The small group, formed almost overnight, excels while larger charities are scrutinized.

by Dana Clark Feltyl

Until September, Michael Edwards was just an attorney heading up the area's public defender's office with a heavy case load and a wife and three kids at home.

After Hurricane Katrina, he added "local charity director" to his list of responsibilites...

By December, the group had received its tax-exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service and had attracted dozens of supporters, collected more than $15,000 in cash and delivered more than 24 tons of supplies.

"It's been the buzz around town," said Christy Burke, chair of SunTrust Bank of Savannah's volunteer committee. "Just with word of mouth, it flew."

In an age of close scrutiny of charities, and at a time of year when donors are bombarded with solicitations, Pickin' Up the Pieces emerged virtually overnight as a local success.

But not every organization has hit such high notes.

Some of the nation's largest disaster response agencies are under review by a Congressional subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee, chaired by Minnesota Republican Rep. Jim Ramstad.

In a Dec. 13 subcommittee hearing, Ramstad expressed disappointment that groups such as the American Red Cross and Salvation Army haven't demonstrated a more coordinated response since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Other leaders have suggested Congress consider changing the government policy that names the Red Cross as the primary provider of shelter and emergency services during a large disaster.

Locally, however, the Savannah Chapter of the American Red Cross was responsible for training and sending out about 144 new volunteers in the days following Hurricane Katrina. Ten volunteers are still working in Mississippi support centers, said chapter CEO Robin Wingate.

Edwards said he knew about the fund-raising and disaster relief efforts of the big charities. But after seeing the desperation of victims on television, he felt driven to personally do something.

"The scale of this disaster was really beyond comprehension," Edwards said. "No one organization, no matter how big, could have possibly scratched the surface."

On Labor Day weekend, Edwards loaded up his Ford F-150 pickup truck with as many supplies from Big Lots as he could pack in. Then he drove to the Mississippi shore. For two days, he threw himself into relief efforts and then began planning his return trip.

On the drive back to Savannah, he got the idea to create a nonprofit.

"The niche I realized we could fill is the human touch, the personal connection," Edwards said. "We can find out what people need and connect people in need with people who have resources."

Linda Edwards broadcast e-mails to friends, media and more than 400 members of the Savannah Bar Association, of which her husband is a member.

The Edwards enlisted the help of about six others, including Sarah Arkins who created a logo, a brochure and a Web site, his brother-in-law, Michael Gale, who donated one-time use of a 40-foot refrigerated truck and regular use of a 12-foot trailer, and his sister who incorporated the nonprofit through the IRS.

Word of their efforts spread rapidly.

After a friend put Edwards in touch with SunTrust representatives, the local branch opened an account for the nonprofit and installed donation boxes for dry goods at 14 Chatham County branches.

After Edwards' second trip to Mississippi, Congregation Mickve Israel contacted him about delivering materials it had begun collecting.

Executive director Anne Maner said synagogue leaders knew about other disaster relief efforts but chose Pickin' Up the Pieces because some members knew the Edwards.

"I think the fact that it's real people heading it up; it's not just the name of some big corporation," Maner said.

In addition to donating more than eight tons of goods, members of Mickve Israel turned over $8,000 in cash to Pickin' Up the Pieces. Volunteers bought cleaning supplies at area bulk retail stores.

After the trip, the Edwards gave Mickve Israel members a PowerPoint presentation of how the money was spent and photographs of where supplies where distributed.

Last Sunday, Edwards completed his sixth trip to Mississippi. For the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons, the charity delivered holiday dinners, toys and tools to more than 800 children and their families.

While larger charities tend to discourage volunteers from jumping into an area after a disaster, Edwards said there was a need for immediate help after Katrina.

"No one was getting in the way because there was just so much to be done," Edwards said.

"If it hadn't have been for the faith-based and for the grass roots groups," smaller, poorer communities may have been without basic needs for weeks longer, he said.

"You almost couldn't throw too much at it."

Edwards plans to continue focusing efforts on Hancock County, Miss. Starting in January, he said he'll organize volunteers to spend a week in the rural community rebuilding houses with a Florida chapter of Habitat for Humanity.

"After the first of the year, we're hoping we'll be able to spend more time meeting with volunteers and develop more of an organized structure than we have now," Edwards said.

"We're definitely going to keep it going."

Click here to return to story:
http://savannahnow.com/stories/122105/3510525.shtml