Thousands of Utahns call hotline with offers of help

A help hotline set up by the Utah Department of Health has received more than 4,250 calls from Utahns to help evacuees before any of the transported victims had even reached Utah airspace.

While some of the offers ranged from free music lessons and teddy bears, the most common calls included offers for volunteer time, housing, clothing, baby items, toys and professional services.

"The response has been overwhelming and gratifying," Huntsman said. "Utahns continue to demonstrate their generosity and willingness to help out in times of need."

Residents with any new offers to help are still encouraged to call that hotline, although return calls should not be expected until after evacuees arrive and the needs are evaluated, said David Sundwall, executive director of the Utah Department of Health.

Hotline information is being provided to volunteer agencies, who will then contact individual callers.

"We want to ensure that we only collect what is needed and that we don't waste any resources. We ask Utahns to be patient and wait until they are contacted rather than call the relief line again," he said.

Those still interested in offering their assistance can contact the Katrina Relief Line at 1-866-873-2437. The UDOH is also encouraging people to e-mail their offers at katrinavolunteers@utah.gov.

State officials are also working with the United Way of Salt Lake to garner donations that will be used locally to assist the evacuees.

Deborah Nielsen, president and CEO of the organization, said her group spent Saturday setting up a system to receive donations that will only go toward s the local evacuee effort.

"There are lots of fund-raising efforts that are going on to help the victims that are there in the hurricane region, and we just knew that we would have people here locally that would want to help," she said.

The evacuees will need food, clothing, medical attention and mental health services just like the victims remaining in hurricane-ravaged states, Nielsen added.

"The national funds can't designate money to stay here locally," she said.

Residents can make donations by calling United Way of Salt Lake at (801) 736-8929, or by going to the group's Web site at www.uw.org.

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