Title: Disaster Child Care to work in New Orleans through 2007 Dec. 21, 2006 Church of the Brethren News Service Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, News Director 800-323-8039 ext. 260 -- cobnews@brethren.org
DISASTER CHILD CARE TO WORK IN NEW ORLEANS THROUGHOUT 2007
(Dec. 21, 2006) Elgin, IL -- The Disaster Child Care ministry of the Church of the Brethren General Board has received a request from FEMA to provide child care for a "Road Home" Program in New Orleans throughout the year 2007.
Disaster Child Care trains, certifies, and mobilizes volunteers to disaster sites in the United States to provide crisis intervention to young children of families suffering from natural or man-made disasters. Disaster Child Care volunteers provide comfort and encouragement, and offer the healing touch young children need in traumatic situations, by creating safe and friendly child care centers at disaster sites.
To assist people returning to the area after being evacuated from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, FEMA is opening a "Louisiana Welcome Home Center" in New Orleans on Jan. 2. This One-Stop-Shop will house agencies and organizations that can provide resources to people returning home. FEMA has requested a child care center in the One- Stop-Shop, reported coordinator Helen Stonesifer.
"FEMA anticipates that this assistance will be available for one year, therefore, this will be an ongoing Disaster Child Care project," Stonesifer said. "This is an excellent opportunity for all certified child care volunteers who are available to respond," she added.
Three regions of volunteers for Disaster Child Care have been activated so far to respond in New Orleans. Volunteers will be requested to serve for two-week periods. A team of four volunteers will be deployed initially to serve for the first two weeks of January.
For more information about Disaster Child Care, visit www.disasterchildcare.org.
The Church of the Brethren is a Christian denomination committed to continuing the work of Jesus peacefully and simply, and to living out its faith in community. The denomination is based in the Anabaptist and Pietist faith traditions and is one of the three Historic Peace Churches. It celebrates its 300th anniversary in 2008. It counts about 130,000 members across the United States and Puerto Rico, and has missions and sister churches in Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Nigeria.
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For more information contact:
Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford Director of News Services Church of the Brethren General Board 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120 800-323-8039 ext. 260 cobnews@brethren.org
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