A year and a half later, Hurricane Katrina is history. The alarming images of urban refugees are long gone from the evening news.

Newscasters are done crying with victims. Celebrities have found new causes to embrace.

And yet, the crisis continues.

	Pam Panchak, Post-Gazette Lynne Onufer, of Mars, heads a nonprofit group, Katrina's Angels, that is helping victims of Hurricane Katrina and the recent tornadoes in Georgia and Alabama. Click photo for larger image.

"Things are not OK down there," said Lynne Onufer, program director of Katrina's Angels. "People are still living in tents."

Katrina's Angels are volunteers who have not forgotten, and are not likely to for quite some time, that people are in need in Louisiana and Mississippi.

The organization recently added Americus, Ga., to its beneficiaries. The rural town was devastated by tornados on March 1.

And that's why new blood is needed in the internet-based group, said Mrs. Onufer, of Mars.

"We had hoped that as a result of the lessons learned from the hurricanes of 2005, the response to the next disaster would be improved, but it sounds all too familiar," she said. "There are homeless and hungry people with seemingly no resources. And our organization, Katrina's Angels, has learned that the regular person, no matter where they live, can and does make a difference helping these survivors."

The group formed in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, when a Web site dedicated to the flood connected volunteers with people in need.

Stunned by the images of devastation from the hurricane, and wondering what she could do to help, Mrs. Onufer was one of the regular visitors to the site,

"None of us knew each other," she said. "There were people all over the country, including locals, trying to help these people out."

One of the helpers who already operated a nonprofit organization offered to organize the group under his nonprofit umbrella and a system began to fall into place. The group became Katrina's Angels.

There were "angels" for every purpose -- talking to new applicants to determine their needs, and then helping to resolve whatever problems they could.

If someone had no place to stay, they'd find an individual with a room to rent. If a job was the problem, they'd connect an employer with the potential employee.

Soon, however, they learned that helping individuals was time-consuming and overwhelming for the small group of volunteers.

"We had 1,000 people in our database and probably two dozen volunteers," she said.

Now, Katrina's Angels work with food pantries and other larger organizations that can then serve the individuals in need. Among its current projects are refurbishing a shelter for battered woman and creating a technology center within the shelter; organizing community gardens to bring fresh, inexpensive, and healthy foods to individuals and communities; and coordinating a massive book distribution in October to improve local literacy.

And coming soon are Easter egg hunts planned to buoy the spirits of families in communities with little time or money for such celebrations.

For every one of those endeavors and more, Katrina's Angels needs volunteers, Mrs. Onufer said.

Projects that have time lines (like the Easter project) are in need of people to help sponsor one of the events either by collecting the actual items necessary to complete the project (plastic eggs, candy, small toys, baskets, etc.) or by collecting money to be sent to one of the groups requesting assistance.

For longer term projects, volunteers are needed to help in areas such as fund raising, data entry, Web development and education.

All the work, including volunteer registration, is coordinated on line. Members of the group are spread across the country and hold weekly teleconferences to keep in touch. Because of its virtual nature, Katrina's Angels has room for anyone with a little time to give, said Mrs. Onufer. The active volunteers include people who are sick and confined to wheelchairs, retirees, and stay-at-home parents.

"All we require of a volunteer is the desire to help," she said. "Everyone has something to contribute. None of us knew what we were doing, are still learning the ropes, but in spite of our ignorance, lack of experience and money, we have helped thousands of people."

Not everyone is expected to take volunteering to the extent that Mrs. Onufer has.

She has dedicated many long hours to the project, and her house has become a repository for donations. Her garage has turned into a storage facility, filled with clothes, toys and books waiting to be sent South.

"We haven't been able to park our car in a garage for the last year," she said, laughing. "My husband just sighs."

Information on volunteering is available at www.katrinasangels.org.