UMCOR gives $64.5 million to Katrina relief
BY LINDA UNGER
UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE
After nearly five years of relief and recovery work in Gulf Coast states affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the United Methodist Committee on Relief has released its final disbursement of funds for the recovery effort.
“Our work in Louisiana and Mississippi, like our work in Haiti (following the Jan. 12 earthquake) is based on (staying) for the long haul,” said the Rev. Tom Hazelwood, an UMCOR executive.
Since the summer of 2005, when Hurricane Katrina slammed the Gulf Coast on Aug. 23 and Hurricane Rita struck it again one month later, UMCOR has been working with annual conferences and grassroots organizations in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas and Florida.
UMCOR also has supported survivors who fled to other states. More than 1.3 million people left
hurricane-soaked hometowns where some 300,000 homes had been wiped out, scattering to all 50 states.
United Methodists and people of goodwill across the country donated more than $64.5 million to UMCOR’s recovery effort on the Gulf Coast. Funds went to cleanup, reconstruction, family-by-family problem solving and direct assistance to support the survivors.
The remaining funds will continue to support recovery work in Louisiana, where UMCOR has helped the annual conference repair or rebuild more than 9,100 homes so far, and in Mississippi, where it has supported the repair of some 12,320 homes, more than 100 of them from scratch.
In Texas, where Hurricane Rita was strongest, UMCOR helped the conference repair or rebuild 721 homes. More than 8,300 volunteers carried out this work, donating some 268,108 hours, valued at nearly $5.5 million.
“Because of our connectional system, United Methodists are uniquely positioned throughout the country and the world to meet the needs of survivors, including how we rally volunteers,” said Catherine Earl, UMCOR executive secretary for U.S. disaster response.
In Louisiana, nearly 72,000
volunteers have so far logged 3 million hours of donated time, energy and effort, and 160,000 volunteers have participated in recovery efforts in Mississippi.
“It was heartening to see the efforts of so many people from all over the country, who could just as easily have stayed home,” said the Rev. Clyde Pressley, the conference’s disaster recovery executive director. “I have had a rebirth in my heart over the value of the connectional church.”
UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE
After nearly five years of relief and recovery work in Gulf Coast states affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the United Methodist Committee on Relief has released its final disbursement of funds for the recovery effort.
“Our work in Louisiana and Mississippi, like our work in Haiti (following the Jan. 12 earthquake) is based on (staying) for the long haul,” said the Rev. Tom Hazelwood, an UMCOR executive.
Since the summer of 2005, when Hurricane Katrina slammed the Gulf Coast on Aug. 23 and Hurricane Rita struck it again one month later, UMCOR has been working with annual conferences and grassroots organizations in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas and Florida.
UMCOR also has supported survivors who fled to other states. More than 1.3 million people left
hurricane-soaked hometowns where some 300,000 homes had been wiped out, scattering to all 50 states.
United Methodists and people of goodwill across the country donated more than $64.5 million to UMCOR’s recovery effort on the Gulf Coast. Funds went to cleanup, reconstruction, family-by-family problem solving and direct assistance to support the survivors.
The remaining funds will continue to support recovery work in Louisiana, where UMCOR has helped the annual conference repair or rebuild more than 9,100 homes so far, and in Mississippi, where it has supported the repair of some 12,320 homes, more than 100 of them from scratch.
In Texas, where Hurricane Rita was strongest, UMCOR helped the conference repair or rebuild 721 homes. More than 8,300 volunteers carried out this work, donating some 268,108 hours, valued at nearly $5.5 million.
“Because of our connectional system, United Methodists are uniquely positioned throughout the country and the world to meet the needs of survivors, including how we rally volunteers,” said Catherine Earl, UMCOR executive secretary for U.S. disaster response.
In Louisiana, nearly 72,000
volunteers have so far logged 3 million hours of donated time, energy and effort, and 160,000 volunteers have participated in recovery efforts in Mississippi.
“It was heartening to see the efforts of so many people from all over the country, who could just as easily have stayed home,” said the Rev. Clyde Pressley, the conference’s disaster recovery executive director. “I have had a rebirth in my heart over the value of the connectional church.”
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