The Church of the Brethren has been awarded a half-million dollar grant to support Brethren Disaster Ministries, reported Roy Winter, executive director of the Church of the Brethren’s Service Ministries and Brethren Disaster Ministries. The grant will support “a three-year program expansion and improvements to US based programs,” he said.
The grant was received from Lilly Endowment Inc. through its initiative, “Hope After the Storm: Capacity Building for Faith-Based Disaster Relief Organizations.” It is one of 30 being awarded through the initiative to strengthen capacity of faith-based organizations to provide aid to individuals and families affected by disasters in communities throughout the United States.
This grant will support the Brethren Disaster Ministries strategic plan goals of strengthening US programs and increasing volunteer participation. To expand, Brethren Disaster Ministries needs more volunteers to support children after disasters, rebuild homes, and provide onsite leadership. The grant funds will help Brethren Disaster Ministries update systems, communications, and tools to increase volunteer recruitment and participation. The funds also will provide resources to purchase two new vans for project sites.
Winter emphasized that continued financial support of Brethren Disaster Ministries programs by individuals, congregations, and districts will be important during the three-year grant cycle, as the grant does not fund normal operations.
About Brethren Disaster Ministries
Inspired by Jesus, Brethren Disaster Ministries focuses on rebuilding homes, caring for children, and providing international relief by engaging volunteers, supporters, and partners to serve communities recovering from disaster.
Brethren Disaster Ministries engages a network of volunteers to repair or rebuild damaged homes for disaster survivors who lack sufficient resources to hire a contractor or other paid labor, with the goal of easing the trauma and fostering recovery in disaster-stricken communities across the United States.
Children’s Disaster Services, a program within Brethren Disaster Ministries, meets the needs of children and families affected by both natural and human-caused disasters by setting up temporary centers to care for children and using therapeutic activities and toys that stimulate imaginative play and encourage the healing process.
Brethren Disaster Ministries also restores hope for countless of the most vulnerable disaster survivors around the world by supporting coordinated disaster relief efforts, mostly through faith-based international partners, wherever disaster strikes. The staff often direct grants from the Church of the Brethren’s Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) to such efforts.
Find out more at www.brethren.org/bdm
About Lilly Endowment
Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based private foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly, Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. Although the gifts of stock remain a financial bedrock of the endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff, and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the endowment supports the causes of community development, education, and religion. The endowment funds programs throughout the United States, especially in the field of religion, and maintains a special commitment to its founders’ hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana.
#MissionAndMinistryBoard #StrategicPlan #RacialJustice #LoveOurNeighbors #Discipleship #NewTestamentGiving
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