Good Afternoon Team,

As you know the historic flooding that is happening in Louisiana, where parts of the state received 30 inches of rain within 3 days, has left nearly 30,000 people needing rescue, over 12,000 are in shelters, several have died and in many locations flood waters continue to rise. Sadly this event is just one in a string of major disasters over the past 12 months including but not limited to historic flooding in South Carolina, West Virginia, Texas, Oklahoma and now again in Louisiana. We are asking donations be directed to the Emergency USA fund.

https://transactions.ucc.org/CampaignForm/UCChrist/emergency_usa

Undesignated donations allow for funds to be used where needed most but if individuals choose to do so, donations can be designated for LA Flood Recovery. They are tracked separately and all efforts are made to honor the designation.

Monetary donations provide the most effective, efficient and versatile form of support for disaster survivors.

Please take the time to view these 2 short video clips:

Many of the items we Americans donate in times of disaster turn out to be of no use to those in need. Sometimes, they even get in the way of humanitarian workers doing their job under difficult circumstances. Scott Simon of NPR reports on the useless, often incomprehensible contributions that constitute what aid workers call "the second disaster."

UCC Disaster Ministries is well connected with the nation’s most trusted and reputable disaster response and recovery organizations through our National VOAD membership and work.

www.nvoad.org

We collaborate closely with organizations throughout the disaster response and recovery continuum but our focus is on long-term recovery namely because, during this phase, the needs often exceed resources. I would encourage anyone who is interested in volunteering to strongly consider supporting our ongoing efforts to help communities recover. A list of locations where volunteers are needed can be found at:

http://www.ucc.org/disaster_disaster-volunteers

I would not encourage anyone from outside of the immediate area to deploy to the region. Floodwaters continue to rise in many areas, there are thousands of national guard in place and many areas are inaccessible. There is not much volunteers can do unless they are pre-trained and screened to work with an organization that engages in early response and have clearances to work in shelters etc.

We continue to monitor the situation and will do our best to update information on the website:

www.ucc.org/disaster

and the OGHS Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/onegreathourofsharingucc

If you have any additional questions… please feel free to be in touch.

Lastly, I would simply request taking a moment to lift up our sisters and brothers not only in Louisiana but all over the world who have been impacted by disaster.

In Christ,

Zach Wolgemuth
Executive, UCC Disaster Ministries
700 Prospect Ave. E., Cleveland, OH44115
+1 410-259-6194 (m)
www.ucc.org/disaster/