2024 NWS Autumn of Service

2018 (September 30 - October 6)
2019 (September 29 - October 5)
2020 (September 1 - November 30)
2021 (September 1 - November 30)
2022 (September 1 - November 30)
2023 (September 1 - November 30)

From September 20 to November 26, NWS Albany collected about 75 pounds of food and $200 in monetary donations for the backpack program the Northeast Regional Food Bank.

Amarillo Housing First operates Code Blue Warming Station - Amarillo during the extreme winter weather season as an option to the unsheltered community members and their pets to escape deadly winter weather events. They have collaborated with our office in the past in developing cold weather criteria for opening their shelter. From mid-November through mid-December, NWS Amarillo, TX collected items off of their wish list which was wide ranging and included food, clothing, and pet items. Helping this group directly tied into the NWS mission of protecting lives and underserved community.

NWS Binghamton, NY took care of the Humane Society's wish list for the month of October, collecting necessary items for the animal shelter to successfully operate.

From October 10 through November 10, NWS Blacksburg held a food drive for Blacksburg Interfaith Food Pantry, and a pet supply drive for the Montgomery County Animal Care and Adoption Center. They collected a total of 165 lbs of food, toys, and cleaning supplies.

The staffs of NWS Boston and the Northeast RFC collected 97 pounds of food to donate to a local food pantry during the month of September.

During November, NWS Burlington, VT collected about 195 pounds of food for the Chittenden County Emergency Food Shelf.

On November 11, 5 people from NWS Central Illinois and 1 family member, labeled and packaged bags of crackers for the Central Illinois Foodbank/Lincoln Logan Food Pantry. The group completed 334 boxes with each box containing 12-14 cracker bags. So over 4,300 bags of crackers labeled and packaged!

They also collected 196 lbs of food for the Central Illinois Foodbank and Lincoln Logan Food Pantry.

During October, NWS Charleston staff made monetary donations totaling $2,425 for Hurricane Helene relief. A few employees also donated time and/or goods to recovery efforts.

Our office-wide volunteer efforts and virtual food drive have come to a close. We went bigger than any year before to meet the increasing need for community service in our area, and I would argue we totally delivered. Here are the results:

On October 5, three NWS employees donated blood with Vitalant. The donations were whole blood and double red. Daily personal emergencies and ongoing medical needs of thousands of patients require a constant and ready blood supply. It’s the blood already on hospital shelves that saves lives. In the face of the ongoing national blood shortage, our donations become the ultimate pay-it-forward moment.

On October 12, three NWS employees and 1 family member volunteered time to work the food bank lines with Kelly Memorial Food Pantry. Volunteers worked to sort food, open boxes, and distribute to people in line. The demand for assistance and number of food insecure people in El Paso was shocking; the line stretched down the block for several hours. Our volunteer time with local food banks works to make El Paso a community where no one goes to bed hungry.

   

On October 18, one NWS employee worked with the Potters’ Guild of Las Cruces to conduct the annual Empty Bowls community service project. Funds raised help feed the hungry in the Las Cruces area. The Potters' Guild set a lofty monetary goal for El Caldito and smashed records! Early totals show more than an estimated $45,000 was raised at the recent 32nd Empty Bowls event held Friday, October 18, 2024. Over 1,100 handmade bowls were sold. 100% of the proceeds go to help El Caldito Soup Kitchen.

During October, their staff donated $325 in monetary donations (2,275 meals for local families) directly to El Pasoans Fighting Hunger. These donations have gone to El Pasoans Fighting Hunger, which will be used for meal prep and food delivery to families and individuals in need across the borderland. EPFH currently serves 200,000 food insecure people and works with 132 partner agencies including pantries, churches, schools, soup kitchens, and shelters. In 2023, El Pasoans Fighting Hunger distributed 106.2 million pounds of food across El Paso, Hudspeth and Culberson Counties.

El Pasoans Fighting Hunger is now ranked 3rd in the nation in food distribution. Our donations help prevent numerous families and refugees in the borderland from going hungry, and I am very thankful to live in a place that supports those most in need. We, including myself, often take food, health, and shelter for granted. Doing what we can to help those in need is just another aspect of our office's commitment to protecting lives and property.

During September, NWS Fort Worth/Dallas along with the West Gulf RFC, and Fort Worth CWSU held a food drive. There was a challenge to collect twice as much food as last year. ZFW got some help from some FAA folks, and FWD/WGRFC kicked up their donations several notches. The challenge was accepted, and the final tally was nearly FOUR times (a total fo 444 lbs) as much as last year! 

From November 15 through December 15, NWS Grand Forks, ND collected 165.5 pounds of food and 6.5 pounds of other things for the Red River Valley Community Action.

From November 15-30, NWS Grand Junction held a food drive for GJ Community Food Bank and the Food Bank of the Rockies Western Slope Distribution Center. They collected $175 and 88 lbs totaling 630 meals. 

October 10 through November 10, the NWS Green Bay, WI staff collected 123 items, including canned and dried food goods, weighing 132 lbs for Peter's Pantry in Manitowoc, WI.

On October 21, 7 current staff, 1 former staff, and 2 children of current staff, cleaned up the office's Adopt-A-Highway site, the Park-in-Ride lot at the Freedom Rd exit on I-41. The amount of trash filled up 2 large trash bags. WFO Green Bay conducted 2 more Adopt-A-Highway clean-ups at the same site earlier in the year on April 25 and August 26.

