The old adage, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" could not be more true in the context of Hurricane Katrina. In 2005, the world watched as a seemingly simple problem- a mandatory evacuation- quickly snowballed into one of the most tragic disaster responses in history. In 2007, Tulane VISTA member, Robert Fogarty, began his VISTA term with the "Volunteers in Government" program at New Orleans City Hall. During the 2008 Hurricane Gustav evacuation, Robert helped recruit and coordinate more than 400 volunteers to augment city and state employees assisting in the evacuation of 19,000 residents lacking access to private transportation.

Following the success of his volunteer efforts, Robert founded Evacuteer.org, an organization committed to training and mobilizing volunteers to assist citizens without reliable transportation, in the event of a mandatory city-wide hurricane evacuation. Evacuteer.org has grown considerably over the last 3 years, utilizing AmeriCorps VISTA members to help write key grants, raise funds, conduct community outreach, expand and train a growing volunteer base, and even launch an innovative new program called "Evacukids". The Evacukids program is an education-based model focusing on teaching young children about the basics of Hurricane awareness and preparedness, with the hopes that they will serve as ambassadors to their families, and ultimately inspire a new generation to think positively about hurricanes; to understand a storm’s enormous strength but recognize their individual power to overcome them.

Understanding the core mission and values of AmeriCorps VISTA, Robert designed an organization specifically targeted to empower and support those most vulnerable to hurricanes: citizens lacking access to transportation and key information. Evacuteer continues to grow with the support of the Tulane University Center for Public Service VISTA program, which has partnered with Evacuteer.org to provide crucial VISTA member support. Tulane VISTA alumni, Emma Herr, and current Tulane VISTA member, Courtni Blackstone, continue to utilize their special training and skills to help build the capacity of the New Orleans community to support the city's most vulnerable populations in evacuations and disaster preparedness.

With the help of these AmeriCorps VISTA members, Evacuteer has successfully built partnerships and networks spanning across the public and private sectors, including federal and state agencies, non-profits, neighborhood organizations and businesses. Evacuteer has successfully raised funds through large scale awareness-raising events and private donors, while also receiving foundation grants and funding from the City of New Orleans, as they provide a service that might otherwise not exist. Evacuteer.org has revolutionized the way cities prepare for evacuations and disaster preparedness, so much in fact, that many cities around the country have begun learning from and replicating the Evacuteer model. Most recently, the New York Times recognized Evacuteer.org for their innovative work, even giving credit to the formation of the group as an off-shoot of an AmeriCorps project. Thanks to Robert Fogarty, and the work of other AmeriCorps members like Courtni Blackstone and Emma Herr, New Orleans now has the capacity and the know-how to ensure that the city will never repeat the mistakes made in the 2005 evacuation.