CDS volunteers support ‘Faith and Fellowship’ memorial event in Kerrville

By Adam Lane

On Friday, July 3, while many were beginning their Independence Day celebrations, two Children’s Disaster Services (CDS) volunteers were aiding the Kerrville, Texas, community in a very different commemoration.

Kathleen (Kat) Fahrner and Katherine (Katie) Marshall joined with volunteers from CDS partner Child Life Disaster Relief (CLDR) and other organizations to help the Kerrville community commemorate the one-year anniversary of the catastrophic flood that devastated their town and the surrounding area.

CDS had responded to the 2025 disaster when flooding from the Guadalupe River caused 139 deaths and more than $1 billion in damage. In cooperation with the American Red Cross and other partner organizations, CDS sent four volunteers to Kerrville for 10 days. CDS was honored to serve again in Kerrville this year when invited by CLDR to join in providing a safe and inviting environment for the children in attendance at the memorial event.

The memorial event, called the Faith and Fellowship Concert, was sponsored by local community organizations as a means for those who were affected by the disaster to gather with friends, speak to mental health professionals, honor those who lost their lives, and celebrate the resiliency of their community.

CDS and CLDR volunteers provided meaningful child-led activities for approximately 200 children. The children painted stones with inspirational messages, colored and decorated a “Kerrville Strong” banner, painted pictures, created with Play-Doh, and wrote brief reflections on their thoughts and feelings a year after the flood.

CDS is grateful for the opportunity to return to the site of one of our most recent responses to remember those who were lost and to celebrate how far their community has come in a year.

— Adam Lane is program assistant for Children’s Disaster Services. Find out more at www.brethren.org/cds