Their staff volunteered at different times on different dates. They cleaned up post Helene in the South Carolina Upstate, donated supplies to Swannanoa, NC post Helene, put together period packs for western North Carolina post Helene, made monetary donations to American Red Cross, vote Save America Hurricane Helene and Milton Relief, Conestee Nature Preserve, NC Disaster Relief, and Samaritan's Purse. Six staff members and 2 family members participated in these efforts.

  

One of the husband's of a Kansas City CWSU is a medical resident at Research Medical Center in Kansas City. He was doing his OB/GYN rotation when the NWS Autumn of Service was announced. He mentioned the NICU needed baby blanket donations. I reached out to the Kansas City-area NWS employees through a Google chat room for NWS Crafters, a community of knitters, crocheters, quilters and other hobbyists to see if there was interest in helping. Such a great response! The Aviation Weather Center also jumped in to help and started a collection box in their break room for donations. 30+ baby blankets were collected just before Thanksgiving and delivered to the NICU on November 29. Most of the blankets were handmade by NWS quilters and other fiber artists. The NICU charge nurse was so grateful!!

On September 7, WAFER collected some food and $170 in monetary donations at their open house. With these monetary donations, they were able to purchase $530 in food. 

On November 7, 7 members of the La Crosse WFO recently participated in a joint fund raiser and team building activity by building pinewood derby cars and racing them at a local business hosting the event. Nearly 50 cars were entered, and NWS team members advanced through several of the heats. Each participant was given a pinewood block and had to build their own car for racing, with all proceeds going to local Scout groups. Staff and their family members were involved in the building and racing process.
From mid-November to mid-December, the staff will be collecting food for WAFER. During their 12 food drives since 2013, a total of 1,354 lbs and $3,853 have been donated to WAFER. In addition to this, one of their staff members and his wife volunteer regularly at WAFER.
For the second consecutive year, they are collecting pop tabs for Ronald McDonald House in Rochester, MN. Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) is a non-profit organization supporting families around the world helping them access medical care and resources when their child is very sick, including a place to stay, meals, and so much more. Watch this video to learn more about how RMHC Rochester serves their families. While collecting pop tabs seems like such a small way to make a difference, each year $10,000 to $15,000 is raised for the 70-room Ronald McDonald House in Rochester exclusively through pop tab donations.

One of their staff members is currently knitting hats for their 2 local neonatal units. Since 2009, he has knitted and donated 5,332 hats for neonatal units, domestic abuse shelters, cancer hospitals, and the Minnesota Masonic Children Masonic Hospital. These hats were distributed in Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.

During December, the office is planning on making the holiday brighter for a local family by buying Christmas gifts for them. This was part of the La Crosse Family & Children's Center's Holiday Giving Program.

On Saturday, October 5th, 2 people from NWS Louisville, KY and 1 family member participated in the International Pilot's Association Charity 5K at Bowman Fest at Bowman Airfield on October 5th. This event benefits Kosair charities for pediatric neurology.

From September through November 2024, NWS Newport/Morehead City, NC collected monetary and goods/supply donations for Hurricane Helene relief in Western NC. Individuals donated to organizations of their choice including: The Red Cross, Manna Food Bank, World Central Kitchen, Samaritan's Purse, etc.

During November, NWS New York, NY collected 116 pounds of goods for Long Island Cares, an established local food bank.

From October into early November, NWS Raleigh, NC did a food drive and collected 287 lbs of canned goods for the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina.

During the month of October, the Riverton Weather Forecast Office collected 265 lbs of canned goods, pasta and rice, baby food, and other miscellaneous people food items for the local "Foundations for Nations" Food Pantry. They are a ministry for the Wind River Indian Reservation. We also collected dog and cat food, along with cleaning supplies and dog toys for the local "Paws for Life Animal Shelter". We timed the drive with the the case-lot sale at our local grocery store, which led to a terrific amount of donations.

From October 15 through November 15, NWS Sacramento, CA collected 114 pounds of bottled water, canned food, toiletries, blankets, and sleeping bags were collected and donated to Loaves and Fishes.

During October, the State College WFO and Middle Atlantic RFC staffs held a food drive for the State College Food Bank. Our generous CTP-MARFC management team pledged to match what everyone else brought in, which was a fun challenge and helped us to bring in a lot more this year than we did in 2023. This resulted in 482 lbs of food being doated to this food bank.

From September 20 to November 30, the staff of WFO Wakefield, VA collected donations for the Sussex County Animal Shelter throughout the Autumn of Service season. Over 250 pounds of cat and dog food, litter, treats, and toys were collected. Blankets, beds, and scratching posts were also included to provide comfort to the animals as they wait for their forever homes. Sussex County Animal Shelter serves the rural community and is heavily reliant on donations to keep running. They are extremely grateful for NWS Wakefield's thoughtful gesture of caring for the animals during the holiday season.

On Saturday, November 9, NWS meteorologists Vicky Oliva and Tim Armstrong spent several hours today on kayaks cleaning up trash from Smith Creek, a tributary of the Cape Fear River that runs by the Wilmington airport. Two bags of trash (approximately 20 lbs) were picked up, helping ensure this important tidal creek remains clean.

In addition to this, the staff collected 175 lbs of food for Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina.