2021 NWS Autumn of Service

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Other Weeks & Seasons

2011 (September 25 - October 1)
2012 (September 30 - October 6)
2013 (September 29 - October 5)
2014 (September 28 - October 4)
2015 (September 27 - October 3)
2016 (September 25 - October 1)
2017 (September 24 - September 30)
2018 (September 30 - October 6)
2019 (September 29 - October 5)
2020 (September 1 - November 30)
2022 (September 1 - November 30)
2023 (September 1 - November 30)
2024 (September 1 - November 30)

In October, NWS Aberdeen collected 131 lbs of food for the Salvation Army in Aberdeen.  

Throughout October, our staff donated $210 directly to the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York's BackPack Program which serves more than 6,500 students in 241 schools across 22 counties (majority in our CWA).  This was our 9th year supporting this program.

In addition to this activity, we also collected aluminum pull tabs which are recycled to raise funds for Ronald McDonald House of Albany to fulfill their mission of providing services for families with seriously ill or injured children.

In October, the Arkansas-Red Basin RFC collected 28.5 lbs of food for the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma.  

From September 12-19, one staff member & family member assisted in the kitchen, dishwashing, light housekeeping, and help with maintenance tasks (i.e. repair of backup generator and repair of the power distribution cable).

In addition, they collected 86 lbs of food and donated another $85 directly to the Community Hunger Outreach Warehouse.

In October, NWS Birmingham, AL brought in 50 lbs of food and 130 lbs of other items.  In addition, their staff directly donated $201.31.  These donations went Manna Ministries, Shelby County Humane Society, and Serving You Ministries.

In October, NWS Bismarck ND brought in 112 lbs of food for the Salvation Army in Bismarck.

In October, NWS Blacksburg, VA collected cans and bags of food for Feeding SW Virginia and pet food and toys for the Roanoke Valley SPCA.  44 pounds of food was collected and 20 pounds in pet food and supplies were donated. In addition, the staff directly donated $20 to them.

From October 1st through November 4th, we collected an office record of 290 lbs to the Chittenden County Emergency Food Shelf 

Two groups (6 staff members) from NWS Burlington volunteered in community gardens on Friday, October 15th, and Wednesday, October 20th to help glean and rescue fresh vegetables to be donated to feed people throughout the Champlain Valley. Between the two groups, the harvested produce totaled about 15 heads of cabbage, 50 pounds of turnips, over 100 pounds of sweet potatoes, and over 150 pounds of kale! This volunteer effort was conducted alongside Burlington’s Intervale Center which distributes gleaned and rescued veggies to 200 households and 20 social service agencies each year.

From September 15 to October 12, NWS Charleston, SC collected donations for One80 Place, a local organization that provides a variety of services for homeless people in the community. Not only does the shelter offer meals and a place to sleep, but they also provide comprehensive programs for guests to help stop the cycle of homelessness and promote self-sufficiency. The donations included several new sweatshirts and sweatpants, as well as non-perishable foods.

In October, the Chicago WFO & Chicago/Aurora CWSU collected 592.2 lbs of food for the Romeoville Community Pantry. 

In October, NWS Columbia, SC collected 46.5 lbs of food for the Harvest Hope Food Bank.

In October, NWS Duluth, MN collected 30 lbs of food for Second Harvest Northern Lakes Food Bank.

In October, the NWS El Paso staff donated $300 directly to El Pasoans Fighting Hunger.

In October, NWS Fairbanks, AK collected 66.25 lbs of food for the Fairbanks Community Foodbank.

In October, NWS Grand Forks, ND collected 147 lbs of food and 21.5 lbs of other items for Red River Valley Community Action. In addition, another $50 was donated to them directly by staff members.

In October, NWS Green Bay, WI collected 140 lbs of food and 40 lbs of other items for Paul's Pantry & St. Johns Homeless Shelter. 

