wfn.org | Georgia youth prepare boxes for Honduras

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

Dec. 4, 1998	Contact: Linda Bloom·(212) 870-3803·New York     {715}

 
By United Methodist News Service

The youth ministry organization of the  North Georgia United Methodist
Annual Conference has initiated a special project to help Hurricane
Mitch survivors in Honduras.

Called "STOCKBOXES," the project solicits both shoeboxes full of
specific supplies to Honduras Outreach, a United Methodist-approved
mission program based in Decatur, Ga., and cash donations to the United
Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR).

The Rev. Mike Selleck, director of youth ministries for the North
Georgia Conference, is promoting STOCKBOXES as a response that other
youth groups in the denomination can make for the hurricane relief
efforts. "Too often we get caught up in daily pressures and before long,
the headlines find a new focus, the urgency fades and another
opportunity passes," he wrote in a letter posted on the Internet.

The shoeboxes should be delivered to the Honduras Outreach warehouses in
Stone Mountain, Ga. Dole Foods then will ship the boxes to Honduras at
no cost.  

Selleck is targeting cash donations of $100 per youth group. "Because
not all needs are `boxable' and Mitch hit other places beyond Honduras,
cash is critical," he wrote. "All cash will be handled through your
local church treasury, sent to your own conference treasurer and then on
to UMCOR."

A step-by-step guide to preparing STOCKBOXES is available by calling
Selleck at (404) 659-0002, ext. 3217 or by e-mail at selleck@negia.net.

United Methodist News Service
(615)742-5470
Releases and photos also available at
http://www.umc.org/umns/