>>> WELCOME BACK TO "VELSHI & RUHLE."
TOMORROW AT 3:00 P.M. RIGHT HERE ON MSNBC, WE'RE CELEBRATING THE
GLOBAL CITIZEN FESTIVAL THAT IS CELEBRATING THE PEOPLE TAKING ON
THE WORLD'S BIGGEST CHALLENGES. >> WE WANT TO HIGHLIGHT TWO
GROUPS CURRENTLY PAR PARTNERING TO TAKE ON ONE OF THE BIGGEST
GLOBAL CHALLENGES OF THE MOMENT, HURRICANE RECOVERY.
WORKING AROUND THE WORLD TO HELP THE VICTIMS OF HARVEY, IRMA AND
MARIA. LET'S BRING IN THE HEARTS FROM
ALL HANDS. LET'S START WITH THIS
PARTNERSHIP YOU HAVE RIGHT NOW AND WHAT YOU'RE DOING TO HELP
WITH THE RELIEF EFFORTS FOR THE HURRICANES.
>> FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU, STEPHANIE AND ALI, FOR KEEPING
THE STORY ALIVE OF THOSE IMPACTED BY RECENT HURRICANES
AND EARTHQUAKES. IT MEANS A LOT, SO THANK YOU
VERY MUCH ON O OUR BEHALF. BECAUSE OF THE RECENT HURRICANE
HARVEY AND MARIA AND INCREDIBLE DEVASTATION, WE WANTED TO
PARTNER WITH SOMEBODY WHO WAS DOING FIRST RESPONSE, AND AT THE
SAME TIME LONG-TERM RECOVERY. WE HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH ALL
HANDS VOLUNTEERS REBUILDING SCHOOLS IN NEPAL AND IN PERU,
AND WE LOVE WORKING WITH THEM, AND WE SAID WE HAVE TO WORK
TOGETHER. THIS IS THE TIME TO WORK
TOGETHER, SO THAT'S WHY WE PARTNER ON HURRICANE HARVEY AND
AS WELL HURRICANE IRMA AND MARIA.
AND IT'S BEEN AN AMAZING PARTNERSHIP, AND I COULD TELL
YOU A L LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT T GREAT WORK.
>> YOU WERE JUST IN ST. THOMAS. >> I WAS IN ST. THOMAS A FEW
DAYS AGO. IT WAS AN EMERGENCY EVACUATION
FOR THE COMING MARIA. THE DESTRUCTION IS NOTHING YOU
CAN EVEN PUT ON TV. TREES, POWER LINES DOWN.
IT'S JUST BEYOND SOMETHING YOU CAN IMAGINE.
>> TALK US THROUGH THE LONG-TERM RECOVERY BECAUSE WE'VE TALKED
ABOUT THAT IN THE PAST. IN THE SHORT TERM, THE FIRST
RESPONDERS ARE THERE, THE TV CAMERAS ARE THERE.
WHEN WE LEAVE, WHAT HAPPENS? >> WE'RE SECOND RESPONDERS.
WE BRING IN SAWS TO TAKE THE TREES AWAY, WE PICK UP THE
RUBBLE, WE PUT TARPS ON THE DESTRUCTION.
AFTER THE CAMERAS GO AWAY, WE'RE THERE FOR TWO YEARS, SOMETIMES
LONGER. THE WORK WE DO IS A HUGE VALUE
TO FOLKS, ESPECIALLY THE POOR PEOPLE, BECAUSE IT'S UP TO A
$25,000 VALUE, FREE VOLUNTEER WORK.
WE RAISE MONEY THROUGH
HANDS.ORG, OUR WEBSITE, AND IN TEN YEARS WE HAVE ABOUT 40,000
VOLUNTEERS. SIGN UP, GET YOUR BUTTS DOWN
THERE. WE NEED YOUR HELP.
>> WITH ALL THE DISASTERS WE'RE FACING, THIS IS THE MOMENT WHERE
PEOPLE CAN SAY, I CAN REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD,
AND FRANKLY, FOR US IN THE NEWS, THE IDEA THAT THERE ARE
OPPORTUNITIES TO MAKE A POSITIVE DIFFERENCE IS GREAT BECAUSE WE
FOCUS ON A LOT OF NEGATIVITY. TELL US ABOUT HAPPY HEARTS.
HOW DID YOU EVEN GET STARTED WITH IT?
>> THE STORY OF HAPPY HEARTS STARTED AFTER I WAS BLESSED TO
SURVIVE A 2004 TSUNAMI, BUT I ISN'T START HAPPY HEARTS BECAUSE
OF THE TSUNAMI, I STARTED HAPPY HEARTS BECAUSE I SAW A NEED THAT
WHEN FIRST RESPONDERS LEAVE, CHILDREN ARE FORGOTTEN, FAMILIES
ARE FORGOTTEN. CHILDREN ARE WAITING FOUR YEARS
FOR A NEW SCHOOL, SIX YEARS. SIX YEARS IS THE WHOLE PRIMARY
SCHOOL AND YOU LOSE A GENERATION.
I SEE IT AFTER ALMOST EACH NATURAL DISASTER, CHILDREN AND
FAMILIES ARE WAITING, AND TO ME IT BREAKS MY HEART OVER AND
OVER, AND THAT'S WHY IT'S SO IMPORTANT TO PARTNER TOGETHER,
TO BE THERE FROM DAY ONE AND FOR THE LONG RUN.
AFTER HURRICANE HARVEY, THEY WERE THERE RIGHT AWAY WITHIN
FOUR DAYS. THEY HAD 3,500 VOLUNTEERS
SIGNING UP TO HELP. BECAUSE WE WORK TOGETHER, WE
WERE ABLE TO MAKE A COMMITMENT TO STAY TWO YEARS MINIMUM.
FOR THOSE FAMILIES WHO LOST THEIR HOMES AND THEY LOST HOPE,
KNOWING SOMEBODY WILL BE THERE ONE YEAR LATER, TWO YEARS LATER
MEANS SO, SO MUCH, AND WE WILL BE DOING THAT AS WELL AFTER
HURRICANE IRMA AND MARIE A.
THERE IS A BIG ANNOUNCEMENT WE'LL BE MAKING NEXT WEEK, HAPPY
HEARTS ALL HANDS, AN AMAZING COMPANY WHO CARES TO CREATE
STABILITY THROUGH REBUILDING DISASTER RESIDENCES AND SCHOOLS
AND KEY FOR THE BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS AND OTHERS, BUT THAT'S
NEXT WEEK FOR THAT NEWS. >> GOOD DEAL.
WE REALLY APPRECIATE WHAT YOU GUYS ARE DOING, AND I THINK
THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT. WE'RE SO FOCUSED ON THE NOW, THE
IDEA THAT PEOPLE CAN LOOK FORWARD TO THE FACT THAT THERE
WILL BE HELP FOR YEARS TO COME, BECAUSE THEY WILL REALLY NEED
IT.
THANK YOU SO MUCH. YOU'RE THE FOUNDERS OF HAPPY
HEARTS ALL