Staff of Brethren Disaster Ministries continue to work with district leaders to help coordinate response efforts including the collection and distribution of relief materials and donations for emergency funding–especially for the hardest-hit areas in Southeastern District. Another conference call with district leaders is planned for Friday afternoon, Oct. 11. Brethren Disaster Ministries urges church members
Church World Service (CWS) is sharing updated kit distribution numbers and information about relief efforts following on the recent hurricanes. To date, CWS has coordinated the shipment of 4,372 Clean-Up Buckets, 8,720 Hygiene Kits, 5,890 blankets, 1,205 Menstrual Hygiene Kits, 590 School Kits, and 72 Welcome Backpacks to partners in Florida and North Carolina (a
CDS has two teams of volunteers serving in North Carolina. The four volunteers in “Team Fletcher” have been serving children and families at a shelter in Fletcher, N.C., since Thursday, Oct. 3. This response is in partnership with the Red Cross. When they arrived, the shelter housed 300 people, and there was a boil water
Several Church of the Brethren districts have issued calls or started service projects in response to Hurricane Helene and now Hurricane Milton. In addition, reports Brethren Disaster Ministries, “individuals and congregations have been calling and emailing all week asking how they can help in the effort.” Here are some of the ways districts and congregations
As media report that the death toll from Hurricane Helene has topped 200–with more than half of the deaths in western North Carolina–Brethren Disaster Ministries and Children’s Disaster Services (CDS) have begun active responses to aid survivors of the storm and its aftermath.
Church of the Brethren congregations and members are among those who have been affected by Hurricane Helene and its aftermath, especially in Southeastern District denominational staff have learned in conversation with district executives. The General Secretary’s office, Brethren Disaster Ministries, and the Ministry office have connected with leaders in the church districts covering the states where the storm was most destructive–Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
Brethren Disaster Ministries as well as local emergency authorities are strongly advising those who would like to help out NOT to travel to the areas affected by Hurricane Helene, while the roads are not safe and search and rescue is still happening.
However, here are opportunities to help from home:
Children’s Disaster Services (CDS) deployed four volunteers to Lake Elsinore, Calif., to assist children impacted by the recent wildfire. The volunteers provided a calm and supportive presence for 21 children while their parents and guardians sought assistance at a Local Assistance Center.
On Aug. 9, Children’s Disaster Services (CDS) deployed a team of three volunteers to Lake Isabella, Calif., where they served in a Local Assistance Center (LAC) until Aug. 13. Setting up a disaster care center, the team aided the needs of 20 children.
Brethren Disaster Ministries staff have requested the following grants from the Church of the Brethren’s Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF): $10,000 for a rebuilding project in York County, Pa., following Tropical Storm Ida; $15,000 to support training models and resource development by Children’s Disaster Services (CDS) partner Child Life Disaster Relief; and $5,000 to support families connected with the Maui (Hawaii) Economic Opportunity, Inc.’s Head Start center.
