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Other Weeks & Seasons 2011 (September 25 - October 1) |
Besides working diligently to issue the most accurate forecasts and warnings possible, our service extends well beyond the bricks and mortar in which we work. During the week of September 27th through October 3rd, our staffs are making a concerted effort to reach out in our communities to help those in need. All of these activities will occur outside of our normal work hours and on our own time.
Many NWS entities and partners participated in the 5th Annual National Weather Service (NWS) Week of Service:
1,074 employees and 12 family member helped 61 different organizations during the week.
Like the past 4 years, the most popular activity was holding food or supply drives.
A list of the offices that participated along with an office by office summary can be found below. If we missed your office's activity during this week, send an e-mail to Jeff Boyne.
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NWS Regional Headquarters
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Weather Forecast Offices (WFOs)
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River Forecast Centers (RFCs)
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Aviation Weather Unit & CWSUs
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Electronics
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Below are some of the activities which were done across the United States and its territories during this week:
| Albany, NY WFO:[top] | Food Drive |
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The Albany Forecast Office collected food for the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York of Northeastern New York BackPack Program. The program partners with 69 school across 14 counties serving over 1,900 children each week. The BackPack Program helps alleviate child hunger by discreetly providing children with backpacks full of nutricious and easy-to-prepare food on Friday afternoons so they have food to eat throughout the weekend. The program is funded entirely by local donations. |
 Food donated to the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York of Northeastern New York BackPack Program |
| Amarillo, TX WFO:[top] | Food Drive |
| The National Weather Service in Amarillo, TX, including the media, Emergency Management, and core partners of the office across the TX & OK panhandles participated in the week of service by holding a canned food drive to restock the High Plains Food Bank, which supplies food for the hungry across the TX panhandle. |
 Food donated to the High Plains Food Bank |
| Alaska Regional Headquarters, Anchorage AK WFO, Alaska Aviation Weather Unit (AAWU), Alaska-Pacific River Forecast Center (APRFC), and the Alaska Electronic Maintenance Unit (AEMU):[top] | Food Bank of Alaska and the Anchorage Downtown Soup Kitchen |
| The National Weather Service in Anchorage, AK volunteered at the Anchorage Downtown Soup Kitchen on Thursday. Staff from the Weather Forecast Office (WFO), the Alaska Aviation Weather Unit (AAWU), and the Alaska-Pacific River Forecast Center (APRFC) helped chop vegetables and served lunch (soup and sandwiches) to over 500 clients.
The Anchorage Downtown Soup Kitchen
The National Weather Service in Anchorage, AK, including the Weather Forecast Office (WFO), the Alaska Aviation Weather Unit (AAWU), the Alaska-Pacific River Forecast Center (APRFC), and the Alaska Electronic Maintenance Unit (AEMU) held a cookie contest and a pie contest to collect food and clothing donations. There were 12 cookie entries and 7 pie entries. After the judging concluded, the cookies and pie slices were "sold" for food and clothing donations that will be brought to the Food Bank of Alaska and the Downtown Soup Kitchen. |
 Anchorage Downtown Soup Kitchen  Anchorage NWS Bakes for Food Donations |
| Blacksburg, VA WFO:[top] | Food Drive |
| The Blacksburg staff brought in 100 lbs of food for the Blackburg Food Pantry. This was was part of a friendly NWS food drive competition with 10 other offices from Vermont to Hawaii. |
 Food donated to the Blacksburg Food Pantry |
| Boston/Taunton, MA & Northeast RFC WFO:[top] | Food Drive |
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Cereal and canned soup and vegetables, oh my! This is what comprised most of the food donated by both US National Weather Service Boston MA & US National Weather Service Northeast River Forecast Center for the 2015 National Week of Service. In an annual competition with the New York WFO to raise food for local food banks in MA and NY. WFO and RFC employees in Taunton MA packed up 429 pounds of food collected by the offices and delivered it to a food bank run by Coyle and Cassidy High School in Taunton, MA. |
 Food donated to a food bank run by Coyle and Cassidy High School in Taunton, MA. |
| Burlington, VT WFO:[top] | Ronald McDonald House, Food Drive, & Rebuilding Together |
