For a comprehensive list of opportunities to volunteer or offer aid in Tuscaloosa, visit http://alabamapossible.org/2011/04/tornado-relief-how-you-can-help/.

Robyn Hyden, Communications and Development Director for the Alabama Possible campaign operated by the Alabama Poverty Project, saw a need Thursday morning and reacted. By Thursday afternoon, Alabama Possible had distributed a comprehensive list of how people can help in the aftermath of the tornado.

“Facing these immediate needs can be overwhelming,” the post on Alabama Possible’s website reads, “but there are many ways for us to give, volunteer and advocate for our friends and neighbors.”

Wahnee Sherman, director of the Community Service Center at the University of Alabama, said she and the Center had used Alabama Possible’s list to direct students who want to volunteer.

“We are trying to make sure there’s information out there for students to let them know how they can help,” Sherman said. “We’re trying to be in contact with people in the community to find out what they need.”

Hyden said she used social media to compile a list of groups and specific places in need of resources.

“I read the blogs and Facebook posts from people who started to share resources and locations,” she said. “A lot of what we do [at Alabama Possible] is putting together resources. There was no one place for locations all across the state.

“The list started out small, and I copied and pasted what other people posted,” she said. “I confirmed when I could that they were correct.”

Hyden said feedback on the list led her to believe that some organizations might be overloaded with volunteers.

“A lot of people wanted to run out immediately and clear trees, but…maybe the best thing you can do is go home and wait to hear something further,” she said.