wfn.org | United Methodists prepare 100,000-plus health kits

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

Aug. 16, 1999 News media contact: Linda Bloom**(212) 870-3803**New York
10-71B{425 }

By United Methodist News Service

Responding to the war in the Balkans, United Methodists assembled health
kits for those in need at an unprecedented rate over the past few months,
according to staff at the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) Depot
in Baldwin, La.

"People wanted to help after they saw the TV screens a few times in April,"
said Bob Osgood, referring to news coverage of the plight of people in
Kosovo and the refugee camps. "It's been an extraordinary response."

More than 102,000 health kits have been shipped to the depot in the past few
months, sometimes arriving by the hundreds each day. The volume of shipments
led the U.S. Postal Service to open a second office in Baldwin.

As of mid-August that wave had subsided, Osgood said, but volunteers and
staff are still busy processing the kits on the warehouse floor for future
shipment.

So far, he said, 28,000 kits have been distributed in the Balkans and he
expects another distribution will be made since UMCOR has established an
office in Pristina. Other kits will be shipped to Central and Latin America,
Africa or eastern Europe.

UMCOR will soon determine how to best assist the Balkan refugees with winter
needs, either by shipping supplies or buying items in the region. "I'm
concerned about the need for blankets and warm coverings for the
Kosovo/Balkans winter," Osgood added..

Volunteers who would like to help sort kits at the depot should call (800)
334-4221.

Donations to help cover shipping costs for kit distribution throughout the
world can be made to Advance No. 982730-7. Checks can be placed in church
collection plates or mailed to UMCOR at 475 Riverside Dr., Room 330, New
York, NY 10115.

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