Hurricane Katrina: How Can I Help?
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the Lord's church is working overtime to try to help the victims of the storm. The problem is, many Christians want to help but are not aware of any opportunities that are guaranteed to foster relief. They know about the efforts of the Red Cross and other organizations and support what they are doing, but they would like to channel their funds through churches of Christ located in along Katrina's devastating path.
Two opportunities have come to my attention recently; both allow Christians to do something meaningful right now.
First, the Summerdale church of Christ in south Alabama is busy housing and feeding refugees from storm-ravaged areas to the south. They are providing food and basic needs and are housing people in the local Hampton Inn and in their own facilities. The Hampton runs between $90 and $100 a night. Also, there are a number of expenses related to sheltering folks in their building. They need one thing: money. As of now, they are not distributing goods such as food and clothing. If you would like to donate to Summerdale's efforts, send your funds to Summerdale church of Christ, P.O. Box 314, Summerdale, AL 36580. Contributors are assured that some kind of acknowledgement of their gift will be sent, when possible.
Also, Jeff Goff, the director of Maywood Christian Camp in Hamilton, AL, reports that 150 refugees will be arriving at the camp this coming Monday (Labor Day) or Tuesday. All of these are members of the Lord's church who have lost their homes in the devastation. The camp needs things like toilet paper, toothbrushes, pillows, twin bed sheets, pillow cases, canned food, soap, deodorant, towels, wash cloths, shampoo. Of course, there are many other things that will be needed, e.g., products for hygiene, meal preparation, blankets, baby products, etc. This would be a great project for a church. They could collect the appropriate goods and truck them to Maywood for distribution. For directions click here.
More opportunities will be posted on Drew's Blog as they come up. I will try to publicize nothing but efforts that are coordinated through the churches of Christ. Stay tuned.