| WFO Burlington did several things for this year's service week. They cooked dinner for the families at the local chapter of the Ronald McDonald House. They held a food drive for the county food shelf and contributed over 120 lbs of food! This was was part of a friendly NWS food drive competition with 10 other offices from Vermont to Hawaii. Finally, our Service Hydrologist also did work with the local chapter of Rebuilding Together (which he's also President Elect of!) doing volunteer work on houses in need. |
 Various Pictures from the 2015 NWS Week of Service |
| Central Region:[top] | Samaritan Buffet |
| On October 3rd, Central Region Director Chris Strager and his wife helped cook for 400 people at their church's "Samaritan Buffet". This buffet is our effort to reach out to the community with a free meal to help those less fortunate than us. Our church does this on the first Saturday of every month, and couples in the church rotate through the responsibilities of putting this together (and executing it!). It just so happens that our turn was on October 3rd. They participate every month, but this month was their turn to lead the effort. Their church is in Leavenworth, KS and the churches in that town coordinate so that every week there are at least three days where similar dinners are served to the community. Our church takes the first Saturday of every month. I am amazed at the coordination among the different churches and denominations to ensure that the people in the community are taken care of. For some folks, these meals are probably the only nutritious ones they receive all week. |
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| Charleston, SC WFO:[top] | Food Drive |
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NWS Charleston, SC brought in food donations to make "On-the-go Meal Kits" for the Ronald McDonald House of Charleston. At the end of the donation period, several staff members worked together to assemble the kits. We were able to make 50 kits! Each kit contained a microwaveable entree, side, drink, and plastic utensils. The RMH of Charleston houses 27 families while children undergo extensive medical treatment. It allows parents & children to lead a life as normal as possible without having to pay for hotels/travel expenses
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 Food donated to the Ronald McDonald House of Charleston |
| Colorado Basin RFC:[top] | Green Upban Lunch Box |
| The Colorado Basin RFC volunteered at the Green Upban Lunch Box |
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| Duluth, MN WFO:[top] | Food Drive |
| The Duluth staff participated brought in 55 pounds of food for their local food pantry. This was was part of a friendly NWS food drive competition with 10 other offices from Vermont to Hawaii. |
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| Eastern Regional Headquarters:[top] | Food Drive |
| This year in honor of the NWS Week of Service, Eastern Region Headquarters in Bohemia, NY held a food drive and collected 124.5 pounds of food to benefit Island Harvest, a non-profit organization that provides food throughout all of Long Island. |
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| Fairbanks, AK WFO:[top] | Food Drive |
| The Fairbanks staff participated brought in 224 pounds of food for their local food pantry. This was was part of a friendly NWS food drive competition with 10 other offices from Vermont to Hawaii. |
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| Glasgow, MT WFO:[top] | Northeast Montana Pet Rescue & Glasgow High School Homecoming |
| The staff helped raise $600 for Northeast Montana Pet Rescue and volunteered at homecoming week for Glasgow High School. |
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| Great Falls, MT WFO:[top] | Food & Health Item Drive |
| WFO Great Falls collected food and health items from September 27th through October 5th. The collected items were donated to Opportunities, Inc with the intent of supporting the local community. Opportunities, Inc works with under-resourced families across parts of central Montana and provides assistance for those families as they work towards self- reliance. |
 Food & health items donated to Opportunities, Inc |
| Green Bay, WI WFO:[top] | Food Drive |
| The Green Bay staff participated brought in 261 pounds of food for their local food pantry. This was was part of a friendly NWS food drive competition with 10 other offices from Vermont to Hawaii. |
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| Honolulu, HI WFO:[top] | Food & Supply Drive |
| The Honolulu WFO staff brought a big box of food stuffs (45 pounds) and three heaping boxes of supplies. Our supplies ranged from shoes, clothing, towels, blankets, shower gels, razors, toothpaste, combs, and lots of diapers! (We don't have a weight for this though!). They donated to the Institute for Human Services in Honolulu. |
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| Kansas City WFO, MO & Missouri Basin RFC:[top] | Harvesters & Food Drive |
| On the morning of October 2nd, the Kansas City WFO staff teamed up with local Emergency Managers for their Week of Service activity at Harvesters, a food bank that collects, organizes, and distributes food to large area in and around the Kansas City metro. They packed backsnacks, which go home with school-aged kids that may not have access to food over the weekend. |
