Groups helping the People of the Gulf Coast

Bayou Grace Community Services:
Providing food to the impacted communities.

Boat People SOS:
Addressing the community health needs of the Vietnamese fishermen and their families who have difficulties in dealing with the oil spill; advocating for job training and career transition programs; working with OSHA officials to push for Oil Spill training in Vietnamese language for Vietnamese fishermen in the region. assist community residents on various services ranging from food stamp applications, unemployment benefits, BP claims, Vessels of Opportunity, immigrations, general translation and interpretation, Medicaid, Social Security Incomes and healthcare.

Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans
Almost 20,000 people have received emergency assistance from Catholic Charities. Has distributed over $370,600 in food vouchers to affected families, $75,030 in emergency food boxes from Second Harvest Food Bank have been distributed at the relief centers, in addition to regular distributions through the Second Harvest’s partner pantries in the area. Over 3,000 have received counseling.

Community Center of St. Bernard
The Center helps St Bernard Parish families get the assistance they need, whether it's food, clothes, medical care, legal aid, counseling, or other services.  The demand for their services has skyrocketed since the Gulf Oil Spill.

Greater New Orleans Foundation:
Created the Gulf Coast Oil Spill Fund to support work that helps the communities most affected by the oil spill in Plaquemines, St. Bernard, and lower Jefferson Parishes and to support long-term recovery efforts that will help strengthen coastal communities against future environmental catastrophes.

Gulf Coast Fund for Community Renewal and Ecological Health
Has established a fund to support communities assisting with the BP disaster. has already distributed over $200,000 in Emergency Grants.

Louisiana Bucket Brigade
Created the Oil Spill Crisis Map which compiles and maps eyewitness accounts of the oil's effects in real time. residents of the Gulf Coast  can report sightings of fishermen out or work, endangered wildlife, oil on shore, oil sheens, health impacts and other problems using the Map

Foundation for Louisiana
Established the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation’s Oil Spill Recovery Policy and Advocacy Fund to protect coastal communities and precious natural resources by ensuring that industry is held accountable for damage resulting from the oil spill and that policy is developed that will implement better protections in the future.  

Louisiana Justice Institute
Nonprofit, civil rights legal advocacy organization, devoted to fostering social justice campaigns across Louisiana for communities of color and for impoverished communities

Mary Queen of Vietnam
In partnership with Catholic Charities they are providing food vouchers, direct services and mental health counseling.

Oxfam America
On the ground helping communities in response to the oil spill disaster and ensuring that their voices are heard in the recovery process.

Portersville Revival Group
Located in Codon, Alabama. Documenting the conditions, building awareness. Testified to the Commission on the impacts in their community.

Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana
Providing hundreds of emergency food boxes to fisherman and their families. they are on the ground with their partners providing assistance and delivering food to underserved areas along the coastal region.

STEPS Coalition
The mission of the coalition is to build a democratic movement to create a healthy, just and equitable Mississippi Gulf Coast by developing local leadership, supporting communities to advocate for their needs and by facilitating communication, coordination, and collaboration among our membership.

United Houma Nation
Helping members of the Houma Nation with the impacts of the Oil Spill.

United Way Gulf Recovery Fund
Provide emergency assistance - such as help with food, rent and utilities - in communities impacted by the oil spill, and support long-term recovery efforts to rebuild lives devastated by the disaster by addressing educational, financial and health-related challenges.

The Urban League of Greater New Orleans

Through advocacy, community organization and mobilization and program services in areas of education, economic development, employment and training, youth services and child and family support, the League's mission of helping individuals to attain economic self-sufficiency remains virtually unchanged.

Groups helping the Wildlife/Environment of the Gulf Coast

Alabama Coastal Foundation
Working to ensure the protection of sensitive habitats; improve the flow of accurate information and devise safe and meaningful volunteer opportunities related to the oil spill.

American Bird Conservancy
They are documenting their observations and conclusions about the effect of the oil spill on the birds in a new report, which also contains a series of recommendations for birds – ranging from the use of boom to habitat restoration.

Abalachicoloa Riverkeeper
Monitors the Apalachicola from the Florida/Georgia line downstream 108 miles to the estuary and Bay on the Gulf. 

Atchafalaya Basinkeeper
Works to protect deep swamps, wetlands and cypress forests in southern portions of Louisiana.

Audubon of Florida:
Has created a special fund to rescue oiled wildlife, should it become necessary, and to underwrite advocacy to protect Florida's beaches and coastal birds and wildlife.  It has also set up a clearinghouse for volunteers

Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program:
Actively involved in efforts to safe-guard Louisiana's wetlands from the potential impacts of the Oil spill.

