Alexandria, VA -- September 13, 2005 - Charles Gould, national president and CEO of Volunteers of America, today called upon America's corporations to encourage their employees to donate leave time to fund Volunteers of America's Hurricane Katrina relief effort.  Volunteers of America, the 16th largest charity in the U.S., will accept leave time donations from other corporations, and is already coordinating efforts with its own 15,000 employees across the country to donate leave time to clients and staff that have been affected by Hurricane Katrina.  New IRS guidelines now make it possible for employees to donate leave time to the hurricane victims so that their employers can contribute cash to charitable relief organizations in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.     

"Volunteers of America applauds the IRS for providing employees across the country with another way to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina, and I hope corporate leaders across the country will encourage their employees to donate leave time to help the children, families, seniors, and people with disabilities who were most affected by this disaster," Gould said. "Volunteers of America has served our most vulnerable citizens in Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi for over 100 years, and we will continue to focus on immediate aid and long-term recovery for the displaced residents of the Gulf Coast." 
 
Donated leave time to Volunteers of America's Hurricane Katrina relief effort will help restore programs in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama that serve low-income seniors and families, people with disabilities, and homeless veterans.  The donated leave time will also be used to repair three Volunteers of America affordable housing communities that sustained severe damage due to Hurricane Katrina.   These properties housed over 1,000 low-income seniors, families and people with disabilities, and Volunteers of America plans to rebuild these apartments as soon as it has access to the city.
 
Volunteers of America is a national, nonprofit, spiritually based organization providing local human service programs and opportunities for individual and community involvement.  It is one of the largest nonprofit providers of quality affordable housing and last year served nearly 2 million people in need.  Volunteers of America nurtures, supports and uplifts the human spirit-working with children and youth, the elderly, homeless individuals and families, and others to empower them in reaching their full potential.