For Immediate Release May 2, 2006	Contact: Mayor Valerie Keehn Ronald Maenza, M.D. 518-226-0242 Ron Deutsch 518-469-6769 Bruce Thompson 518-882-5313

(Saratoga Springs, NY) On May 2nd the Saratoga Springs City Council announced that they would be adopting the City of Waveland, Mississippi as its new domestic Sister City. Waveland was ground zero for Hurricane Katrina, which reduced a vibrant beach community to rubble.

“While we go about our lives in the vibrant and prosperous city of Saratoga Springs, the residents of Waveland are living in FEMA campers and struggle everyday to rebuild their city that was wiped off the face of the map during the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina,” stated Mayor Valerie Keehn. “We must not forget that so many of our fellow Americans are still struggling everyday and it is my hope that by adopting Waveland as our Sister City that we can all do our small part in helping this city come back to life.”

A Saratoga Springs based non-profit organization, The Giving Circle, Inc. (www.thegivingcicle.org) has been working with teams of residents in Waveland to help them regain some sense of hope that the world has not forgotten about them. The Giving Circle was started by city resident, Mark Bertrand (2006 Jefferson Award Honoree for the Capital District), a local sports trainer, and world-renowned jockeys Aaron Gryder and Shane Sellers. They started Operation: A Cajun Christmas in September 2005 in an effort to make sure that the children in Abbeville, LA. could have a Christmas they would never forget. Working with other city and county residents they were able to get toys and electronics donated and shipped down to provide a great Christmas for over 7,000 children.

After seeing the devastation first hand, many city and county residents decided they must do more to help and to make sure that the public understands that this problem is not getting better but getting worse. As a result, The Giving Circle was formed and adopted Waveland MS. as its first “operation.” Each year, The Giving Circle, Inc. identifies and helps a community in need. We are community helping community, family helping family. Each community we reach out to become part of the Giving Circle, as recipients and as participants, continuing a cycle of loving kindness, respect and compassion.
Waveland, MS. was a town of nearly 8,000 residents before Hurricane Katrina devastated the area in August of 2005. Only 35 homes were habitable after the storm. Six months later, at the onset of Operation: Waveland, MS the town remains a tent city with only 40% of the population returned. The stories of the towns residents (http://www.thegivingcircle.org/family.htm ) detail the horrible conditions in which they are forced to live, the pain they have suffered and the hope that still fills their hearts. One family of five that lost a child stated, “...I pray to have a home for our children again. They are everything. They are what make us get up and go and not want to just drown in our loss of our home and our other child. For that we are grateful.”

Dr. Ronald Maenza, President of the Giving Circle, recently went to Waveland with his wife Karyl, Bruce Thompson and Mark Bertrand in March to meet with Stacy Cato (the leader of The Giving Circle’s Waveland-On-Site team) and other Waveland residents. “Twisted, broken trees, debris in the limbs of those still standing (including a sofa 30 feet in the air), stories of dead babies found in the trees by rescue workers immediately after the storm, houses new and old pushed far from their foundations or completely swept away---all this, and yet the people of Waveland continue to persevere and to hold out hope that help will arrive,” lamented Dr. Maenza. “It is a true testament to the human spirit.”
Giving Circle Board Member, Sue Johnson of Saratoga Springs went down to Waveland last week to lead volunteers in a clean-up effort and to help families rebuild. She returned to Saratoga dismayed by the lack of assistance people are receiving. “There is just so much need that it is overwhelming. We can’t throw up our hands and give up. We must help these families rebuild not only their homes but their lives. It is not just their homes that are scattered and destroyed but their lives and mental health as well.”
Mayor Keehn urged Saratogians to help in many different ways (http://www.thegivingcircle.org/getinvolved.htm). According to the families in Waveland, their greatest and most pressing need is for permanent, stable housing since so many families are still homeless a full 7 months after the storm. The Giving Circle is urging City and County residents to get involved by adopting a family in need, and helping to raise money for new modular homes that can withstand hurricane force winds. These modular homes can be purchased for as little as $15,000 to $50,000 depending on size. There is also tremendous need for building supplies, home furnishings, gift cards to stores like Home Depot, Lowes and Walmart and for skilled and unskilled volunteers to travel down to Waveland to help with the rebuilding and clean up efforts.

For more information on how you can get involved please contact The Giving Circle at www.thegivingcircle.org.