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* * * * * Disaster Response News * * * * * Repair/rebuild homes in Houston, Texas or Minneapolis, Minnesota. The UCC and International Orthodox Christian Churches (IOCC) are working as partners in long term disaster recovery in the United States. As a result of two disasters in 2011, the IOCC is assisting Houston and Minneapolis to rebuild/repair damaged homes. Click here for an article from the IOCC website with details, dates available, and a direct link to IOCC registration. Spaces are limited; register early to improve your chances of getting the dates you want.
Joplin, Missouri, is now prepared to receive mission trip groups to aid in long-term recovery. Joplin was hit by a large tornado in May of 2011 and received damage with quite a bit of media coverage. During the past seven months the community has had to make many difficult decisions – and there will be more. But the community is now ready to receive volunteers from around the country to aid their recovery and help rebuild their lives. The United Church of Christ, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and Joplin Long Term Recovery Committee are partnering to make this opportunity possible. Registration for 2012 will open at 1:00 p.m. EST on Friday, December 16. You can use the link http://www.ucc.org/volunteer/disaster-recovery-volunteers/ to register your group. This location joins opportunities to serve in disaster recovery in Birmingham, Alabama and in communities in Vermont, North Dakota and elsewhere that anticipate being ready to receive groups during the coming year. Your national staff continues to be in close contact with local communities and their Long Term Recovery Committees. Thank you for accompanying people during these times of long term disaster recovery. God’s love is made real in the world during this season and throughout the year.
December 2011 Help rebuild Birmingham, Alabama in 2012. Birmingham is now ready to receive volunteer work groups to assist with repairing/rebuilding homes damaged by tornados last April. Three UCC local churches are offering housing to work groups. The UCC is partnering with the Central Alabama Long Term Recovery Committee and Habitat for Humanity in this recovery effort. Get more information and register here. ***************************** Coming in Spring and Summer 2012 – probable group volunteer opportunities in long-term disaster recovery in New York State; Bismarck, North Dakota; Vermont; and Joplin, Missouri. Long Term Recovery committees are working in these areas. They are figuring out issues related to zoning and housing for groups, case management for home owners and financial resources available to rebuild. Some are at the point of hiring volunteer coordinators and local construction site coordinators. UCC national staff, along with members of the network of Conference Disaster Coordinators in each affected area, continue to consult closely with each local committee. As opportunities are available, the registration website links will be posted here.
November 2011 - Katrina damage repair in New Orleans goes on! The UCC has formed a new partnership with Phoenix of New Orleans (PNOLA) which will allow volunteer work groups to continue to travel to New Orleans to repair homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina. The agreement between the UCC and PNOLA is for one year beginning January 1, 2012; ending December 31, 2012. PNOLA was formed following Hurricane Katrina – information about them is on the UCC Volunteer Ministries web site. The “face” of New Orleans is changing rapidly as the local community makes decisions about areas for rebuild and areas to be designated as green space. PNOLA and the UCC will make decisions about continuing on into 2013 at the appropriate time next year. Below is a link through the UCC Volunteer Ministries site directly to PNOLA for work groups to register. Phoenix of New Orleans, volunteer work group registration: http://www.ucc.org/volunteer/mission-trip-opportunities/louisiana.html#PNOLA
November 2011 - Video from New Orleans from the New Orleans Disaster Ministry closing celebration service October 25, 2011 - News from the South Central Conference Disaster Ministry The End is Near — The UCC Disaster Response Ministry office in New Orleans will close at the end of this year. The last group of volunteers will be here the second week in November. The Hope Shall Bloom fund has been exhausted, so it is time to move on to other places and things.
Thanks and praise to God and to all who supported the ministry these last six years. It has been a wonderful place to be, and the work—while challenging—has been very rewarding.
No one knew when this began how it would turn out. This ministry would not have been the success it was without God working in the hearts and minds of all involved. Each person who gave of themselves in one way or another has been an integral part of the ministry, and those of us here offer you our thanks.