From September 3rd through September 22nd, NWS Greensville-Spartansburg gathered donations for Haywood county in North Carolina as this was one of the hardest-hit counties from Tropical Depression Fred in August. Social media and storm surveys allowed us to see firsthand how catastrophic this flooding was after the event. So we decided to give back to our community by submitting cash donations (as the county was already overwhelmed with other donated goods). We submitted $250 online to United Way. Here is a portion of the preliminary event summary written by one of our lead forecasters Justin Lane:

“Tropical moisture combined with the prolonged southeast upslope flow into the Blue Ridge escarpment resulted in enhanced rainfall rates across the southeast-slopes of the Carolina and northeast Georgia mountains throughout the 17th, with storm total rainfall of 5-10" reported across much of this area. Very heavy rainfall in the high elevations of the Balsam Range resulted in major flash flooding in the headwaters of the Pigeon River in southern Haywood County. A stream gauge on the East Fork of the Pigeon River in the Cruso community exceeded its record by more than 3 feet (the previous record was in association with Tropical Cyclone Ivan, September 2004). At one point, the river rose more than 2.5 feet in only 30 minutes. Catastrophic flash flooding, possibly in conjunction with major landslides developed along the East Fork in Cruso, sweeping multiple recreational vehicles downstream and damaging or destroying multiple homes. Six confirmed fatalities were reported in this area. This water worked its way downstream to the stream gauge at Canton, where major flooding developed on the Pigeon River for the first time in almost 20 years (Tropical Cyclone Ivan) and reached its fourth-highest level on record (continuous observations at this site date to 1928.)” The picture we attached is of a landslide that occurred from Fred. This landslide killed one of the victims.

In October, NWS Hastings, NE collected 273 lbs of food and 21 lbs of other items for Hastings Food Pantry/Camille's Cupboard.

From October 1 through November 15, a total of 105 lbs of food and $2,650 were directly donated to the WAFER food pantry.  In addition to our staff, the Masonic Lodge in Austin, MN made a generous food donation to our drive during late October.  During our 9 food drives since 2013, a total of 1,020 lbs and $3,803 have been donated to WAFER.

In 2021, one of our meteorologists knitted 190 preemie and baby hats. On December 23, these hats were delivered to Franciscan Skemp Mayo and Gunderson Lutheran in La Crosse, WI.  Since July 1, 2009, he has made and donated 5,050 hats to neonatal, domestic abuse shelters, cancer hospitals, and the Minnesota Masonic Children Hospital.  These hats have been distributed in Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.

Just after Christmas, one of our meteorologists, his wife, and a family friend rescued a mallard duck with a broken lower beak at Riverside Park in La Crosse, WI.  Her broken beak caused her tongue to be exposed to the cold.  It even had some frostbite on it. Since she was captured around Christmas, she became known as Holly. The local media even did a story on her. On New Year's Day, they transported her to the Raptor Education Group in Antigo, WI.  

In October, NWS Las Vegas, NV WFO held a food drive for the Shade Tree Foundation. They collected 486 lbs of food and 21 pounds of other items. In addition, their staff members donated $818 directly to them.

NWS Lincoln, IL collected a variety of items from canned goods, boxed dinners, and personal hygiene products for the Lincoln Logan County Food Pantry.  These weighed 152.5 pounds.

NWS Little Rock, AR adopted a section of street in front of our office, along Remount Road in North Little Rock, AR. Saturday, October 30th, 2021 was their first clean-up along our area of responsibility. We had 7 volunteers (6 employees and 1 family member) for our 1st clean-up.  We picked up 7 bags of trash, along with several larger items.

In October, NWS Louisville held a virtual food drive this year for a local food bank as part of the NWS Food Drive Competition. Overall, we were able to raise $500 (directly donated by staff members), helping to provide 1,500 meals to those in need.

On October 11, 8 staff and 4 family members assisted with a variety of things at the community center including weeding and picking up trash around the community garden, organizing books in their library, and cleaning up and organizing their art room as well as helping make decorations for their upcoming annual Fall Festival.

In August, the Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center (LMRFC) and the Slidell Weather Forecast offices completed their annual food drive competition raising a total of 1,571 lbs. That was over 3/4 of a ton to help feed our local community!  This was part of the Feds Feed Families.

The LMRFC collected 1,029 lbs of food, while the WFO collected 542 lbs of food. The items were delivered to the food pantries at Community Christian Concern and Good Sam's Ministry, both in Slidell, Louisiana. 

During the Autumn of 2021, NWS Lubbock, TX held a collection drive for Grace Campus (a 6-month Transitional homeless shelter). They collected various items including (but not limited to): batteries, blankets, sheets, soap, cleaning supplies, towels, toilet paper, socks, plates, bowls, and much more. Overall, they collected 724 items.

In October, NWS Melbourne, FL WFO collected 54 lbs. of food for Second Harvest Food Bank - Brevard Branch.

For the month of October, we collected items for the Watertown Food Pantry. 306 items were collected. 117 of them were books weighing in at 46.5 pounds. 39 different food items were collected weighing 138.2 pounds.

