father and 2 sons who drove down from West Va. with a back hoe and said, 'We've got off for a couple of days, how can we help? The many, many people in Fl. and Ga., N.C. who just loaded up their trucks or trunks of their cars with water and ice and drove right into the most devastated areas...and the many, many church groups who would just show up...with food and clothes, generators, fuel...'
A Police Captain's statement after 3rd team to his town; ' I still can't believe you people would come all the way down here to help us, but I tell you, the next blizzard you have, I'm coming.'
That's it, 'Doing our part'. We don't have to do more and shouldn't do less. Let's just do our part.
Perry Babb
Director
KRTF
22 December 2005
STATE COLLEGE, PA - Schlow Library Makes Large Donation to KRTF
This evening the Schlow Library Board unanimously voted to donate all
it's old shelving, desks, chairs, tables, kid's furniture, roughly 2
tractor trailer loads - enough to completely restock the Long Beach Library and 1 or 2 other damaged Gulf libraries - to 'Doing Our Part', Central PA's KRTF.
All items are in excellent shape and will replace lost furnishings of
equal or lesser value. It would cost many tens of thousands to purchase
these items new.
Long Beach Librarian is ecstatic. We are awaiting a list of furnishings
needed in the adjacent counties. Items have been photographed. Library staff will be able to pick out what they want/need, coordinate styles and colors.
Approximately 4,500 s.f. of local storage will be needed as repairs are
made to buildings down south and distribution decisions made. Items
currently in the old Municipal building.
2 December 2005
MISSISSIPPI, USA - Katrina ‘Thanksgiving Team’ Update
 Team of 17 returns with 6,000 damaged books from Long Beach, Mississippi after spending the Thanksgiving Holiday cleaning out the hurricane damaged public library.
"The Team got more than double what I expected we could do," says KRTF Spokesman, Perry Babb. "6,000 books were catalogued, boxed, loaded and the entire library was cleaned out."
The books are now at ‘Sozo’, 256 E. Beaver, where Sue Kellerman, Head of Preservations Department, University Libraries, and her team will take a look them in the next few days. The type of processing/cleaning they require will determine, where they will go next, then to storage till the Library repairs as complete. This will also determine what we are to do with the remaining salvageable books.
Preliminary conclusions are that approximately 25,000 books out of a collection of 60,000 can be salvaged. This number has steadily gone up. The entire 2nd floor collection and 7,000 from the first floor top shelves in portions of the first floor are salvageable. The remainder on the first floor books were separated and wiped down with a special solution.
A former employee in Kellerman's department, Carla Stilson was a part of the team. It became clear very soon that many more books could be saved than first estimated and that it was unclear what percentage would need to be brought back to Central Pa. So one truckload or approx. 6,000 books, the maximum weight of our truck, were cataloged, boxed, loaded and brought to Pa.
 A meeting was arranged with the Mayor, Librarian, Chair of Library Board, and Head of local Rotary Club. There were 3 major developments:
First, it was agreed that the building could be repaired. An official engineering assessment was just completed. Second, in general terms, the Rotary would be responsible for the structural and exterior repairs and KRTF would concentrate on interior repairs, refurbishing and restocking. Third, we were given permission to begin to clean debris from the library.
A leader in the local Rotary club, Bob Kranz, arranged the formal engineering assessment with a local licensed engineer. Report concluded library is sound and repairs needed. Engineer will email details to our volunteer engineers to draw up the plans which he will review and sign off on. The insurance company wants to brick up the foyer and most of the doors on the ocean side of the building. Bob has gotten a preliminary estimate on the repair of the foyer wall and will raise the money toward this. He has a commitment from someone to take care of the ac/heat unit. In general, Bob and the Rotary will concentrate on the outside. KRTF will concentrate on the interior.
We cleared out several tons of debris, books, equipment, and furniture. It was a gigantic, filthy job. Desks, counters, doors, etc. were demolished and removed.
22 November 2005
MISSISSIPPI, USA - Antioch International, working with the State College-based Katrina Reconstruction Task Force, has sent its first team to Alabama and Mississippi to begin reconstruction work. The team plans to return in a week with around 20,000 library books salvaged from a Long Beach, MS library.
The efforts of the Katrina Reconstruction Task Force, chaired by AI director Perry Babb, have been well publicized in local media as the group seeks to gather support and volunteers from Pennsylvania's Centre region for its efforts.
16 November 2005
STATE COLLEGE, PA, USA - Today Antioch International director Perry Babb announced officially the creation of the Katrina Reconstruction Task Force, a volunteer organization comprised of local professionals, students and professors working together to help with reconstruction efforts in Mississippi and Alabama.
News articles from the Centre Daily Times:
Task force unveils plans for Gulf work
Katrina cleanup group seeking help
29 June 2005
ZAMBIA - More details about the Water Wells for Zambia project, soon to move into Phase 1, have been posted. Click here for more info.
9 January 2005
SOUTH ASIA - Antioch International has been able to send $13,817 to aid the ongoing relief work, carried out by our colleagues on the ground.
1 January 2005
SOUTH ASIA - Antioch International has colleagues on the ground in many of the areas affected by the recent devastating tsunami. Cash donations are urgently needed. Again...100% of contributions go to the need. There are no administrative cost taken. Click How to Give to help.
28 September 2004
BYIMANA, RWANDA - A newly built children's home funded by Antioch International prepares to receive Will Snyder, a fine arts graduate student and director of the Rwanda Waterworks Project. He will be be traveling to the children's home in the village of Byimana, Gitarama to meet with its mayor, local artists, aid workers, and the director of the Umuryango Children's Home.
The Rwandan Waterworks project was conceived in an effort to bring fresh water to the children's home, built in the last year through a partnership between Antioch International and a Rwandan student, Jean Pierre Kayinamura. There are no pipes bringing fresh water to the village itself, so the project has expanded to include the village as well.
Snyder's vision has been to unite the towns of Byimana, Rwanda and State College, Pennsylvania to fund the piping required to bring water into the town. Part of the project involves an art auction including art created by the children of both towns. He will be in Rwanda from October 8th through 25th and return to continue work on the project in State College.
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