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By John Coleman

The joint was jumpin? for a good cause at a Baltimore restaurant and nightclub, Sept. 20, as party-goers and promoters came bearing gifts for victims of Hurricane Katrina. They presented their donations to the Baltimore-Washington Conference on behalf of the United Methodist Committee on Relief.

The four-hour benefit, titled 'A Night of Giving ? A Day to Make a Difference,' drew more than 200 people, including families with children, to Hammerjack?s in downtown Baltimore. But the numbers that mattered most were the $15,000 raised in individual and corporate donations and the 16-foot truckload of relief supplies collected for hurricane victims.

One side of the club offered dee-jays, hip-hop music, dancing and free food donated by supportive restaurants. The other side bustled with activity as about 40 volunteers clad in black tee shirts received, recorded and boxed relief supplies requested by UMCOR, then stacked the boxes toward the ceiling and loaded them onto the truck.

Children, youth and adults came through the door, drawn by radio ads, publicity and word-of-mouth. They handed over a huge variety of items, from baby food and bottled water to toys and toiletries. Many then stayed for the festivities.

The Vision Marketing Group, led by CEO LaRian Finney, organized the event with support from other African-American entertainment promoters, event planners and media and marketing firms in the Baltimore area. When Finney looked for a responsible relief agency that would accept both the donated funds and the relief supplies and get them to where they needed to be, his mother-in-law, the Rev. Sandra Greene Roberson, suggested the Baltimore-Washington Conference and UMCOR.

Roberson, pastor of Mt. Zion UMC in Baltimore, contacted conference program executive Sandy Ferguson, who agreed to forward the funds from the conference to UMCOR and to receive and prepare the supplies for delivery to disaster relief sites in Mississippi and Louisiana.

'I?m thankful that these concerned groups included us, the faith community, in their efforts to respond to this devastating disaster,' said Roberson. 'I see the door open now for us to reach out and relate to members of Baltimore?s hip-hop community in more ongoing and positive ways.'

Roberson?s church also collected $1,000 for UMCOR?s Katrina relief work and sent a truckload of supplies to relief sites in cooperation with Asbury-Broadneck UMC in Annapolis.