Helping Our Neighbors - Flood of 08
I know that many people want to know ways that they can help and what they can do. Many people have already volunteered to sandbag and have been working hard where they are needed.
There will be months and months of work after the flood waters recede in the cities and towns and rural areas that surround us. To begin the process of being ready to respond, RIGHT NOW we want to collect names of those who want to help. Once we hear of a project, the people on that list will be called. To get your name on the list, sign up at the church, email Pastor Katie () or call 642-3146. Organizing projects before the water goes down is difficult due to the size of the flood area and the fact it is mostly still underwater (or rising).
If you know of someone who is connected to our church, or a family member who will need assistance after the water has gone down, please contact us as well. We want to connect the people who want to help and those who need assistance. We already begin to pray for the congregations of Salem, Trinity, and St. James UMC in Cedar Rapids who are underwater and other faith communities that are flooded.
We will begin to take donations for the Iowa Annual Conference Disaster Fund (Bishop Palmer’s Response and Fund Information) starting this Sunday and will be forwarding those funds to the conference as we receive them.
There will also be a need for flood buckets to assist in clean-up efforts. The following are the items that can be placed inside of the 5-gallon bucket and then brought to the church:
· 5-gallon bucket with resealable lid
· Waterless Hand Sanitizer
· Bleach (two 1-quart or one 82 oz. bottle)
· scouring pads
· Sponges
· scrub brush
· cleaning towels (reusable wipes)
· Liquid laundry detergent (two 25 oz. or one 50 oz. bottle)
· household cleaner, 12-16 oz. bottle
· Disinfectant dish soap, 16-28 oz. bottle
· dust masks
· latex gloves
· work gloves
· heavy-duty trash bags, 33-45 gallon
Posted by Pastor Katie at 05:15 PM on June 13, 2008.