PRIDE (Personal Responsibility in a Desirable Environment)

PRIDE volunteers: Let’s UNITE to help flood victims
Posted: 10:18 PM May 19, 2009
Last Updated: 10:18 PM May 19, 2009

SOMERSET, KY — PRIDE usually recruits volunteers to care for Mother Nature. Now, PRIDE is asking volunteers to help their neighbors who are cleaning up after Mother Nature.

PRIDE is partnering with Operation UNITE to collect and deliver basic necessities to Eastern Kentucky families devastated by flooding earlier this month.

More than 800 homes in Breathitt, Floyd, Lee, Owsley and Pike Counties were completely destroyed or damaged so badly they are uninhabitable, according to county officials’ latest reports to the office of Congressman Hal Rogers. About 1,000 more homes were damaged but are livable. Thousands of people are dealing with washed out roads, septic tanks, culverts, bridges, gardens and other essential infrastructure.

Federal, state and private flood relief efforts are underway, but the need is great. For example, the Red Cross in Lee County and Owsley County, is asking for donations of furniture and cleaning supplies to help families put their homes back together. The agency is trying to find a bed for an elderly lady who has been without one since the flood. Homeowners need to remove mold as soon as possible, but the Red Cross does not have enough cleaning supplies to distribute.

“Please rally to help your neighboring communities, just as we work together to care for the environment through PRIDE and fight drugs through UNITE,” said Karen Engle, who heads PRIDE and Operation UNITE. “We know you want to help, and we want to make it easy for you to do that. Our offices and staff are at your disposal to meet this immediate need in our region.”

Cleaning supplies, hygiene products, clothes, linens, furniture, appliances and nonperishable food items will be accepted. The flood relief donations will be distributed in Breathitt, Floyd, Lee, Owsley and Pike Counties.

Please bring your donation to the nearest PRIDE or UNITE office. For large items, such as furniture, please call ahead to arrange the drop off.

The donation drop-off sites are:

Somerset PRIDE Office in The Center for Rural Development (traffic light #15), 2292 S. Hwy. 27, 606-677-6150.

London UNITE Office in Carnaby Square (Big Lots and Goodwill), 823 S. Main St., 606-330-1400.

Hazard UNITE Office in the Hal Rogers Center, 101 Bulldog Lane, 606-487-3700.
Prestonsburg UNITE Office beside the Big Sandy Area Development District, 100 Resource Dr., 606-889-0422.

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The PRIDE initiative promotes Personal Responsibility In a Desirable Environment in 38 counties in Southern and Eastern Kentucky.

The PRIDE initiative was launched in 1997 by Congressman Hal Rogers and the late General James Bickford (PDF), the former Secretary of the Kentucky Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet. Their vision was to restore the natural beauty of their native region by encouraging citizens to take responsibility for protecting their environment and by providing the education and resources they need to do so.

PRIDE unites citizens with the resources of federal, state and local governments in order to:

1. Improve water quality in the region.
2. Clean up illegal trash dumps and other solid waste problems.
3. Promote environmental awareness and education.

The first two goals are aimed at cleaning up the existing problems created by the region's two primary pollution sources: dumping trash illegally and discharging raw sewage through straight pipes or failing septic systems. The third goal addresses the need to break the cycle of pollution.

Eastern Kentucky PRIDE, Inc., a nonprofit organization, coordinates the initiative and operates grant programs to fund local efforts to accomplish the PRIDE goals. Volunteers, schools, local governments and nonprofit organizations do the work.