Time to wake up

Here is Dr. Cyn's account of her volunteer experience:

The volunteering last night was fabulous, I highly recommend it. It
was SO MUCH FUN to help families and loved ones find each other. I
never had to use my lap top because they have now a full working
computer lab in the basement of the astrodome. but it was super fun
to have my cell phone there, because when I found contact information
for people I was able to whip out my phone and actually let them talk
to each other. I reunited 4 people with loved ones during the time I
was there, and got several more people's data uploaded into the
several databases for survivors.

there is still a need iffn ya want to go over after work here is the skinny:
Go to the Volunteer Check-in, which is in Reliant Center, 2nd floor,
west end. (If you take the train, get off at the dome and walk all along
the Reliant Center building to the far end. If you go by car, go in the
McNee entrance off Kirby.) They have it pretty well marked. You sign in
and get a colored "volunteer" wristband. From there, you go through a
5-minute orientation and then they ask for volunteers for all kinds of
tasks. If you want to do what I did, just go directly to the ACT
center which is in the basement or 1st floor of the astrodome right by
the south side entrance. It is a little tricky to find and it is tough
getting anyone to help with directions. Things are still rather
disorganized.

My favorite part is that they have this cow bell you get to ring if
you find someone's family member, very rewarding sound.

I volunteered at the Astrodome complex yesterday, and it went very well.

I turned into the volunteer entrance to the reliant center, and I had a momentary attack of overwhelmed, damn that place is ginormous! But there were signs, people directing traffic, security everywhere, and soon I was parked in the correct lot, and knew where I was headed.

I showed up with my laptop to see if they needed me somewhere for technological related work, but they had that covered. So I dropped my puter back in my trunk, and went to the quick orientations for volunteers. We had about 20 minutes worth of basic safety and procedural stuff, then sent me to an area where I was promptly whisked away to do what they need done.

I ended up in the Reliant Center in what amounts to the commisary. The folks that need stuff write down what they want & get in line. You grab the paper, go in back, and try to find it. It was a whole lot like shopping at thrift stores & scavenger hunt all rolled into one. The amount of stuff they had was just BOGGLING, it was like a thrift store the size of Wal-mart, and they had more stuff than they could sort. Clothes were piled in semi-sorted rows, with a sign at the end saying what it was (womens pants, 4-8). The diapers were piled higher than your head, and took up a space about the size of yer average living and dining. They were rolling & hauling in boxes so fast, we couldn't unpack & sort them fast enough. The gaps and holes in what they had were curious though. From what I saw, they needed luggage, backpacks, flip flops, notebook paper, bras, regular women's underwear, and rollerskates. The kids were so cute, and everyone I encountered was very nice, clean, fed, and pretty patient. Some folks wanted basic whatever we could find, and some wanted very specific things, and usually we could find that too. It was really fun, and I certainly got my exercise running around.

I was so glad to walk in and see that all was calm, not scary, everyone had what they needed and some of what they wanted. Security, police, and fire were everywhere, and I felt very safe. In the orientation, they gave us the basics about safety, and recommended that if you are going to volunteer after dark, to bring a buddy, so if any of you want to team up with me & go, let me know!

I also saw the family center, and heard over the PA the announcements of people being paged to come meet up with their family members. This seemed to be working pretty well, and I'd say over the 3 hours I was there, I heard probably 40 names called.
The amount of volunteers was huge, but they still need more people. If you want to do something, but are not up to running around, they have LOTS of jobs to be done, and you can stay at the volunteer station until something that suits you comes along.

For me, just showing up and seeing that it was not scary, that these people are being relatively well-cared for, boosted my confidence and faith in humanity immensely. Regardless of what the gub'mint is doing, We the people are helping.

Love,
S