wfn.org | [UMNS-ALL-NEWS] UMNS# 525-Methodist children's home in Philadelphia

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Methodist children's home in Philadelphia reaches out to survivors

Sep. 21, 2005

NOTE: Photographs and a related report, UMNS story #524, are available
at http://umns.umc.org.

By Theresa F. Haenn*

PHILADELPHIA (UMNS) - Touched by the stories of people affected by
Hurricane Katrina, the Methodist Home for Children is reaching out to
help its counterparts in Louisiana-as well as an oft-forgotten group of
survivors: family pets.

"Our hearts and prayers go out to the affected children and our sister
organizations that provide for them in this difficult time and in the
months ahead," said Angele Marie Parker, president and chief executive
officer of Methodist Home for Children in Philadelphia.

The Methodist Home for Children in New Orleans evacuated 36 residents
and 13 staff members to a related facility, the Louisiana Methodist
Children's Home in Ruston. Administrators of both homes expect the
evacuees to remain in north Louisiana for possibly six months.

Parker said the Methodist Home for Children in Philadelphia would be
helping with the recovery.

"To alleviate the financial burden of the coming months, and (help with)
the rebuilding and restoring of their storm-damaged facilities, our
board of directors of Methodist Home for Children Foundation in
Philadelphia voted to give a grant to assist in the recovery," she said.

The board, chaired by Richard Hevner, a member of Covenant United
Methodist Church in Springfield, Pa., sent a $10,400 check to assist
both organizations in serving additional families and children together
on one campus.

Additional support for victims of Hurricane Katrina will come from
children of the School Age programs of Methodist Services for Children
and Families in Philadelphia.  They are planning to raise funds to help
care for family pets that had to be left behind as the floodwaters rose.

The children will be selling bracelets with all the proceeds going to
Best Friends Animal Society, an animal welfare agency based in Utah that
is rescuing animals left behind in New Orleans and working to reunite
them with their owners. With every $25 donated to Best Friends Animal
Society, the children are able to "adopt an animal" for a year. The
children hope to be able to adopt several pets. For more information on
Best Friends Animal Society, visit the Website at www.bestfriends.org.

Staff of Methodist Home for Children decided that in lieu of holding its
annual staff holiday celebration at a restaurant or having it
professionally catered, their holiday celebration would be a pot-luck
luncheon. All funds that would have been spent on the staff celebration
will be contributed to the United Methodist Committee on Relief for
hurricane response work.

The Methodist Home for Children, formerly known as the Methodist
Episcopal Orphanage, was organized by women in Philadelphia in response
to the needs of children orphaned as a result of the Civil War. Ellen
Simpson, the wife of Bishop Matthew Simpson, then the resident bishop of
the Philadelphia Conference, issued a call to church women to organize a
charity to provide for the orphans.

Details on the Methodist Home for Children are available at
www.methodistservices.org or (215) 877-1926.

*Haenn is director of development for the Methodist Home for Children in
Philadelphia.

News media contact: Tim Tanton, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or
newsdesk@umcom.org.

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

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

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