In the days following the Hurricane Katrina disaster, Raytheon employees rushed to support relief efforts by donating to the Employee Disaster Relief Fund, the American Red Cross, and other philanthropic organizations — and their strong response hasn’t stopped there. Many are leading and supporting relief efforts in their communities, helping evacuees in a more immediate way.

Supporting a Rapid Community Response
In McKinney, Texas, Raytheon employees volunteered over the Labor Day weekend to transform an old Wal-Mart® facility into a well-appointed evacuation shelter. The completed shelter — able to accommodate nearly 300 Katrina evacuees — features showers, children’s play areas, Internet access, medical facilities, a beauty shop, nursery and cafeteria. Partitions separating service areas from living areas provide privacy for individuals and families.

Wal-Mart, the City of McKinney, and hundreds of community volunteers worked together to accomplish this feat in less than 48 hours — with the help of Lowe’s®, Raytheon, and Turner Construction. Among Raytheon’s contributions were critical building materials, phones, and a public address system.

Doing Something Tangible
Ruth Hargis of Network Centric Systems Communications and her colleague, Rhonda O’Bier, were among the first to arrive at the Wal-Mart site on Saturday, September 3, 2005. Hargis began enlisting Raytheon participation as soon as she heard of the project that morning. “My heart just spoke to me,” she said, noting that her fellow employees clamored to get involved.

“This was a great chance for us to do something tangible,” said O’Bier, Space and Airborne Systems internal and community relations representative for North Texas. She noted that the effort “just flowed,” with everyone involved working in cooperation.

Raytheon North Texas employees supported the shelter effort in several ways. Hargis and O’Bier spent most of their time purchasing immediately needed building materials such as PVC pipe, paintbrushes, hot water heaters, and shower supplies. They also shopped for personal items like children’s backpacks and hair care products. Other Raytheon employees joined in the construction work and helped set up a computer center with Internet access so those at the shelter may locate additional resources, seek employment, or search for missing family members, friends and pets. McKinney city officials took control of the shelter’s operation at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 4. At 9:00 a.m. the next morning, evacuees began to arrive. 

Continuing Volunteer Support
As the temporary residents of the Wal-Mart shelter seek jobs and permanent homes, local Raytheon employees continue to provide support — from leading a professional clothing drive for job seekers to providing phone cards and other necessities.

® Wal-Mart is a registered trademark of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
® Lowe's is a registered trademark of LF, LLC.

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