VIM in 2011

Here are news items from the United Methodist News Service about Volunteers in Mission working to help others in the US.

Japan relief efforts pay off

NEW YORK (UMNS) -- By October, United Methodist Committee on Relief had received $11.8 million for earthquake/tsunami relief and recovery work in Japan as Japanese-American Methodists moved quickly to find ways to raise money. Substantial grants already have been made to both Japanese and international partners.

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Tennessee tornado recovery help needed

ALCOA, Tenn. (UMNS) – Winter is on its way, and several areas of the Holston Annual (regional) Conference in eastern Tennessee still need help recovering from tornado damage seven months ago.

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United Methodists give flood survivors hope

OLD HICKORY, Tenn. (UMNS) -- As the skies opened and the rain let loose on Friday, April 30, 2010, the Williams family settled in for the night with no idea they would awaken to find their furniture and other belongings submerged in raw sewage in their basement and some of the water climbing upstairs. Until UMCOR and the Tennessee Annual (regional) Conference appeared, their life was bleak.

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$1 million grant for Alabama tornado relief

NEW YORK (UMNS) — At the end of April, Alabama residents were stunned by a record 62 tornadoes that killed 250 people and left homes, businesses and municipalities in tatters. This week, directors of the United Methodist Committee on Relief approved a $1 million grant to the North Alabama Annual (regional) Conference to assist in the state’s recovery. They also approved other large grants to aid disaster relief around the globe. {358}

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Volunteers needed now for Northeast cleanup

NEW YORK (UMNS) — Whether they call it “mudding out” or “mucking out,” seven of the 10 United Methodist annual (regional) conferences in the Northeast are in active disaster mode as they assist communities hit by record flooding at the end of the summer. The calendar is as much of a hindrance as the mud left behind. {336}

Disaster case managers walk with survivors

MINOT, N.D. (UMNS) — Diana Shackelford earns a living as a test manager/administrator for Job Corps in Minot. She embraces giving as a case manager for RAFT, short for Resource Agency Flood Team. She is among the more than 30 UMCOR-trained case managers assisting people in North Dakota’s Souris Valley as residents recover from massive floods. {326}

Hope among the ashes in Texas

BASTROP, Texas (UMNS) — The Rev. Marji Bishir of the North Texas Annual (regional) Conference recounts how UMCOR-trained disaster response teams are performing “funerals for houses” and help devastated families sort through their homes and their emotions after wildfires in central Texas.

Volunteers bring help to N.D. heartbroken

MINOT, N.D. (UMNS) — Edward and Becky Ortiz's home is a couple of blocks from the Mouse River, which rushed over its banks, inflicting heavy — and possibly irreparable — damage on their neighborhood. However, the Ortiz family had help from Indiana United Methodists in the daunting process of dismantling their home. {293} Read more

Homeless flood survivors race winter

MINOT, N.D. (UMNS) — The flood in Minot has long been pushed from national headlines, but residents stress that more volunteers and funds still are desperately needed. With the first snow expected in late October, thousands of now homeless residents are scrambling to muck out mildewed homes and find a warm, safe place to stay in an area where housing is scarce. {296} Read more

Flood survivor gives thanks for what is

MINOT, N.D. (UMNS) — Amy Morse is a proud homeowner. Sadly, little remains of her and her husband’s house after massive flooding hit Minot, N.D., in late June. And now the Morses must rely on the help of strangers, including volunteers trained by the United Methodist Committee on Relief. {297} Read more

United Methodists assess Irene's aftermath

NEW YORK (UMNS) — From North Carolina, where the hurricane first made landfall on Aug. 27, to New England, where sections of Vermont experienced the worst flooding in a century, Irene sparked evacuations, swamped shoreline communities and inland river towns and cut electric power to nearly 6 million people. At least 46 deaths in 13 states were blamed on the storm. The United Methodist Committee on Relief is in touch with United Methodists in those states. {298} Read more