Storm Recovery
Greetings from Northwest Iowa
Thank-you for your response, to the storms in Northwest Iowa on Saturday, April 9, 2011. Your prayers, phone calls, volunteering, donations, hugs, messages and love have been a source of strength for all of us.
It has been eleven days since the series of tornados struck a path over 70 miles long in Northwest Iowa. We have had an amazing and overwhelming response to the needs in the communities affected.
Most touching has been the response from the Iowa school system, High School students from at least 14 communities who have been working hard to clean-up debris, walking farm fields to clear debris and recover items “lost” in the storm, moving personal belongings from destroyed homes and listening to the stories of the people who experienced the storms first hand.
Thanks to the fantastic response of local communities, the massive clean-up will be completed by this weekend. (April 24, 2011) Plans are in the works for re-building and reclaiming our communities, farms, homes and businesses. (How’s that for an Easter story?)
It has been gratifying to see the fruits of so many bring a smile or happy tear to someone’s face as they find a picture or are able to pick up something they need to continue cleaning up.
There is still much to accomplish! In the Tri-County area 8-10 homes and countless farm buildings were destroyed. In Mapleton 147 homes and businesses were destroyed or sustained significant damage, many will have what’s left torn down and rebuilt.
You can help:
PLEASE PRAY: for the families that lost homes, businesses that have had to close and the employees that find themselves out of jobs, the responders and volunteers who have worked tirelessly, the farmers who are juggling clean-up and getting ready for spring planting, the school teachers in the communities that have been effected as they provide a stable and healing place for their children, and the volunteers who are making plans to be a part of the recovery efforts.
FINANCIAL DONATIONS: will be needed to help with getting people back into homes and churches. Donations should be sent to the Iowa Annual Conference Special Advance #223. The conference is already responding with support. There have been many conference and district staff present, and have volunteered with clean-up, hauling, donating, communicating, listening, and many other tasks.
MATERIAL DONATIONS: Each community has a list of needs that change daily, if you are interested in donating specific items please contact the coordinator directly for the updated list. PLEASE NO CLOTHING unless expressly communicated to you. We are swamped with clothing donations.
VOLUNTEER: Please contact the Coordinating Point Person in the community that you would like to volunteer in to schedule time to volunteer.
Help will be needed AFTER May 1, 2011 for rebuilding, and repair. Please remember that these are small communities and you should plan to provide for your own housing in a nearby town or church. All available housing is being used to house those who lost their homes. Churches are being used to house donations and serve meals (in Varina and Mapleton the churches both have roof damage and water leaks) Meals should be available in most sites, most of the time. Please talk with the coordinator of the area you plan to work in to schedule meals.
In the Tri-County Area of Varina, Ware, Nemaha, Fonda, Newell and rural areas surrounding please contact:
Pastor Kim Dewey, Varina 712-887-0263 or kabdewey@yahoo.com
Pastor Carl Benge, Nemaha 712-660-0546 or ckbenge@umc777.org
In Mapleton, please contact:
Pastor Karen Garrison, 712-880-0043 or kgarrison@longlines.com
For other questions or large donations please contact:
John or Catie Newman
Disaster Response Coordinators for the Northwest District
712-899-4067 or 712-874-3247 or johnstruckfarm@wiatel.net
Again, thank you and blessings this Easter season.
John and Catie, Karen, Kim and Carl
Trish Burket disaster.response@iaumc.org or 515-460-4892
Thank you for your help in 2010! The effort continues into 2011 with:
– Prayers for persons affected by natural disasters.
– Donations to Advance Special #223.
– Volunteers registering online or by calling 1.877.393.1607.
– Use these recovery resources:
Video – Long Version (8:30 min.); Short Version (2:45 min.)
Logo – Black and White; Color
Bulletin insert – Black and White; Color
Poster – Black and White; Color
Recovery Update
August 18 , 2011
August 18 , 2011
For groups and individuals interested in volunteering with Block by Block in Cedar Rapids, registration forms have been moved from the Iowa UMC conference's website to Matthew 25's website. The link to the page with those forms is: http://hub25.org/support-us/how-to-get-involved/180-block-by-block.html
Advance Special #223
An article entitled, "After the Deluge," published in Duke Divinity School's Faith & Leadership highlights "an innovative partnership" in the flood-ravaged Cedar Rapids area.
According to Madelaine Jerousek-Smith, "Many in this working-class neighborhood thought they’d never return after the Cedar River overflowed its banks and saturated about 10 square miles, or 14 percent, of the city in June 2008. Almost a year later, many people still waited while their homes sat empty. But the dedication of two brothers, an innovative church-community partnership, and a common faith in neighborly love brought them home again."
Click here to read the full article, which appears in the March 16, 2010 issue.
According to Madelaine Jerousek-Smith, "Many in this working-class neighborhood thought they’d never return after the Cedar River overflowed its banks and saturated about 10 square miles, or 14 percent, of the city in June 2008. Almost a year later, many people still waited while their homes sat empty. But the dedication of two brothers, an innovative church-community partnership, and a common faith in neighborly love brought them home again."
Click here to read the full article, which appears in the March 16, 2010 issue.