United Way is at the Center of Disaster Recovery
I wanted to share a few words of gratitude and some resources with people across the tri-state area, should you need it. First, we would like to share our gratitude for the help of our partners at the Red Cross who have been deployed to help in many of the areas requiring support, as well as the many volunteers who have assisted them. I also wanted to share some appreciation and perhaps educate some of you who may not be aware that Dubuque has a very active Community Organizations Active in Disaster or COAD, that has worked together for years with the goal to mitigate, prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters. Dubuque Area COAD (squarespace.com) The COAD members take great care to form a very structured process in preparation or in response to natural disasters. Disasters may impact people and pets but also have impacts on housing and can create food, housing, spiritual and brain health needs, to name a few. Sometimes even the most heartfelt responses to disasters can be more detrimental to the communities if efforts aren’t managed in a safe and coordinated way. Can you imagine a community in disaster where hundreds showed up to help with food and blankets and water, yet there was no one to coordinate those efforts and direct them accordingly? That type of response may create more damage than good. At United Way, we are proud help lead and convene people, not only in times of disaster, but daily. We are also gratified to co-chair our COAD with the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque to prepare for times of need and to take coordinated and safe action, when situations warrant.
We hope you’re all safe and have the resources and support you need, across the tri-states, however, if you need us, we are here. That’s the United Way.
Danielle Leibfried
President/CEO