> The final tally 7035 volunteers 572 groups 113 projects complete 175,875 hours worked $3,738,505 — amount of value added labor
> A Closing Celebration Service will be held in conjunction with the New Orleans Association fall meeting on November 5 at St. Paul’s UCC, 600 Eleonore St., New Orleans. > Love coming to New Orleans and still want to in 2012? We have partnered with The Phoenix of New Orleans (PNOLA) to accept UCC groups as they have room to work on rebuilding homes. PNOLA is a nonprofit started post-Katrina. They rent the former parsonage of Central Congregational as their office and housing. They can be found on the web at http://pnola.org/. Also on Facebook. > Is UCC housing available in 2012? St. Paul’s UCC will host groups. You may contact St. Paul’s directly 504-899-5183 to arrange to stay there. Central St. Matthew UCC is considering options as of this writing. Here are some photos of a Disaster Response work team from the Wooster area working on Katrina damage to Beecher Memorial UCC and a home in the neighborhood in New Orleans, September 2011. Team members hung and finished drywall, painted, laid ceramic tile, and completed other repair work inside and outside the church and home.
Click on a thumbnail to see the full-size photo. See more photos of this trip on our Facebook page. A Small Group Could Be a Big Help Major disasters are not too common to Ohio. But there are frequent storms causing a variety of minor to modest property damage. Many times these events happen to people, especially the elderly, unable to deal with the problems. The Disaster Response Ministry needs 1-3 small groups of adults in each association who can respond reasonably quickly to these situations whenever possible. A good example is the recent flooding in Copley. One of our coordinators was in touch with Emergency Management, which was receiving appeals for help. The Disaster Response Ministry could have been more effective if there were groups of 5-6 adults that could respond with reasonable promptness. A youth group could also be very helpful, but the core needs to be an adult group. These are some of the ways that an “early response” team might help: 1. A simple appraisal of what needs to be done at a damaged home 2. Cleanup of yard debris 3. Relocating basement contents 4. Cleaning wet/muddy basement Are there such groups in your association? If so, contact Jim Ditzler, a member of the disaster response ministry, at 330-262-3242 or jditzler@sssnet.com. Immediate need for volunteers in Minot, North Dakota August and September 2011 1. Through UCC Disaster Response Ministry Registration is now open. For groups of up to 10 members. Registration information and trip details available here.
2. Through All Hands Volunteers, working with Northern Plains Conference UCC. All Hands will sign people in and help orient and coordinate. Volunteers needed in Minot and surrounding areas.
******************************************************** Find out more, ask questions, join us!
Contact Team
Coordinators Jim Ditzler (330-262-3242)
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Previous News Stories Pedro, Ohio (near Ironton) is not even a crossroads. It's the kind of place TV cameras never go, but people suffer the effects of natural disasters just the same. Nine youth and adults from First Federated Church, North Jackson, Ohio made the 5 1/2-hour trip south in mid-July to help three families clean up after flash flooding.
July 2011 — Long-term disaster response efforts continue in West Virginia
One Ohio Conference congregation that has created a thriving long-term disaster response ministry is Westerville Community UCC. Over the past ten years, they have developed relationships with the people in southwest West Virginia. Each July a group of 25-30 adults and youth returns to Pineville, Baileysville, Gilbert or one of the other small towns scattered along the area's roads winding up, down and around the mountains.
May 2011
Disaster
situations complicated by unsolicited donations.
November 2010 — Disaster Response team helps complete new home for West Virginia resident plagued by flood and fire A team of seven Disaster Response workers from Richfield United Church of Christ, located between Cleveland and Akron, traveled about 300 miles south to Varney, West Virginia this Fall (one of at least three such trips for them this year) to take a homeowner one step closer to moving out of her former garage into a snug new home. Homeowner Rhonda Curry will be more than happy to see her new home completed. Her former residence, a mobile home, was flooded last Spring, repaired, then burned down, making it necessary for her to set up housekeeping in a rough-sided building that used to be a garage. With some FEMA funding and local assistance, she decided to build a modest new home. October 2010 — One Year of Disaster Response. What qualifies as a disaster? New Orleans after Katrina? Certainly. Haiti after the earthquake? Obviously. The Gulf Coast after the oil spill? Unfortunately, yes. How about floods in the mountains of West Virginia? Or a tornado in Wood County, Ohio? These “minor” disasters might not make front page news, but they are devastating to the people whose homes or businesses are broken, filled with mud or soaked in filthy water. It is the ministry of our Ohio Conference Disaster Response Team to help people caught in situations like these. The past year brought us many opportunities to serve amid some challenging situations. ********************************************* . . . that the Ohio Conference is one of just three organizations in the United States that assembles and distributes disaster response clean up and personal care kits. Kit ingredient lists (PDF) - One page, easy to print . . . that the Ohio Conference Disaster Response Ministry served as the model for the other UCC disaster response ministries? |
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