Flood Disaster Early Recovery Workshop to Take Place in Poplar Bluff
The Center for Disaster Philanthropy’s (CDP) Midwest Early Recovery Fund will host a workshop for emergency managers, civic, nonprofit and government leaders from south-central Missouri and northern Arkansas working to help communities recover from the devastating spring flooding across the region.
The workshop will take place from 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Tuesday, July 11, at the Poplar Bluff Chamber of Commerce, 1111 W. Pine St.
About 60 recovery leaders are anticipated to attend the workshop, which will be led by Nancy Beers, CDP’s Midwest Early Recovery Fund Director, and Kimberlee Maphis Early, CDP Senior Associate. CDP is partnering with the Community Foundation of the Ozarks, its affiliate, the Ozark Foothills Regional Community Foundation, and the Arkansas Community Foundation for this special convening.
The goal is to bring together funders, nonprofit partners and federal, state and local representatives to understand better the challenges, gaps and opportunities for support of those most vulnerable to the impact of these floods.
The mission of the CDP’s Midwest Early Recovery Fund is to provide communities affected by low-attention disasters with technical assistance and resources to address the outcomes of a natural disaster. The program focuses on 10 Midwestern states, including Missouri and Arkansas.
Beers has an extensive background in disaster recovery. Before joining the CDP, she served as Director of Disaster Services for Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota and worked with Camp Noah, a nationally acclaimed trauma recovery program for children. She also has been a member of the Disaster Case Management subcommittee for the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) and served as Vice President of Minnesota’s VOAD.
Maphis Early joined CDP following a 20-year career in religion and higher education, after which she coordinated a nine-year grant initiative for the Indiana-based Lilly Endowment, Inc. Her research on the April 2011 chain of tornados in Alabama led to publication of a study in 2012 on “Creating Order from Chaos: Roles for Philanthropy in Disaster Planning and Response.”
For more information about CDP’s Midwest Early Recovery Fund, visit: http://disasterphilanthropy.org/midwest-early-recovery-fund/. The media is invited to attend the workshop or conduct on-site interviews. To make arrangements, please contact Louise Knauer, Community Foundation of the Ozarks, (417) 880-9151.
