Senior Citizens Get Help With Clean-Up As Neighborhood Centers Inc. Continues Coordinating Efforts To Assist Flood Victims

Neighborhood Centers
Tuesday, 12 June 2001

HOUSTON (06/12/01) - More than twenty ENRON employees made their way to Bealle Village, a senior residence with fifteen severely flooded apartments, today to help with clean up efforts. As part of the Home Clean Up Assistance to Seniors, volunteers from several Houston corporations will continue coordinating with Neighborhood Centers Inc. staff and head out Thursday and Friday to help seniors clean up flood damage. Work may even stretch into next week if needed.

In only one day of operation, NCI's Home Clean Up Assistance for Seniors Help Line has logged more than 100 calls for help said NCI officials. "We are working with our corporate partners to create volunteer clean-up teams as quickly as possible in an organized and safe manner," said NCI President and CEO Angela Blanchard. Teams from American General, Chevron Companies and BP America will be joining those from ENRON on Thursday or Friday as they travel to homes of seniors who reached out for help.

Seniors in need of help should call 713-273-3103 between 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and provide their name, address, telephone number, size of home and brief description of their clean up needs to receive assistance. Callers will be handled on a first-come, first-served basis.

Donations of cleaning supplies such as gloves, mops, brooms, towels, garbage bags, buckets, detergents, disinfectants, and bleach etc. are needed. Companies and organizations that would like to donate supplies or assemble teams to join the clean-up effort should call NCI Director of Executive Communications Rima Bonario at 713-669-5222.

In addition to helping seniors with clean up efforts, NCI is also working with local corporations, to implement Mobile Flood Relief Services to two local neighborhoods hit hard by the heavy rains. NCI is currently assessing the needs of residents near its Harbach-Ripley Community Center in South East Houston and its Kashmere Senior Service Center in North East Houston, many of whom are still without phone service and have no transportation to get to service centers. As supplies are collected, vans loaded with bags containing toiletries, food, cleaning supplies and other essentials will deliver some much-needed relief to residents in these devastated neighborhoods. Call 713-669-5329 or visit the NCI website at www.neighborhoodcenters.org for a list of needed items if you would like to donate bags to this mobile delivery effort.

Bags for delivery, along with donations of clothes and household items may be dropped off at these three NCI locations: Central Services 4500 Bissonnet (at Newcastle), Bellaire, TX, 77401, Harbach-Ripley Community Center, 6225 Northdale, Houston, TX 77087 and Cleveland-Ripley Community Center at 720 Fairmont Parkway, Pasadena, TX 77504. Please call 713-669-5239 to coordinate the pick-up and delivery of large furniture items for flood victims.

NCI is one of the largest private, locally-based, nonprofit, social service agency in the country, annually serving more than 250,000 low-income, Houston area residents. Programs include community center programs, Head Start, a 13-county subsidized child care program, after-school youth activities and senior services. NCI services are provided in more than 50 locations throughout the Greater Houston area. For more information, visit the NCI website at www.neighborhood-centers.org.

For more information, or to contact Neighborhood Centers, see their website at: www.neighborhood-centers.org