Center for Biological Diversity:
The Center has filed several lawsuits and notices of intent to sue to make sure BP and the federal government are held accountable for the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history and to make sure such a disaster doesn’t happen again.

Coalition to Restore Central Louisiana
Joining with partners at the local, state and federal level to register and manage volunteers to assist with oil spill recovery efforts.

KeysSpill.com
Database of volunteers including charter boat captains, divemasters, scientists, and concerned individuals and organizations which uses the power of grassroots volunteers to provide solutions to protecting the Florida Keys reefs and environments from potential threats such as the Gulf Oil Spill.

Gulf Restoration Network
Mission is to unite and empower people to protect and restore the natural resources of hte Gulf Region for future generations. Have been very involved in monitoring and investigating the effects and management of the oil spill.

IBRRC International Bird Rescue Research Center
Rescuing Sea birds - their team of bird rescue specialists has been deployed along the Gulf Coast to help with an all-hands-on-deck effort to rescue seabirds caught in the spill.  IBRRC is working with Tri-State Bird Rescue, the lead oiled wildlife organization on the ground, to set up and staff rehabilitation centers in Louisiana, Alabama Mississippi and Florida.

Institute for Marine Mammal Studies, Gulfport
Since April 20, 2010 they have responded to over 200 dolphins and sea turtles and have rescued more than 30 live sea turtles.

Lake Ponchartrain Basin Foundation
In response to the oil spill they have developed the LPBF Oil Spill Monitoring Plan , a long term monitoring program that will track impacts to the environment and inform restoration activities. This program includes sampling and analysis of water, sediment and biological indicators (includes fish and shell fish).

Louisiana Bayoukeeper
Working to support local fisher families and communities bearing the brunt of the BP Horizon Deepwater Gulf of Mexico explosion and oil spill. Members are working hard throughout our eco system and fishing grounds to track and mitigate the effects of the oil spill.

The Louisiana Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Rescue Program, is coordinated by Audubon Aquarium of the Americas since 1993, and has been designated as the primary responder for the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of all marine mammals (dolphins, whales and manatees) and sea turtles along the Louisiana coast.

Lower Mississippi Riverkeeper

Works to preserve and restore the ecological integrity of the Mississippi River Basin and the surrounding waterways in Louisiana.

Mobile Baykeeper
Works to protect the beauty, health and heritage of the Mobile Bay watershed, which encompasses two-thirds of the land area and includes more than 250 separate waterways in the state of Alabama.

Mote Marine Laboratory:
Conducting certain key baseline assessments in the Gulf and archive samples for future analysis, so that the impacts of the oil spill can be measured. This will help ensure that data on the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill cannot be disputed for lack of baseline samples - as was the case in the Exxon Valdez spill.  

National Audubon Society
Mobilized to help birds and the environment as soon as the toxic slick began spreading toward vulnerable wildlife and habitats. Also working to support sound public policy and to meet the long-term challenge of restoring a devastated Gulf of Mexico ecosystem. 

Nature Conservancy

created a Fund for Gulf Coast Restoration to help the organization carry out the necessary long-term restoration work in the Gulf and states along its coast, to restore the Gulf?s health, productivity and resilience.

National Wildlife Federation
Established the Gulf Oil Spill Restoration Fund to help the wildlife at risk by the oil spill in the Gulf.  Donations to this fund will go toward supporting NWF's immediate response and longer term on-the-ground work to safeguard wildlife affected by this tragedy.

Restore the Gulf
RestoretheGulf.gov is the official federal portal for the Deepwater BP oil spill response and recovery. This site provides the public with information on the response, current operations, news and updates, how to file a claim and obtain other assistance, and links to federal, state and local partners.

Save Our Gulf
Project of Waterkeeper Alliance to support and coordinate the efforts of Gulf Waterkeepers who are fighting to protect the Gulf Coast, its communities and environment from the devastating BP oil disaster, including the Emerald Coastkeeper and Apalachicola Riverkeeper in Florida.

Save Our Seabirds 
Located in Sarasota, FL, which says it has had an 85% rescue rate for oil-slicked seabirds, has an Oiled Wildlife Response Team on standby waiting for the official call to respond.

Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary and Avian Hospital
Located in Indian Shores, FL, has trained staff on standby to assist with the Gulf Oil Spill Crisis, with over 400 volunteers on call if needed.

The Turtle Hospital
Located in Key West, FL, is preparing emergency tanks and gathering emergency clean-up supplies to assist in turtle rescue, in case sea turtles in the Florida Keys become impacted by the oil spill.