Material Resources staff at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md., have been very busy with a number of recent shipments of relief goods

Material Resources staff at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md., have been very busy with a number of recent shipments of relief goods
Winni (Sara) Wanionek has resigned from her fulltime position with the Church of the Brethren’s Material Resources program based at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md., effective May 31.
Church of the Brethren ministries are assisting survivors of Hurricanes Ian and Fiona through shipments by Material Resources, Children’s Disaster Services teams in Florida, and acts of love and compassion in Puerto Rico.
Hurricane Ian caused catastrophic damage along Florida’s southwest coast on Sept. 28 when it made landfall near Fort Myers. More than a week later, first responders are still out searching the hardest hit neighborhoods for survivors. With the death toll over 100, this storm is one of the deadliest in the state’s history. The level of damage has impeded relief and response efforts as volunteers come to help. Shelter and rental cars are scarce in the state, with many volunteers driving over two hours to get to the damage zone each day.
During the week of July 25, a single storm system moved across multiple states causing flash flooding from Missouri to parts of Virginia and West Virginia. The flooding resulted in damaged homes and buildings, loss of life, and whole towns left underwater, especially in the greater St. Louis, Mo., area and a large area of southeastern Kentucky. Brethren Disaster Ministries and the Material Resources program have been responding as possible and requested.
Brethren Disaster Ministries is monitoring the situation in eastern Kentucky, where devastating flooding has resulted in tremendous need. Material Resources has sent two shipments for Church World Service.
Material Resource staff Scott Senseney and Jeffrey Brown loaded three 40-foot containers with a total of 1,120 bales of Lutheran World Relief Quilts, shipping them to the Republic of Georgia. The two men are on the staff of the Material Resources program based at warehouse facilities at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md.
“This shipment has been in the works for quite a while but FINALLY is on its way,” reported Loretta Wolf, director of Material Resources for the Church of the Brethren.
The Church of the Brethren’s Material Resources program–which processes, warehouses, and ships relief materials on behalf of a number of partner organizations–recently made shipments to South Sudan, Haiti, and Guatemala. Warehouses are located at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md.
Monday of this week was the busiest day at the Material Resources warehouse in years. Staff unloaded 1 trailer from Ohio, 4 trailers from Wisconsin, 1 trailer from Pennsylvania, 3 U-Haul trucks from Pennsylvania, and quite a few cars, pickup trucks, and a church bus filled with donations for Lutheran World Relief.