Church is mobilizing thousands to help out

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the South and along the Gulf Coast will respond en masse for scheduled cleanup efforts in Hurricane Katrina-battered areas starting this weekend.

Some 10,000 volunteer church members will be mobilized in waves in what church officials in Salt Lake City are calling "the largest response ever by the church to a disaster in the United States," according to a release issued by the church Wednesday. The first 3,000 volunteers, divided into teams of 10, will be dispatched to various areas this weekend.

The volunteer effort represents the faith's third phase of relief response, coordinated with the Red Cross and other agencies.

The first was the pre-positioning of truckloads of relief supplies before the storm hit. The second was to use 20 LDS buildings to house 4,000 evacuees, many of whom are still being cared for.

Volunteers will be completely self-sufficient, bringing their own supplies, including food, chemical toilets and even gasoline.

Groups have already been assigned to more than a dozen staging areas, helping church members and their neighbors in addition to seeking out the families of police officers, firemen, hospital staff and other emergency workers.

Assignments will vary with volunteers in the north clearing downed trees and power lines. Those along the coast will be removing mud, drywall and carpet and disinfecting homes.