Lisa Hopper has walked through war zones, poverty-stricken areas and hurricane- ravaged towns for the last 10 years helping to provide relief for people in need.
She will now get to share those experiences with other organizations looking for new ways to help distressed people.
Hopper, president and founder of Tucson-based World Care, was recently appointed the National Civilian Relief Chair of the League of United Latin American Citizens.
"We can guide them in future disasters and help them facilitate resources that they already have or don't know that they have," she said.
The Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs, based in Washington, D.C., also plans to seek guidance from Hopper.
Hopper, who was appointed in December, will work with LULAC to help identify ways to serve communities around the country and provide support for future disasters, she said.
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During the process, Hopper will work with the agency to examine its infrastructure, as well as create ways to involve people who are not affiliated with any relief agencies.
"One of the biggest disconnects between civilians and government is an illusion that government has to do all the work," she said.
LULAC wants to set up relief centers around the country where it can assist during nonemergency situations and have a quick response to disasters, Hopper said.
LULAC members chose to work with Hopper because of a partnership formed during Hurricane Katrina, said John Arnold, president of a local league council.
The organization worked with World Care and Tucson-based Portable Practical Education Preparation Inc.. — PPEP — to send supplies to farmworkers and other hurricane victims in Mississippi.
LULAC wants to emulate World Care's quick-response model, he said.
"When you work together for a period of time, you begin to see the value of each program," said Arnold, who is also founder and CEO of PPEP.
The agency needs to work with a group that has "specific expertise" in dealing with emergencies, he said.
The three organizations worked together with the Mississippi Delta Council to purchase a 50,000-square-foot relief center similar to the World Care facility in Tucson, Arnold said.
The center provides clothing, food, medical supplies and job-placement programs for low-income residents, Hopper said.
The partnership between World Care and the other organizations during Hurricane Ka-trina caught the attention of David Strauss, executive director of the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs.
Strauss wants Hopper to assist his agency with ways to devise a quick-response plan for emergencies, he said.
"We're hoping she can provide a step-by-step process for how to keep the organization ready to respond," Strauss said in a telephone interview from Washington, D.C. "We're not looking for financial help, but technical assistance."
Hopper spoke at the agency's national conference last year and ran a couple of workshops that focused on planning for disasters, Strauss said.
The agency has not started working with Hopper yet, but Strauss hopes they can start collaborating before the next hurricane season approaches, he said.
In addition to providing emergency-relief support, World Care also distributes school and medical supplies throughout Tucson. The 10-year-old organization also operates a recycling program, Hopper said.
World Care sent supplies to the Asian tsunami victims in 2005 and Iraqi schoolchildren in 2003.
"We have the ability to distribute evenly and efficiently," she said. "Handling the masses is important."
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For more information about World Care, call 514-1588 or visit www.worldcare.org/. You can also drop off supplies at the World Care facility, 3538 E. Ellington Place.
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