Flood buckets and health kits being collected to help Sandy victims

Bulletin inserts:
Superstorm Sandy UMCOR bulletin insert - black and white
Superstorm Sandy UMCOR bulletin insert - color

Volunteers are now being welcomed to work in Greater New Jersey and other areas affected by Superstorm Sandy. However, these groups should be trained in disaster response and be self-sustaining, able to provide their own meals and live and work in flexible conditions.

Eight New Jersey churches are housing volunteers. For more information, e-mail disasterresponse@gnjumc.org.

Meanwhile, in response to the devastation from Superstorm Sandy, which hit the northeast United States Nov. 5, UMCOR is calling for the collection of flood buckets and medical kits.

"Thousands have been distributed and thousands more are needed," said Greg Forrester, the Volunteers in Mission coordinator for the Northeastern Jurisdiction.

Two Mission Hubs in the Baltimore-Washington Conference are collecting relief kits, made up of supplies to help those affected by the storm.

Currently these relief supplies and money are what is needed at the disaster sites. Donations of food, clothing and other items sometimes only serve to cause more problems as relief officials have to find storage and distribution solutions, Forrester said.

The United Methodist Committee on Relief is collecting funds to help with relief efforts. Gifts can be sent through www.umcor.org/UMCOR/Give. Or, you can also text the word RESPONSE to 80888 to give an immediate $10 donation.

One hundred percent of the money collected by UMCOR goes to help those affected by the disaster. Administrative expenses for UMCOR are raised through the annual One Great Hour of Sharing offering, to be held in 2013 on March 10.

The Greater New Jersey Conference, which was dramatically impacted by the storm, has also set up a relief fund. To learn more about how you can contribute to our neighbors to the north, visit www.gnjumc.org/pages/detail/532.

There are two types of Relief Kits that will be needed in the very near future in the damaged areas – the Flood Bucket and the Health Kit.  For information on preparing the specific contents of these kits, visit http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/print/kits.

If your church is interested in creating relief kits, there are two area Mission Hubs that will process the kits for shipment to UMCOR through Mission Central in Mechanicsburg, PA.  The two Mission Hub locations where the kits can be dropped off are:

Bentley Springs UMC Mission Central Hub and Disaster Relief Center
http://www.missionhub.webs.com/
421 Bentley Road
Parkton, MD 21120
Fred Sipes, Hub Coordinator, Cell Phone 410-967-9134
Pastor Dennis Schulze, Cell phone 443-324-7861
Janet Denbow, Hub Contact,  410-357-4656

St. Matthews UMC Mission Hub
http://stmatthews-bowie.org/missions/disaster-response-outreach/
14900 Annapolis Road
Bowie, Maryland 20715
Bob Fuller, Hub Coordinator, Cell Phone 202-498-0567
Dan Blades, Hub Coordinator, Cell Phone 240-463-8662
Pattie Klein , Hub Coordinator, Phone: 301-512-5526