UMCOR selects Katrina aid partners
|
A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose
Janice
Scott and her husband, the Rev. Ernest Scott, survey the parsonage at
Hartzell Mt. Zion United Methodist Church in Slidell, La., after
Hurricane Katrina.
|
| Janice
Scott and her husband, the Rev. Ernest Scott, survey damage to the
parsonage at Hartzell Mt. Zion United Methodist Church in Slidell, La.,
following Hurricane Katrina. Ten social service and voluntary
organizations have been announced by the United Methodist Committee on
Relief as participants in its $66 million Katrina Aid Today initiative
to assist 100,000 families displaced by Hurricane Katrina. A UMNS photo
by Mike DuBose. Photo #05-878. Accompanies UMNS story #700. 12/16/05 |
Dec. 16, 2005
NEW YORK (UMNS) —Ten social service and voluntary organizations have
been announced by the United Methodist Committee on Relief as
participants in its $66 million Katrina Aid Today initiative.
The initiative is sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management
Agency. Selected by a grants review board, the organizations will
oversee 3,000 professional staff and volunteers who will assist 100,000
families displaced by Hurricane Katrina in rebuilding their lives.
Trained by UMCOR, the staff and volunteers will help survivors
identify sources of support, develop personal recovery plans, acquire
access to services and take appropriate actions to bring them to
self-sufficiency.
UMCOR currently is in final contract negotiations with the 10
organizations, which are Boat People SOS, Falls Church, Va.; Catholic
Charities USA, Alexandria, Va.;
Episcopal Relief and Development, New York; Lutheran Disaster Response, Chicago;
the National Disability Rights Network, Washington; the Odyssey House
of Louisiana, New Orleans; the Salvation Army, Atlanta; the Society of
St. Vincent De Paul, St. Louis; United Methodist Foundation of
Louisiana, Baton Rouge; and Volunteers of America, Alexandria, Va.
These organizations “have a track record of responding to the needs
of disaster survivors in a recovery effort,” said the Rev. Paul Dirdak,
UMCOR’s chief executive. Each partner also has pledged matching funds or
in-kind donations for the work, he added.
Partners in the Katrina Aid Today consortium focus their work on the
disaster zones of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, as well as areas
serving families that have been relocated to Texas, Georgia, California,
Florida, Illinois, Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, New Jersey,
Colorado, Connecticut, Washington D.C., Massachusetts, Minnesota, North
Carolina, New York, Oklahoma and Washington. Some of the partners have
expertise working with people with disabilities and non-English-speaking
families.
The grants review board making the selection consisted of
representatives from the American Red Cross, Mississippi Commission for
Volunteer Service, Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, Church
World Service and the Points of Light Foundation.
More information about Katrina Aid Today or its partner grantees can be found at www.katrinaaidtoday.org, the program’s Web site.
*The United Methodist Committee on Relief provided information for this report.
News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
Related Articles
United Methodist relief agency to help FEMA with case management
End of the line in New Orleans
Hurricane Relief Resources
Resources
Katrina AID Today
FEMA
UMCOR Hurriucanes 2005
|
