Praise for All Hands
All Hands: The Evolution of a Volunteer Disaster Response Organization is the story of how David Campbell grew from technology executive to Purpose-Prize-winning philanthropist. Its a great read!
Robert E. Cook, author of Pulse and Bairdston (a young adult novel), Robert E. Honors College benefactor and activist, and former CEO of NYSE technology company
David Campbells account of disaster responsefrom Thailand to Mississippi, Haiti to Nepaldemonstrates that we each have the power to save a life and rebuild a community if we join our hands together. With excruciating honesty, Campbell describes what it takes to build a volunteer team that is flexible, efficient, and respectful of the local culture, while building an organization that is sustainable through one unpredictable crisis to another. At once business entrepreneur and social entrepreneur, Campbell epitomizes adaptivejust the kind we need to transform global disasters into opportunities for renewal, for both volunteers and the communities they serve.
Karen Keating Ansara, Director, Ansara Family Foundation
In researching ways we could connect with the community, All Hands Volunteersa grass roots organization that was connecting with the communities it was trying to helpwas at the top of my list. All Hands Volunteers is an all are welcome organization and thats special. It allows people to get in where they fit in.
Sara Bareilles, five-time Grammy nominated singer/songwriter and All Hands volunteer
While the disaster response sector is slowly moving toward building the capacity of local actors, there will always be events that simply overwhelm local structures. David Campbell has held together an organization that, uniquely, puts things in place to allow unpaid volunteers to help distressed communities as they work to get back on their feet.
Kenny Rae, Disaster Response Specialist, Oxfam America
This story is dedicated to the thousands of All Hands Volunteers, whose unselfish service made the dream come true.
Published by River Grove Books
Austin, TX
www.rivergrovebooks.com
Copyright 2015 David Campbell
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the copyright holder.
Distributed by River Grove Books
For ordering information or special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact River Grove Books at PO Box 91869, Austin, TX 78709, 512-891-6100.
Design and composition by Greenleaf Book Group
Cover design by Greenleaf Book Group
Cover photograph and interior photographs by Gay Wind Campbell
Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.
ISBN: 978-1-63299-062-4
eBook ISBN: 978-1-63299-063-1
First Edition
Contents
Foreword
W e live in a giving America. When disaster strikes, no matter where in the world, Americans respond with offers of help. Disaster pulls at our heartstrings, and there is an overwhelming urge to take action. So, what happened when a retired technology executive from Boston decided to answer the call to action and respond to the tsunami that hit Thailand in 2004? Well, he rolled up his sleeves and got involved, of course.
Meet David Campbell, founder and creator of All Hands Volunteers. Remembering his call to action after the tsunami of 2004, he told me, I didnt know disaster relief, but I knew technology, and I just knew that I had something to offer the people of Thailand who had just lost everything. All Hands: The Evolution of a Volunteer-Powered Disaster Response Organization will show you how David and his volunteers came together to make a difference.
David has written a practical and heartwarming book in which he shares the how-to of disaster relief and tells us what it is like for a volunteer to be on the ground at the outset of relief efforts. He conveys how surprised he is by the numbers of volunteers who travel from all over the world to help All Hands Volunteers, and he shares unexpected surprises at each site that will make you believe in the good of people and the magic of helping others. Davids stories will remind you that when we come together, our hands have the ability to help, to heal, and to give back.
When I first met David two years ago, I was immediately struck by what he and All Hands Volunteers had accomplished. I knew very little about disaster relief. David shared his stories with mepassionately telling me how rewarding it is to not only volunteer but also to know that each of us has the power to touch a life that has taken an unexpected hit. The stories that David shared with me two years ago are now here, in All Hands, for you to enjoy.
The stories and the good works of All Hands Volunteers will make you feel special, whether youre pounding nails on a job site or writing a check. They do an impressive job of keeping donors engaged in whats happening and whom they are helping. They communicate the astonishing stories of the families. Its all part of the All Hands magic, that euphoric feeling that sticks with youthat giving is good and you did something to help.
David changed my perception of disaster relief organizations by showing me that there are great people giving their time and talentgreat people like those who have joined the All Hands Volunteers family. Thats why this book is so important to me and why it is a must read for anyone who wants to help when theres a natural disaster.
The stories in this book will inspire you. Theyll make you cry and theyll make you admire the volunteers. All Hands illustrates that we can all find a way to give. Whether donating dollars or talent, we all can make a difference.
Carrie Morgridge
Vice president, Morgridge Family Foundation and author of Every Gift Matters
INTRODUCTION
Catching the Wave
M y life changed course with a single sentence.
Ive always been interested in the idea of a connected society. I have worked in the tech field for more than fifty years, where I am virtually connected to others through email and text messages. But its face-to-face encounters with people that fascinate me, that define connection for me. Its of tremendous importance to me that I cultivate face-to-face relationships with colleagues and peers. Thats how I found myself sharing lunch with Tim Tse, whom Id met a year earlier when in Shanghai for a Tektronix board meeting.
Tim splits his time between Shanghai and Boston, so we agreed to get together when he was next in BostonDecember 28, 2004. The earthquake that originated in Indonesia and the resulting tsunami that devastated communities across the Indian Ocean basin had occurred two days earlier. During our lunch, I made a casual remark that it was a terrible event. And thats when Tim responded with the words that literally changed my life.
David, he said, ten days ago, I was having lunch on the outdoor patio of the Meridien Hotel in Phuket, Thailand. Everyone who was on that patio two days ago was killed.