Newsline: Emergency Disaster Fund grants support care for children following tornado, CWS response

[CoBNews <CoBNews@brethren.org>]

Newsline: Church of the Brethren News Service, News Director Cheryl
Brumbaugh-Cayford, 800-323-8039 ext. 260, cobnews@brethren.org

Emergency Disaster Fund grants support care for children following tornado, CWS 
response

(June 3, 2011) Elgin, IL -- Two grants have been given from the Church of the 
Brethren's Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) for disaster response work following 
recent tornadoes in the United States. 

A grant of $5,000 is supporting the work of Children's Disaster Services (CDS) 
volunteers in Joplin, Mo., and $15,000 responds to an expanded appeal from 
Church World Service (CWS) following a weekend of tornadoes that affected seven 
states from Oklahoma to Minnesota.

Children's Disaster Services has 20 volunteers working in Joplin, caring for 
children at a Multi Agency Resource Site, two FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers, 
and in a Red Cross shelter. In addition, a specially trained critical response 
team is accompanying the Red Cross's Integrated Care team on home visits to 
families who have experienced a death when there are children in the home.

The grant for the work of CDS in Joplin responds to the EF 5 tornado that hit 
the city May 22. FEMA requested CDS volunteers to care for children in Disaster 
Recovery Centers there. The grant pays for travel, lodging, and food for the 
volunteer CDS teams.

The grant to CWS will help pay for shipments of material aid and provide 
resources and training in the development of long-term recovery groups in 
affected communities. A prior grant of $7,500 from the EDF responded to the 
initial appeal from CWS for this project, made on May 13.

As the full needs of those affected by this spring's storms and tornadoes 
becomes clear, and communities plan for long-term recovery, Brethren Disaster 
Ministries will have opportunities to set up rebuilding projects and is 
expected to request further grants toward the repair and rebuilding of homes.

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
celebrated its 300th anniversary in 2008. It counts some 123,000 members across 
the United
States and Puerto Rico, and has missions and sister churches in Nigeria, 
Brazil, the Dominican
Republic, Haiti, and India.

># # #

>For more information contact:

>Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford
>Director of News Services
>Church of the Brethren
>1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120
>800-323-8039 ext. 260
>cobnews@brethren.org