Some ways UCC DIsaster Ministries is already helping hurricane survivors

Even before the winds die down and the flood waters recede, UCC Disaster Ministries is already hard at work finding ways to reach out to hurricane survivors and laying groundwork for long-term recovery.

Staff are making a second pastoral and long-term recovery planning visit to Texas right now, and will continue on to Florida. A recovery work site is open in Florida. And several grants have been dispatched to the Caribbean, Florida and Texas.

Grants processed so far include:

• $3,000 to St. Paul UCC in Corpus Christi, Texas, to meet extra demand post-Harvey on its food pantry. UCC Disaster Ministries also ordered more than 260 CWS Emergency Cleanup Buckets for the congregation to contribute to relief efforts in hard-hit Port Aransas, Texas.
• $1,500 solidarity/emergency grant to the Miami Shores (Florida) Community Church (UCC) supporting the purchase of a generator, fuel, gas stoves for community cooking, purchasing and distributing ice. The church opened its doors every afternoon after Irma until all of Miami Shores had power restored Sunday night. It distributed hundreds of pounds of ice and provided a place for people to charge their cellphones and tablets. Church members delivered food, water and ice to people who were stranded and helped people remove their hurricane shutters so they could open their windows. When the church got its power back five days after the storm, it opened its air conditioned social hall as a comfort station.
• $10,000 to IMA World Health for proactive program to prevent cholera and malnutrition in Haiti in the wake of Hurricane Irma, and to treat any instances that occur.
• $10,000 to support partners in Cuba with the distribution of WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene), temporary shelter, non-food items, food security, recovery/livelihoods, and psycho-social support.
• $10,000 to support work done by Church World Service in Northern Haiti where homes that were weakened by Hurricane Matthew 2016 have now sustained additional damage.

Through our annual contributions to the ACT Alliance Rapid Response Fund through One Great Hour of Sharing Offering, we are supporting food security, non-food items, and WASH in the Dominican Republic.

Check back for updates on the pages of UCC Disaster Ministries.