So You Want to Volunteer?
Bonnie Albert, NIC VIM Coordinator
As North Indiana Conference VIM Coordinator, I have compiled a list of things that you can do in response to Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath. We have an awesome network right here through the United Methodist Church. Let’s make it work.
- Know the contact people in North Indiana Conference:
- Check the E-HUM website (www.inareaumc.org) several times each week to learn what is currently needed for the Katrina victims. Take that information to your local Missions committee for action.
- Organize the preparation of health kits and flood buckets in your local church. These items are always needed at the UMCOR depots. Follow UMCOR directions very carefully. See attached for directions. Contact Connie Payne for collection information.
- Contact Midwest Distribution Center in Chatham, IL to see if they need assistance during this very busy time of checking health kits before sending them out. Call for information 217 483-7911 about how you can help.
- Be a Red Cross volunteer right in your own community. Call centers need lots of volunteers now. Become a Red Cross volunteer by signing up for the training immediately. Contact your local Red Cross office for details.
- Get training to be a Community Emergency Response team member. Contact your local emergency management office. (Check the phone under County Offices. Every county has one.)
- Get Disaster Response Training. Contact Charles Jones. At this time most teams that go out through UMCOR, Red Cross or other organizations must have “early response” training.
- In consultation with Red Cross and your church family make plans to include a family who wants to be relocated as a result of the disaster. Contact Ann Kumeh for details and how to prepare the congregation for this ministry.
- If you or someone you know are willing to go to disaster areas to help in the rebuilding process, contact Bonnie Albert or Charles Jones. They are working to connect individuals with teams.
- Explore the M.E.R.C.I. disaster program of the North Carolina Conference. They are organizing most of the UMVIM teams that will go into disaster areas. Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana will contact them when they need a team to come help in the damaged area. www.merciumc.org/ They also have an UMCOR warehouse and are taking in supplies that need to be organized. Call 919 739-9167 for more details.
What is in a Health Kit?
- 1 hand towel (15" x 25" up to 17" x 27")
- 1 washcloth
- 1 comb (large and sturdy, not pocket-sized)
- 1 nail file or fingernail clippers (no emery boards or toenail clippers)
- 1 bath-size bar of soap (3 oz. and up)
- 1 toothbrush (single brushes only in original wrapper, No child-size brushes)
- 1 large tube of toothpaste (4.5 oz. or larger, expiration date must be 6 months or longer in advance of the date of shipment to UMCOR Sager Brown)
- 6 adhesive plastic strip sterile bandages
Place these items inside a sealed one-gallon plastic bag.
What is in a Flood Bucket?
- 5-gallon bucket with resealable lid
- Bleach--two 1-quart or one 82 oz. bottle (Do not include bleach of you are shipping the bucket through the US Postal Service, UPS or FedEx)
- 5 scouring pads
- 7 pack sponges
- 1 scrub brush
- 18 cleaning towels (reusable wipes)
- Liquid laundry detergent (two 25 oz. or one 50 oz. bottle)
- 1 household cleaner, 12-16 oz. bottle
- Disinfectant dish soap, 16-28 oz. bottle
- 50 clothes pins
- Clothesline (two 50 ft. or one 100 ft.)
- 5 dust masks
- 2 pair latex gloves
- 1 pair work gloves
- 24-bag roll of heavy-duty trash bags, 33-45 gallon (remove roll from box before placing in bucket)
- 1 Insect repellant spray, 6-14 oz. can (If aerosol, cans must have protective caps. See special requirements below.*)
- 1 Air freshener, 8 or 9 oz. can (If aerosol, cans must have protective caps. See special requirements below.*)
* Special requirements: Put all items in the plastic bucket and seal lid. Please ensure that all cleansing agents are liquids (not powder) and in plastic bottles. All aerosols or flammables: If aerosols are included, do not send the bucket by US mail or DHL/Airborne freight. Ship by UPS ground, FedEx ground, or truck. Pack inside the bucket or strong outer boxes. Put the ORM-D mark on the outside of any buckets or boxes containing these items. Get different sizes of the ORM-D mark at http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/print/kits/orm-d.cfm or use the one on the next page. Copy and tape on each bucket or box.
