wfn.org | New foundation provides lasting support for Red Bird

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

Feb. 28, 2000 News media contact: Linda Bloom·(212) 870-3803·New York
10-71B{098}

By United Methodist News Service

Supporters of United Methodist work among the poor of Appalachia can now
make lasting gifts to the conference in ministry there.

The Heart of Appalachia Foundation has been created to provide a more
permanent funding base to the 25 churches, three outreach centers and three
agencies that serve a 10-county area in rural southeastern Kentucky. The
ministries are operated by the United Methodist Church's Red Bird Missionary
Conference.

"There is such a love for this place and the great ministry that is being
done," said Donna Vickers, the foundation's executive director. But without
provisions for endowments or planned gifts, "the mission just constantly
lives on day-to-day donations."

Since its inception on Dec. 1, 1998, the foundation has reviewed the list of
Red Bird volunteers and donors, and is trying to identify active United
Methodists who could become lifelong givers to mission.

Contributing to an endowment fund allows donors to ensure that mission work
is supported long after they die, Vickers said. Since only the interest
earnings are used year after year, "the principle gifts continue to grow and
be used."

Charitable gift annuities, which allow the donor to earn interest above the
average rate of certificates of deposit, have become a popular option for
investment in Red Bird, she added. When the donor dies, the investment goes
to the foundation.

Other options include signing over life insurance policies or adding the
foundation as a beneficiary on a retirement account. Vickers noted that many
in the baby boomer generation are building huge retirement accounts. "When
they pass away, those will be heavily taxed unless they add a few
beneficiaries that are charitable organizations, such as their church or
this foundation."

Red Bird, which celebrated its 75th anniversary in 1996, has a stated
mission "to be a witness for Jesus Christ in the heart of Appalachia,
inviting all people to discover and reach their God-given potential through
spiritual growth, health care, education, economic development, agricultural
ministries and community outreach."

Many United Methodists have become familiar with the conference's efforts to
meet both practical and spiritual needs of the families in the area by
participating as volunteers, work team members or donors to particular
projects.

Education is a popular emphasis for those interested in Red Bird's work,
according to Vickers. "Everyone understands that education is the key to so
many people here in Appalachia."

Community outreach efforts include senior centers and programs for the
elderly, a program for mother and infant health, early childhood development
and day care programs, and health care through the Red Bird Medical Center.

The conference's elderly people have become isolated as their children,
educated at the mission, have moved away to seek employment, Vickers said.
Red Bird offers Wednesday morning worship services for seniors and a variety
of activities ranging from "Senior Olympics" to quilting bees. "We've really
brought them into the outside world," she added.

At the other end of the spectrum, "so many of our mothers are very young and
they have absolutely no money." A program designed especially for the young
mothers allows outreach workers to follow them and their families from
pregnancy until the child is 4 years old.

"Getting into the home gives them (the outreach workers) the opportunity to
see other needs as well," Vickers said. A work team might be sent to repair
a leaky roof, for example, or the worker may help place the parents into a
program to earn their high school equivalency degree. At age 4, the child
can be placed in Red Bird's early childhood development program.

The spiritual emphasis remains key as the conference continues to reach into
places that have no churches "and bring some light into those darker areas,"
Vickers said.

More information about the Heart of Appalachia Foundation is available by
writing to Vickers at A270 Bennett Circle, London, KY 40741 or sending
e-mail to heartofapp@kih.net. The Red Bird Missionary Conference has a site
at www.gbgm-umc.org/redbirdconference on the Internet.

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United Methodist News Service
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