From the Worldwide Faith News archives www.wfn.org


UMNS# 04418-UMCOR hurricane response continues with grants,


From "NewsDesk" <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>
Date Thu, 16 Sep 2004 16:43:46 -0500

UMCOR hurricane response continues with grants, volunteers 

Sep. 16, 2004	 News media contact:   Linda  Bloom * (646) 3693759*  New
York {04418}

NOTE: Photos and other related resources are available at
http://www.umc.org/interior.asp?ptid=2&mid=5679.

By Linda Beher*

NEW YORK (UMNS) - More than 80,000 Floridians have received assistance from
the United Methodist Church as they try to recover from the multiple
hurricanes of the season.

The United Methodist Committee on Relief and the denomination's Florida
Annual (regional) Conference have provided equipment and volunteers for
cleanup, as well as monetary grants.
	
Thirty tractor trailers full of cleanup supplies, emergency food and building
materials from UMCOR and other United Methodist disaster relief depots have
converged on the hardest-hit areas. Volunteers have borrowed church vans and
rented commercial trailers to redistribute supplies.
 
Volunteers from 22 states are removing debris, repairing roofs, and clearing
out mud and water in hurricane-devastated Florida homes. Nearly 30 percent of
the state's United Methodist church buildings have sustained damage.

UMCOR also is looking beyond Florida to the Caribbean islands, lashed by the
most violent storms in a decade. Hurricane Frances mauled nearly every island
in the Bahamas. In response, the agency sent an initial grant to its
Methodist partner in the Bahamas for water, shingles, plywood, tarps, medical
supplies and emergency food. UMCOR will also help develop long-term recovery
plans.
	
In Grenada, where Hurricane Ivan earned the nickname "Ivan the Terrible," the
Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas, UMCOR's partner, is
coordinating recovery efforts. An emergency grant will assist with initial
cleanup and repairs and help supply fresh water and food.

Mudslides and flash flooding plagued Jamaica in the aftermath of Hurricane
Ivan. Some residents are still without power or telephone service. UMCOR is
discussing response options with its partners there.

Long-term recovery will take three to five years, according to the Rev.
Kristin L. Sachen, program executive for UMCOR's disaster response. "This is
the UMCOR way, having the patience to be the last one out," she said.

The agency continues to call for donations of cleaning supplies.
Specifications can be found at http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor online at the UMCOR
Kits link. Gifts of money are also critical, to ensure continued readiness as
more hurricanes threaten. 

Contributions should be earmarked for "Hurricanes 2004," Advance #982410, and
can be dropped in church offering plates, or mailed directly to UMCOR, 475
Riverside Dr., Room 330, New York, NY 10115. Donors who want to use a credit
card may call,
toll free, (800) 554-8583.

*Beher is the communications director for the United Methodist Committee on
Relief.

News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or
newsdesk@umcom.org.

********************

United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org

You may leave the list at any time by going to
http://umns.umc.org/unsubscribe.html


Browse month . . . Browse month (sort by Source) . . . Advanced Search & Browse . . . WFN Home