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Memphis Conference responds to flooding from Isaac by delivering relief supplies to Mississippi and planning additional assistance

8/30/2012

Bottled water and other supplies from the Memphis Conference were delivered to a warehouse in McComb, MS Wednesday by Bill Carr, Memphis Conference Disaster Relief Coordinator. Phone photo by Bill Carr


The Memphis Conference is at work responding to damage and distress caused by heavy rain and damaging winds from Hurricane/Tropical Storm Isaac that came ashore Tuesday night in Mississippi and Louisiana.
Bill Carr, Memphis Conference Disaster Relief Coordinator, delivered a truckload of relief supplies to two locations in southern Mississippi Wednesday to help with inland flooding and evacuee assistance.
The supplies were picked up from storage with United Methodist Neighborhood Centers in Memphis.
Carr delivered bottled water, hand sanitizers and MREs (meals ready to eat). He also loaned some generators. All deliveries, he said, were in response to specific requests coordinated by United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), the not-for-profit global humanitarian aid organization of the United Methodist Church.
Meanwhile, Carr is asking individuals, churches and districts in the Memphis Conference to provide assistance as they are able by making financial donations and donating supplies for relief efforts.
Returning to his home in Paducah, KY in the northern end of the Memphis Conference late Wednesday, Carr said he experienced more wind driving back than driving down.
As the storm continues a slow trek northward, it continues to generate high winds and dump heavy rains, said Carr. “It’s not done yet,” he said.
How can you help?
 
Carr said the best way individuals, churches and districts in the Memphis Conference can help with flooding and wind damage as a result of storm Isaac is to:
 
>Assemble and deliver cleaning buckets by Sept. 11 to any of the following Memphis Conference locations:
  • Bartlett UMC in Bartlett, TN
  • Broadway UMC in Paducah, KY
  • Brownsville District Office in Brownsville, TN
  • Covington First UMC in Covington, TN
  • Dresden First UMC in Dresden, TN
  • Dyersburg First UMC in Dyersburg, TN
  • Mayfield First UMC in Mayfield, KY
  • Millington First UMC in Millington, TN
  • Paris District Office in Paris, TN
  • Union City First UMC in Union City, TN
Any other churches that would like to volunteer to serve as collection points for cleaning buckets between now and Sept. 11 should email communications.mcumc@eplus.net.
Formerly known as flood buckets, cleaning buckets contain basic supplies to help survivors clean their homes after a flood. Each bucket costs approximately $55 to assemble. For an updated list of items that should be included in a cleaning bucket, visit http://www.umcor.org/UMCOR/Relief-Supplies and click on "Cleaning Bucket."
>Donate money to UMCOR to assemble cleaning buckets. The cost of one cleaning bucket is $55. A donation of $550 will assemble 10 cleaning buckets. Visit www.umcor.org to donate online.
>Make financial contributions to Memphis Conference Disaster Relief. Make out check to the Memphis Conference Treasurer's Office and mark as "disaster relief." Mail to 24 Corporate Blvd., Jackson, TN 38305.
For more information about Memphis Conference disaster relief efforts, contact Carr at bill_carr@bellsouth.net or 270-556-5221 or 270-816-4824
~By Lane Gardner Camp, Memphis Conference Director of Communications, communications.mcumc@eplus.net