6 Weeks in Texas: Harvey Cleanup

Hi, I'm Manny!

Recently, I applied to volunteer with All Hands Volunteers to travel down to Texas and help with Hurricane Harvey cleanup. My application was accepted, and I just received my placement e-mail for the Aransas Pass base at the First United Methodist Church, near Rockport Texas. This placement lasts 6 weeks, from October 6th to November 23rd, and will include tree and debris removal, muckout, gutting, cleaning and sanitizing, and mold control and remediation.

The work will be dirty and difficult, but it is work that is absolutely necessary to get this devastated region back up and running and help the people of Texas on the way towards rebuilding their lives. I cannot wait to get started.

As an All Hands volunteer, I will be provided with basic accomodations (a roof, and space for my sleeping bag) and 3 meals a day on work days. There is no fee for volunteering with All Hands, however they do require that volunteers pay for their own travel to and from the program.

That's where you come in!

I am setting up this campaign to help defray the costs of volunteering, including:
-Airfare to Corpus Christi - around $500
-Puncture resistant workboots (required by All Hands for all volunteers) - between $150 and $200
-Incidentals, including meals on off days - I'm alloting around $300 here, but that's just a guess. I have no real idea what this will cost over 6 weeks and I plan on using my own money for these first.

I am hoping to raise $1,000 dollars to make this trip possible by Monday, October 2nd. Any money raised in this campaign that I do not spend while in Texas will be donated to the All Hands Volunteers general fund the day my placement ends.

Any amount helps!

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Always,
Emmanuel Abreu

EDIT: Apparently the people at GoFundMe.com do not feel my campaign is specific or clear enough, so I am adding the additional information they have requested. Though I feel like my explanation already contained a lot of the details they are asking me to provide now, they asked me to further clarify. I'm sure they are just trying to be extra careful to make sure I am not using Hurrican Harvey for my own personal benefit. Which I get. You know me, by the book all the way. Haha. So, here goes...

1. My name is Emmanuel Abreu (the vast majority of you know me as Manny) and I am from Buffalo, New York.

2. I am raising these funds for myself, to help defray the costs associated with volunteering for 6 weeks doing cleanup in Aransas Pass, Texas. 

3. These funds will be spent on:
- Airfare (I will be flying from Buffalo to Corpus Christi on Wednesday, October 4th, and flying back to Buffalo from Houston on Wednesday, November 29th. The return flight from Houston was cheaper than the return flight from Corpus Christi. The tickets came out to $545.
- Puncture resistant boots. These are required for all All Hands Volunteers worksites. I have not purchased these yet, but I expect them to end up costing between $150 and $200. 
- Food and incidentals while I am in Aransas Pass. While volunteering with All Hands Volunteers, room and board are mostly covered (I won't have to pay for a place to stay, and they provide 3 meals a day on work days 6 days a week). However, any meals on off days, or any additional expenses that may arise (such as doing laundry, or buying snacks or Aleve), must be covered by the volunteers themselves. I have no idea what this will end up costing over the course of 6 weeks, and I plan on using my own money here too.
- Whatever money I do not end up spending on food and incidentals will be donated to the All Hands Volunteers general fund at the close of my placement. 

4. The funds will be withdrawn from GoFundMe.com into my own personal checking account, to be used as necessary. Whatever amount of the donated funds I end up not using during the course of my trip (if any) will be donated to All Hands Volunteers from my personal checking account at the close of my placement. 

I hope this clears up any confusion.

Thanks, 
Manny