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| La Crosse, WI WFO:[top] | School Supply Drive, Gunderson Health System, Mayo Health System-Franciscan Healthcare, New Horizons Shelter & Women's Center, Food Drive, & WAFER |
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From July 12th through September 19th, NWS La Crosse, WI conducted their 6th annual school supply drive. Their staff brought in around $1,500 worth of school supplies during this drive. In addition, MichaelsEnergy in La Crosse donated 1,225 folders. There were enough supplies donated to provide school supplies to 8 different schools (4 elementary and 4 middle/high) in northeast Iowa, southeast Minnesota, and southwest Wisconsin. These supplies were delivered between mid-September and mid-October to the following schools:
During the past 6 years, they have donated supplies to 33 different schools in their 28 county forecast area. During the week, the La Crosse staff brought in 76 pounds of food for WAFER (their local food pantry). This was was part of a friendly NWS food drive competition with 10 other offices from Vermont to Hawaii. Also for this week, one of their forecasters knitted 150 hats (preemie to adult). On Thursday (October 1st), 50 hats were donated to New Horizons Shelter & Women's Center. On Friday (October 2nd), the remaining hats were delivered to the Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) at Gunderson Health System and Mayo Health System - Franciscan Healthcare, and remaining hats were donated to New Horizons Shelter & Women's Center. Finally on October 1st, a few members of their staff volunteered at WAFER which is their local food bank.
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 School Drive  Food Drive
 Some of the Hats Distributed |
| Lubbock, TX WFO:[top] | School Supply Drive |
| During September and the early October, WFO Lubbock, TX joined up with their neighbors at the Science Spectrum, a local children's science museum, to collect school supplies for Women's Protective Services of Lubbock. WPS helps children year-round on the South Plains start new lives after leaving domestic abuse situations by giving them new clothing, school supplies, enrolling them in new schools and providing counseling services. We were thankful for the opportunity to help out! |
 School Supply Drive for Women's Protective Services |
| Marquette, MI WFO:[top] | Food Drive |
| The Marquette staff participated brought in 439 pounds of food for their local St. Vincent de Paul. This was was part of a friendly NWS food drive competition with 10 other offices from Vermont to Hawaii. |
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| Milwaukee, WI WFO:[top] | Food Drive |
| The Milwaukee staff participated brought in nearly 165 pounds of food for the food pantry of Waukesha County. This was was part of a friendly NWS food drive competition with 10 other offices from Vermont to Hawaii. |
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| Minneapolis/Twin Cities WFO & North Central RFC:[top] | School Supply Drive, Blood Drive, & Adopt-a-Highway |
| During September, the staffs of Minneapolis/Twin Cities WFO & North-Central RFC held a blood drive and collected school supplies. On October 19th, they cleaned up a road for Adopt-a-Highway. |
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| New York/Upton NY WFO:[top] | Food Drive |
| In an annual competition with the NWS Boston MA & the Northeast River Forecast Center, New York WFO brought in 160 pounds of food and pet food for their local food bank (LOng Island Cares). |
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| Portland/Gray, ME WFO:[top] | Autism Society of Maine |
| On October 3rd, WFO Portland/Gray, ME Observation Program Leader, Nikki Becker and her 8 year old son, Xander, participated in the 9th Annual Ride for Autism to support the Autism Society of Maine. They completed the 10 mile bike ride and raised $245. Attached are pictures of their fun filled day. |
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| Blacksburg, VA WFO:[top] | Pet Food & Supply Drive |
| The NWS Raleigh NC Forecast Office held a donation drive for the Wake County SPCA. We collected bags of food, toys and cleaning supplies. |
 Food and supplies donated to the Wake County SPCA |
| Reno, NV WFO:[top] | Food Drive |
| The staff held a food drive for Community Food Pantry in Sparks, NV. |
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| Salt Lake City CWSU:[top] | Operation Adopt a Ghost (Care Packages for Soldiers) |
| The Salt Lake City CWSU, along with the Salt Lake City WFO, participated in Operation Adopt a Ghost (Care Packages for Soldiers). |
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| Salt Lake City WFO:[top] | Operation Adopt a Ghost (Care Packages for Soldiers) & Ronald McDonald House Adopt-a-Meal program |
| The Salt Lake City WFO, along with the Salt Lake City CWSU, participated in Operation Adopt a Ghost (Care Packages for Soldiers).