In addition, 8 staff members and a family member participated in 2 Adopt-A-Highway cleanups, one on September 15 and the other one on October 6. We worked together to clean a 2-mile portion of Highway 18 just west of Sullivan, WI. Each cleanup took around 2 hours to complete. 11 bags of trash along with a few larger items were picked up. Each time members of the community stopped and thanked us for our efforts.

In October, Nashville, TN WFO collected 221 lbs. of food for Mount Juliet Help Center.

In October, the National Water Center held collection drives for the West Alabama Food Bank and Metro Animal Shelter. Their staff could donate to either. A total of 300 lbs of food were collected. In addition, their staff members donated $1,310 directly to them.

In August, the Slidell Weather Forecast and Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center (LMRFC) offices completed their annual food drive competition raising a total of 1,571 lbs. That was over 3/4 of a ton to help feed our local community!  This was part of the Feds Feed Families.

The LMRFC collected 1,029 lbs of food, while the WFO collected 542 lbs of food. The items were delivered to the food pantries at Community Christian Concern and Good Sam's Ministry, both in Slidell, Louisiana. 

During Autumn 2021, NWS Newport/Morehead City, NC collected items to donate to our local animal shelter/humane society. Carteret County Humane Society and Animal Shelter. https://cchsshelter.com/

In October, North Platte, NE WFO collected 68 lbs of food and 61 lbs of other items for the Salvation Army Community Food Pantry and the North Platte Pet Food Pantry.

During October, we collected 121.5 lbs of non-perishable foods for the Syracuse Food Pantry.

In October, the Pleasant Hill WFO, Missouri Basin RFC, & Kansas City CWSU collected 364 lbs of food and 18.5 lbs of other things for the Pleasant Hill Food Bank.

We collected food donations for a local food pantry in Raleigh for the entire month of October, as well as items for the Orange County animal shelter. We did this for the entire month of October. We collected a total of 415 pounds of food and about 30 pounds of items for the animal shelter.

In October, the Rapid City, SD WFO held collection drives for Feeding South Dakota, WAVI, and Cornerstone Rescue Mission.  They collected 104 lbs of food and 46 lbs of other items.

From October 15-31, NWS Reno collected 70 pounds of food for the Northern Nevada Food Bank.

In October, St. Louis, MO WFO collected 648 lbs of food for OASIS - Outreach Assistance Serving Individuals in St Charles County.

From October 1 through November 20, NWS Shreveport collected new hygiene and over-the-counter medicine (like Tylenol, cough drops, toothpaste, etc.) for the Shreveport Bossier Rescue Mission which serves many homeless including men, women (many veterans), and children. Gently used coats, jackets, blankets, and clothing were donated by the staff along with the hygiene products and medicine.

In addition, they sponsored a 2-year-old girl who is in the foster care system in Shreveport through the Volunteers of Youth Justice, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA). Over 300 children are in this system due to neglect and/or abuse. This is the first year we have sponsored this worthy program. We collected toys, clothes, shoes, and books for our little sponsor and delivered those goods to the agency on November 30th!

In October, the Spokane, WA WFO collected 157 lbs of food for the 2nd Harvest Inland Northwest Food Bank.

In October, the Springfield, MO WFO collected 79 lbs of food for Ozark Food Harvest. In addition, their staff donated another $300 directly to this food bank.

In October, Tampa Bay, FL WFO collected 77 lbs of food for the Manatee County Food Bank and Humane Society of Tampa Bay. In addition, their staff members donated $134.53 directly to them.

From mid-September through November 30, Tuscon, AZ WFO did two drives. One was a food drive (156 lbs) for the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona and the other was for the Giving Tree of Arizona which is a toy drive for children in the foster care system in Arizona.

In October, Twin Cities, MN WFO & North-Central RFC held collection drives for Second Harvest Heartland, Waconia Food Shelf, Bountiful Basket (Chaska), and Feed My Starving Children. Their staffs collected 587.5 lbs of food and 75 lbs of other items. Their staff members also donated $1,140 directly to these organizations.

In November 2021, NWS Wakefield VA staff collected supplies for the local animal shelter (Sussex County VA). The office had high participation with many items collected for the shelter. A list of suggested items was sent out to all the staff at the beginning of the week for guidance. The shelter was grateful for our contributions and look forward to future involvement with our office. (Pictured from left to right: Alec Butner, Meteorologist; Jeff Orrock, MIC; Dave Evers, Electronics Technician)

A couple of people in the office donated items for the Clinton County & PAWS Humane Society.