Clint Mitchel, mentioned in the previous article, is an Associate Pastor in Baton Rouge. They have set up a shelter for expectant and new mothers and are involved in providing assistance reuniting displaced families. I'll post an email here from a list serve that several of my friends from seminary are on. I'll post a few more as comments. Feel free to add your own comments about how your congregation or group is responding. Presently the congregation I serve is taking up a special offering. Some members are also taking in students who have been relocated to VA.
Here's what Clint needs/is doing:
Martha,
Our church has set up a shelter for expectant and new mothers and infants. We are working with people from all over on supplies. Right now, monetary donations are most helpful, partially because the needs are changing from day to day. Our church has set up a fund for Hurricane Relief efforts. To send a donation, please make a check out to University Presbyterian Church and indicate Hurrican Relief in the memo line.
Other supplies that we are working with are mainly related to pregnant women, and new borns and their mothers. So supplies related to their needs (you are more expert on this point than I) is what we are collecting: formula, diapers, vitamins, bottles, etc.
Life is totally insane right now. Thanks for your concern and your compassion. As I know more needs, I'll let you know.
Thanks,
Clint
Here's what Clint needs/is doing:
Martha,
Our church has set up a shelter for expectant and new mothers and infants. We are working with people from all over on supplies. Right now, monetary donations are most helpful, partially because the needs are changing from day to day. Our church has set up a fund for Hurricane Relief efforts. To send a donation, please make a check out to University Presbyterian Church and indicate Hurrican Relief in the memo line.
Other supplies that we are working with are mainly related to pregnant women, and new borns and their mothers. So supplies related to their needs (you are more expert on this point than I) is what we are collecting: formula, diapers, vitamins, bottles, etc.
Life is totally insane right now. Thanks for your concern and your compassion. As I know more needs, I'll let you know.
Thanks,
Clint
Comments
Hi everyone!
There is a semi loading in Canton (the town I live in) as we speak that is headed for Baton Rouge tomorrow. It will be filled with diapers, formula, toiletries, etc. I hope some will make it to Clint's church. If not we'll send more. I started a list of how families might help hurricane survivors and help their children feel a little bit of the sense of loss. I'll forward it when its finished. Some ideas (for a relatively affluent community):
Sell a non-essential item such as big screen TV, game cube (sorry Shawn), computer, the "good" refrigerator and agree as a family to do without it for at least one year. Donate the money to PDA.
On your next vacation, stay in accomodations one step below what you usually use and send the difference to PDA.
Have your child select a favorite toy and donate it to a fund raiser (our church is having a Bazaar next weekend and we have a thrift shop; both benefit mission). Don't forget to help with the sales of the increased number of items donated.
Have a lemonade stand or bake sale after worship on Sunday. This works especially well if you bake the cookies within smelling distance (our middle schoolers make about $1200 for Tsunami) of the sale.
I'll try to think of some more and get back to you. God bless all of you as we face this tragedy as a family of faith.
Shalom!
mj
Rev. Mary Jean Bird
Associate Minister for Parish Life
701 Church St.
Plymouth, MI 48188
734-453-6464, ext. 117
Shawn,
Supplies are coming in at a pretty good rate right now. Between donations and businesses we are doing alright with the kind of bulk needs (diapers, formula, etc.) We have been working with a Fox/UPN station in Minneapolis to receive (so far) 4 18-wheelers worth of supplies. Cash is the best help we can receive now, because the needs are changing pretty rapidly. We are using it to buy prescriptions, help with transportation (the gasoline situation is getting scary here) both locally and to unite persons with family members in other states, helping with feeding our guests, and to purchase other suppies. It will also help with long-term recovery efforts like
housing, education, etc.
Thanks,
Clint
Sometime I get so disillusioned with us.
limits. That's why God made so many. Don't get too discouraged with your congregation. It is true that we can't just drop everything. Reconstruction will cost billions. The economy must continue to generate or we'll have an even bigger disaster. Even so, ther are still some things that can be done.
You may need to go grass roots with the youth group or your soccer team. Church World Services has a good health kit suggestion (http://www.churchworldservice.org/kits/kids-kits.html) that you could get your youth at church or on your team to put together.
I'll try to list some more things that friends of mine are doing at their churches on my blog, so hopefully there may be some more ideas coming if you need them.
Perhaps you have been called for such a time as this, O Prophet.
Clint,
Ginter Park is committed to raising at least $1,000.00 to send to your church to help with Hurricane Relief. We have already sent in a to PDA, but after receiving your email to the dots group that expressed some basic needs as on the list in your email...I passed it onto a committee that said instead of collecting these things for you...we would send you the money and that way if the need changes between now and then, then you can get what is needed. That is, of course, as long as the stores around you have what you need...if they don't then you can tell us what to buy and ship. Unless you tell me differently we will send a check to your
church. (everyone wanted to help your church out
because they still appreciate all that you did as an
intern at GPPC.)
Thanks for the gift from Ginter Park. As of Friday,
we had collected about $45,000 from various churches and individuals across the country. Everyone's generosity has been incredible. Thanks to all of you who have sent checks, items, or worked with your churches to send either.
Our shelter is still going strong. Currently, we have
five families for a total of about 16 people. In total, we have had about 45 guests in our shelter, most of whom have gone on to be with family in other parts of the country. We are keeping in touch with the families who have come through, helping with travel expenses, housing, etc. We are also working on developing more stable, long-term housing options,
both for our guests and the evacuee population in
general. We are working with community development groups here in Baton Rouge to find an alternative the the trailer camps that FEMA is planning.
David is planning to come down next week to help out with our shelter, or maybe help with recovery from hurricane Rita. I'm definitely going to be at 7% in a couple weeks and am looking forward to seeing many of you and convening Dot's Back at a local establishment there :)
Peace,
Clint