Online Archives

BY MELISSA LAUBER AND LINDA WORTHINGTON
UMCONNECTION STAFF

When the children of Pinewood Elementary School in Timonium wanted to reach out to the victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, they turned to the United Methodist Committee on Relief.

The students at the public school considered several groups, but chose UMCOR because 100 percent of the contribution goes directly toward helping the victims of the hurricane, said Principal Kathryn Arnold, who attends Grace UMC in Baltimore.

Five fifth-grade girls spearheaded the efforts and on Oct. 5 they presented Baltimore-Washington Conference Associate Council Director Sandra Ferguson, with $5,248 for UMCOR.

The girls? efforts began when Mary Claire and Caitlin Abbot?s father, a firefighter in Howard County, was sent to the hurricane-affected area to work in the relief effort. He called home in the evenings and told his daughters about what he saw.

'So many people didn?t have food, water, clothes or houses. A lot of them were living in a huge dome,' the girls said. 'We cared, and it made us happy to help.'

Their fellow fifth-graders, along with their mother, fifth-grade teacher Patty Abbott and administrative secretary Laura Nossel, began to encourage communitywide giving.

Lemonade stands sprang up throughout the community, Nossell said. Some children sold candy, one family made bead earrings and sold them for $5 a pair to raise money for UMCOR.

The contributions were collected in the homeroom and then counted by Maeve Duffy, Mary Claire Abbott, Rebecca Newton, Caitlin Abbot and Emily Edington (from left to right in photo at left).

Over the public address system, Ferguson thanked the entire student body for their generosity, and applauded the girls for the dedication to the causes of mercy and justice. 'You inspire me,' she told them.

She wasn?t the only one. After hearing about the students? efforts, Dow Chemical Company, where the Abbot girls? grandfather is employed, contributed an additional $5,000 to UMCOR.

At Pine Grove UMC in Parkton, photo above, the children also led a hand with relief to the hurricane victims when 45 preschoolers, ages 2-5, took to their tricycles to raise funds.

The students at Pine Grove Early Learning Center rode their bikes in the parking lot for 30-minute intervals to raise $1,050 in pledges.

Ten members of the church?s youth group also raised $730 with a car wash.

Their efforts were multiplied by churches throughout the Baltimore-Washington Conference.

Salem UMC of Upper Falls, has begun a partnership with Aldersgate UMC in Slidell, La., which is ministering to 'the poorest of the poor.' The church has contributed more than $6,000 and a truckload of supplies, causing Slidell?s pastor to say he has 'never been more proud to be a United Methodist.'

That same pride was felt at Simpson-Hamline UMC in Washington, which hosted a day of fellowship for some of the victims of Hurricane Katrina who were housed at the Stadium Armory in Washington D.C.

After a time of worship, the guests were treated to a large meal, the first some had eaten in several days, and provided with suitcases to collect clothes and other items, which had been donated and filled several rooms of the church.

When they had taken their share, 72 thirty-gallon bags of clothing remained. It was taken to shelters throughout the city.

'At times like these we come to realize just how connected we are in the human experience and that the problems of others are our problems as well,' said Simpson-Hamline?s pastor, the Rev. Barbara Sands.

For more information on how you can continue to help survivors of the hurricanes, visit www.bwcumc.org.