September 13, 2004
For Immediate Release

Florida Jaycees Featured on TPV Radio as a Leadership/Community Organization that Powers On as “First to Arrive and Last to Leave” with Disaster Relief

In an interview with The Patient's Voice, a popular online talk radio show, Lisa Douglass, V.P. of Management for the Florida Jaycees Disaster Relief Foundation, recites their all-volunteer member motto: “ We're the calm before, during and after the storm .”

According to the show's producer and host, Rosemary Roberts, “I wanted to utilize the show's national listener base to support this organized and effective community-centered relief effort.” Adding, “I also wanted to offer our listeners an avenue for monetary donations in which they could be assured that 100% would be used specifically for Florida residents in need…whatever that need might be.” The interview featuring Douglas can be accessed on demand at http://www.thepatientsvoice.com in Windows Media Player format.

Utilizing the lessons garnished in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew's 1992 devastation, the Florida Jaycees, some seventy-five community groups strong, formalized a statewide disaster relief program that has continued to operate 365 days a year ever since, battling fires, floods and seasonal hurricanes as the first on scene and the last to leave.

“Because we live and work in these communities” says Douglas, “and because we've built important relationships with state and local officials, as well as, home supply retailers, such as Home Depot, we are better prepared, have access to materials and the power tools necessary for the job, arrive on scene faster, and stay as long as it takes to ensure those who need our help – whatever that may consist of – get it. We'll be in these communities long after the hurricanes and other relief organizations have gone.”

Some sixty-five of the seventy-five community-based Jaycees affiliates within Florida are located and operating within the counties deemed by Governor Bush as “under a state of emergency”. With Hurricane Ivan looking to form a new path of destruction in parts of Florida not already ravaged by previous storms, the efforts and resources of the Jaycees will be widened and stretched as needed.

As explained by Douglas , “Some residents have needs such as assistance removing debris or fallen trees that block access to their homes, which at critical times are not a priority to the larger relief effort, but we'll find the manpower to get it done. That's our mission too. Our volunteers in the field have been out there assisting with the larger problems, as well as, the smaller, yet no less important needs of our senior' citizens who are alone and devastated emotionally, and those of other citizens who are in need of water, food, infant supplies, structural help, or evacuation assistance. Every dollar or donated item to our effort goes directly into the streets and neighborhoods of our residents affected by the storms.”

The US Junior Chamber is a non-profit, community-based organization comprised of individuals, ages 21 through 39, offering mentorship and support tools in the area of business development, management skills, individual training, community service and international connections.

For more information regarding the Florida Jaycees Disaster Relief Foundation, contact:

Lisa Douglas
(239) 825-5178
fljchelp@comcast.net
http://www.fljcdisasterrelief.org

All content on ThePatientsVoice.com is ©2004 GirlOnPoint.

For more information, contact:
Rosemary Roberts
rosemary@girlonpoint.com,            
http://www.girlonpoint.com