On October 4th, they participated in the Ronald McDonald House Adopt-a-Meal program. |
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| San Diego, CA WFO:[top] | Food & Clothing Drive |
| The staff collected 64 food items and 57 clothing items. The food was donated to the San Diego Food Bank and the clothes were donated to the American Cancer Society. |
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| State College, PA WFO & Mid-Atlantic RFC:[top] | Food & Clothing Drive |
| Our combined offices collected 56 lbs (43 items) of needed food, and six bags (35 items) of needed clothing. On Thursday October 8th, the food items (and the collection barrels) were delivered to the State College Food Bank, while the clothing will be dropped off with the Salvation Army. |
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| San Joaquin Valley/Hanford, CA WFO:[top] | Salvation Army & Sorted Food |
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Ten NWS Hanford CA employees and their families prepared and served over 75 people Spaghetti dinner on Sunday Night September 27th. They also sorted food and prepared bag lunches through the week Monday through Friday. It was a huge success! |
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| Spokane, WA WFO:[top] | Habitat for Humanity & Volunteers of America Thrift Shop |
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WFO Spokane decided for this year’s service project to volunteer with Spokane’s chapter of Habitat for Humanity on September 24th. Four staff spent the day doing construction on the house of a deserving family in Deer Park, Washington. Much of their time was spent installing siding on the outside of the family’s two story home. Though none had previous experience siding houses, after a half hour of training they were siding like pros. Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit organization that builds decent, affordable houses for low-income families around the world, and have helped more than 1 million families improve their living condition. It was a very rewarding experience for all involved. Volunteers pictured, left to right, Bryce Williams, Andrew Kalin, Greg Koch and Steven Van Horn. In addition to this activity, staff members collected and donated household goods to the Volunteers of America Thrift shop which supports Crosswalk Teen Shelter in Spokane from September 28th through October 9th. |
 Volunteers pictured, left to right, Bryce Williams, Andrew Kalin, Greg Koch and Steven Van Horn. |
| Springfield, MO WFO:[top] | Meals a Million |
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On September 11th, a group from the NWS Springfield Office join the fight against hunger at the Meals a Million event at the Springfield Expo Center. This was part of the National Day of Service and Remembrance.
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 Meals a Million |
| Tuscon, AZ:[top] | Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona |
| WFO Tucson staff members volunteered at the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona for the fifth consecutive year. The NWS crew prepared over a thousand cases of canned food for distribution and opened and aligned several thousand paper grocery bags for assembly. |
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| Western Region Headquarters:[top] | Ronald McDonald House Adopt-a-Meal program |
| Staff from Western Region Headquarters, along with the Salt Lake City WFO, participated in Ronald McDonald House Adopt-a-Meal program. |
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| Wichita KS WFO:[top] | Food Drive |
| The Wichita staff participated brought in nearly 140 pounds of food for their local food pantry. This was was part of a friendly NWS food drive competition with 10 other offices from Vermont to Hawaii. |
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| Wilmington OH WFO & Ohio River Forecast Center:[top] | Wilmington Area Humane Society, Clinton County Humane Society, & House of Bread |
| Staffs from the NWS Wilmington and the Ohio River Valley River Forecast Center collected items for the Wilmington Area Humane Society and the Clinton County Humane Society. In addition, they collected items for the House of Bread. |
 Wilmington Area Humane Society & Clinton County Humane Society  House of Bread |
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