Newsline: Disaster volunteers receive a warm welcome in a cold climate

[CoBNews <CoBNews@brethren.org>]

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

DISASTER VOLUNTEERS RECEIVE A WARM WELCOME IN A COLD CLIMATE

(Nov. 19, 2010) Elgin, IL -- Located in north-central South Dakota, 
the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation recently became the 
coldest "hot spot" for disaster relief activity. An economically 
depressed area that suffered damage from a tornado, the reservation 
was in need of volunteers to assist with a variety of tasks before 
extreme winter weather set in.

After receiving an urgent request from the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency (FEMA) for volunteers, Brethren Disaster Ministries 
joined other National VOAD organizations on a conference call to 
discuss needs, resources, and logistics. The call revealed the need 
for volunteers with a variety of specific skills including roofing, 
plumbing, electrical wiring, carpentry, CDL drivers, and backhoe 
operators. 

Following the call, Brethren Disaster Ministries contacted several 
volunteers in order to put together a small team that could respond 
in less than a week. There were many unknowns going into the project, 
and volunteers were asked to be prepared to embark on a real 
adventure, and to be extremely flexible. 

Having recently returned from meetings with FEMA officials in 
Washington, D.C., Brethren Disaster Ministries staff noted that the 
different agencies that were responding needed to rely on one 
another. Even though not many details were provided about the 
project, the agencies knew that they could trust one another to do 
their part. Brethren staff have observed the collaborative work and 
partnership between disaster relief agencies evolving in an 
impressive way, especially collaboration between nonprofit and 
governmental agencies.

With travel assistance from FEMA, Brethren Disaster Ministries sent 
four volunteers to South Dakota. The entire response lasted two weeks 
and involved approximately 20 volunteers from different organizations 
who placed multiple mobile housing units and prepared them for the 
upcoming winter months. 

Brethren volunteer Larry Ditmars reported, "I came here expecting an 
adventure, and so far am really loving what I've found." Ditmars, who 
has a CDL license, worked with local workers to haul mobile units 
from a staging area to onsite lots where they were hooked into 
utilities and winterized. 

"We were Brethren. We were Lutheran. We were Mennonite. We were 
Christian Reformed. We were Hope Crisis. We were Missionary," he 
commented, adding: "We were from Kansas, Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, 
Michigan, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Florida, Louisiana, South Dakota, 
and Manitoba. We were outsiders! We were the Body of Christ united in 
one Spirit and one mission.

In all, over a dozen homes were prepared for families in need of 
housing. Volunteers were thanked by the Tribal Chairman, who hosted a 
dinner for them before their departure. Brethren volunteers included 
Jeff Clements, Larry Ditmars, Jack Glover, and Steve Spangler.

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.

(This report was provided by Zach Wolgemuth, associate director of 
Brethren Disaster Ministries.)

># # #

>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