Pamela Atkinson does not think she could have slept more than about eight hours in the past three days.

Evacuees who have recounted tales of horror from the Superdome in New Orleans, wrenching scenes of parting from family members and the excruciating choices they made in the days after Hurricane Katrina have kept Atkinson awake at night.

Atkinson, a longtime community advocate who has organized Utah's relief effort through the governor's office, is one of the hundreds of volunteers from the Wasatch Front who has donated days to helping the 576 evacuees from New Orleans. The emotional toll of working with the evacuees has been high.

"I probably shed more tears over these evacuees working with them than I've done in a long time," Atkinson said.

Camp Williams is a temporary home for the evacuees, who have been assisted by a cadre of volunteers who have spent hours doing medical checks, cleaning cafeteria tables, entertaining children and sorting donations. National Guard soldiers who ordinarily use the camp for training have been maintaining the buildings and other needs, such as plumbing and repairs, but the volunteers operate the shelter.

"I think the evacuees coming in feel a lot more comfortable with civilians there," said Lt. Col. David Thomas, public information officer for the Utah National Guard. Volunteers handed out "a lot of hugs, (and) a lot of things like that might be a lot more difficult for the military to accomplish — we're not as friendly looking as the civilian volunteers are."

Volunteers greeted the planes of evacuees over the weekend, staffed medical outposts, collected donations, manned phone hotlines and played with bored children. Many of them said they simply wanted the evacuees to feel welcome in Utah.

"It's a humbling experience," said a volunteer named Amy, who did not want to give her last name. "They're trying to make the best of this situation. I can't even imagine what they're going through or what they're thinking."

State employees, National Guard soldiers, church groups, Red Cross and United Way volunteers primarily staffed Camp Williams on Monday. The Red Cross also trained approximately 700 additional volunteers Monday at one-hour sessions in a downtown hotel. Those volunteers, in addition to the 200 or so who trained Sunday, will staff shifts at Camp Williams through the next week. Volunteers who have trained with the Red Cross need to be patient for opportunities to help, said Cecelia Walker, a spokeswoman for the Red Cross. "As the need arises, we will start calling them in to help," Walker said.