History
History


F3 Tornado

Tuscaloosa County is repeatedly in the paths of killer tornadoes, flooding and severe thunderstorm destruction, which are frequently spawned by hurricanes such as Frederic (1979), Opal (1995), Ivan (2004), Katrina (2005), and even Rita (2005) with land fall about 500 miles away.

Tuscaloosa County faith-based organizations and their members have always responded with compassion toward those in need. However, the hearts, homes and purses of these groups and others were stretched to capacity and beyond because of the unequalled destruction of Hurricane Katrina in August, 2005, when up to 10,000 evacuees from Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama sought shelter here.

In late fall of 2005, Tuscaloosa County Emergency Management Agency (TC EMA) thanked the entire community, including the faith-based organizations, for their efforts in assisting hurricane evacuees. TC EMA also communicated the challenges and frustrations that faith-based organizations and social service agencies faced because there was no formal organization in place.

F3 Tornado

TC EMA challenged the social service agencies to organize as Tuscaloosa County Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters (TC VOAD) to more effectively respond in future disaster relief. Examples of social service agencies that have joined TC VOAD are Red Cross of West Alabama, Inc., and Temporary Emergency Services, Inc.

Although the national VOAD model includes faith-based organizations as individual members, the sheer number of Tuscaloosa County faith-based organizations who responded and are needed to respond in future disasters elicited a distinctive approach. Therefore, on November 7, 2005, a formal umbrella organization for faith-based organizations was conceived. As a component of TC VOAD, this voluntary faith-based organizational network will assist the faith-based community in more efficiently and effectively responding in times of disasters and emergencies.

In early 2006, a group of volunteers came together to create Compassion Coalition of Tuscaloosa County, Inc. which coordinates all faith-based organizations into one network to efficiently and effectively serve all who find themselves in need during disasters.  This organizational umbrella helps prevent miscommunications, duplications of effort and volunteer burn-out among individual faith-based organizations by mobilizing faith-based groups or organizations when the service(s) they selected to provide are required.    

During Year 1 (January, 2006, to March 31, 2007), the Advisory Council (which evolved into a Board of Directors): 

  1. Selected the organization's name after great deliberation.
  2. Honed the mission statement. House damage from a tornado.
  3. Started implementing the strategic plans for carrying out the mission.
  4. Began investigating liability issues.
  5. Considered the benefits and costs of incorporation as a 501(c) (3).
  6. Expanded representation on the Board of Directors to 17.
  7. Identified over 350 Tuscaloosa County faith-based organizations.
  8. Considered how to inform the community at large and faith-based organizations about Compassion Coalition's service in future disasters.
  9. Identified an effective and efficient means to assess, monitor and evaluate mobilized human and physical resources of the faith-based community during disaster responses through an interactive communications and mobilization website (http://www.cc-tc.org). 
  10. Consulted with a website expert to select a reputable website service provider outside Alabama, which helps ensure disaster responses that impact Alabama will not disrupt this vital network.
  11. Applied for grants to cover the costs of administering the network.

The Acting Board drafted a letter of invitation to the 350+ faith-based organizations in Tuscaloosa County to outline:

  1. Compassion Coalition's crucial and formalized role in future disaster responses.
  2. Synergistic and legal advantages of Compassion Coalition membership.
  3. Methods of enrollment.

To accompany the letter, the Acting Board:

  1. Created a website-friendly form to collect the resources, skills and services that coalition members can contribute during disaster responses.
  2. Envisioned in a pictorial schematic how TC EMA, TC VOAD and Compassion Coalition of Tuscaloosa County, Inc. interact during disaster response.

Recently, attention has focused on providing group presentations and accepting on-line and mailed enrollments. In addition we have:

  1. Deposited grant awards and donations.
  2. Purchased equipment and supplies.
  3. Negotiated permanent in-kind office space for Compassion Coalition's paid and volunteer staff.
  4. Successfully recruited in-kind advisors in key areas such as: banking and finance, accounting, tax issues, 501(c) (3) incorporation and risk management.
  5. Continued to seek sources of funding to cover basic operating costs.
  6. Launched a newsletter called Compassion Coalition Informer to inform enrolled and enrolling faith-based groups and organizations about key training information related to disaster response.
Achievements toward the last of Year One include:

  1. Sponsorship of two required FEMA disaster-related training courses.  
  2. Successful incorporation of Compassion Coalition of Tuscaloosa, Inc. as a recognized national and state non-profit entity.  
  3. Evolved from an Advisory Council to a committed Board of Directors who fully supports the mission of serving those at their greatest time of need.
  4. Achieved 501 (c)(3) status as a non-profit entity.

Become part of Compassion Coalition so we can collectively make a difference for families and individuals affected by disasters which impact our community.