On behalf of our Board of Directors, Staff and volunteers, I’d like to wish each of you a very happy and healthy New Year! We appreciate your help and support as we move forward.

2010 was NECHAMA’s busiest year on record. We were in the field in disaster-related deployments for a total of 218 days, approximately 60% of the year! During this time, we cleaned a record total of 259 homes with the help of 619 volunteers who contributed over 15,000 hours of volunteer time. We simply couldn’t help disaster victims restore their lives without your help. Thank you!

Winter has ordinarily been our “quiet period.” This has traditionally been the time when we recharge our batteries, undertake organized training classes and handle the restocking and maintenance of our equipment. However, the weather refuses to cooperate. As you’ve probably heard, there have been significant rains, floods and mudslides in California. The southern U.S. has experienced severe snow and ice storms. Australia has experienced massive floods and tsunami-like conditions.

The spring outlook in the upper Midwest is for a 100% chance of significant flooding in the northwestern portions of Minnesota and the eastern portions of North Dakota. Our extensive contacts in the emergency management and VOAD communities have also predicted significant flooding in the Iowa and Wisconsin areas. And this doesn’t include tornadoes! Last year, Minnesota experienced more tornadoes than at any other time in its history.

Through it all and with your continued support, NECHAMA will be there assisting disaster victims to clean up and restore their tattered lives.

Please watch your e-mail or our Website for updates and announcements of NECHAMA’s deployment plans.