FW: UPDATE # 2 - Samaritan's Purse
Dave Petno
From: Franklin, Nicole
[mailto:NFra...@samaritan.org]
Sent: Friday, June 20, 2008 12:28 PM
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Subject: UPDATE # 2 - Samaritan's Purse
Here is the latest information on the Samaritan's Purse response to the Midwest..........
Good afternoon everyone!!!! With everything that is going on in the American Heartland, we wanted to make sure to bring all of you up to speed on what Samaritan's Purse is doing.
Torrential rain has resulted in massive flooding in Indiana and other Midwest states, causing rivers to swell their banks. Levies, bridges, and dams have been pushed beyond their capacity as water has crested several feet above flood stage in some areas. This flooding follows months of tornadoes and other storms in the Midwest, and as you can imagine the residents are reported to be physically and emotionally exhausted.
This is why we need YOU. We need for you to form teams or even come as an individual to serve with us to bring relief and hope to those in the Midwest.
Here are the opportunities that we have...............
1. Columbus, Indiana - As you may know, we have been working in Columbus for just over a week and the work orders are still coming in. As of this morning, it looks as if there may be 500 / 600 homes affected. We are currently scheduling volunteers for this site and need volunteers immediately for the following weeks......June 23....June 30...July 7. (Unfortunately, we have had several cancellations so we really need volunteers for this site. Even if you can't work a whole week, please give us a call and we will try to work with your schedule.) However, as always, we will continue to evaluate the situation and if our need for volunteers were to extend beyond these weeks, we will let you know.
2. Iowa - We have been monitoring the situation in Iowa and will have teams in place later this week. At this point, it looks as if we will be deploying two Disaster Relief Units to Iowa.
IOWA # 1 - One Unit will be heading to Cedar Falls, IA. Less than a month ago we responded to this area when an EF5 tornado destroyed neighboring towns. Prairie Lakes Church in Cedar Falls opened their doors to us and allowed our staff, volunteers, and equipment to use their church. We left Prairie Lakes Church on June 7 to return home. With the recent rains, we have just learned that this church is now flooded. We will put into practice the story of the Good Samaritan and will return to help them in their time of need. GOD IS GOOD!!!!!!! We will be able to be housed at Prairie Lakes again for this response. We will be ready for volunteers on Monday. Therefore, we really need volunteers for the weeks of June 23 and June 30. Even if you can't work a whole week, please give us a call and we will try to work with your schedule.
IOWA # 2 - We do not know the exact location for this unit just yet. We are working with Emergency Management Officials and are waiting to hear what area has the most unmet needs. Once we have determined the location, we will need volunteers. We have someone on the ground in Cedar Rapids and they are assessing the situation there.
3. Wisconsin - Our Canadian Office will be taking the lead on our response to Wisconsin. Our response will be focused in Sauk County. We will need volunteers once the team and Unit arrive from Canada.
I do apologize for not having more detail for you at this point, but please trust that we will be ready to properly serve the residents of Indiana, Iowa, and Wisconsin once everyone is in place. Our ultimate goal is to show the love of Christ to those we serve.
If you are able to serve in Indiana, Iowa, or Wisconsin, please visit our website and complete the Volunteer Questionnaire. This will save you a step later because it will allow us to schedule you as soon as we secure our housing location and determine what our capacity will be. This questionnaire will be used for both a team of 1 or a larger team. Regardless of the size of the team, this is the Questionnaire that needs to be completed. If you have a preference on location, please feel free to list that on your application. However, you must know that there is no guarantee that we can send you to that location. We have to schedule teams where the biggest need is. Please remain flexible as we try to serve those in need. The layout of our website has changed a bit over the last couple of days so things may look a bit different to you. To help you access the Volunteer Questionnaire, we have listed below the new steps to find/complete/submit it.
Here are the steps to completing your Questionnaire........
1. Visit our website at www.samaritanspurse.org......
2. Under Ways to Help at the top of the page select Volunteer with US Disaster Relief.......
3. Once you have read through the information on this page, click on the picture of a chainsaw to download the Questionnaire.......
4. After you have completed the questionnaire, please save it to your computer and email the questionnaire to: volunteerqu...@samaritan.org. (Please make sure to let us know if you can bring a skid steer or bobcat.)........
Please let us know if you have any questions when filling out your questionnaire. We'll be happy to help you.
I know that several of you have been very faithful in serving with us and serving in your own community. I'm sure you are growing weary. We understand. However, we have brothers and sisters that need help. Are you able to stand up with us and answer their call for help?
"The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint (Isaiah 40:28-31).
Nicole
Franklin
Volunteer Manager
Samaritan's Purse
P.O. Box 3000
Boone, NC 28607
(828) 262-1980, ext. 1229
nfra...@samaritan.org
http://www.samaritanspurse.org