priority needs
Teams Needed | Teams Seeking Volunteers | Needs for Individual Volunteers
Priority Needs Mailing List
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Training opportunities:
UMVIM, SEJ will be holding training for Individual Volunteers at the SIFAT campus, Lineville, AL, Oct. 3-5, 2003. For more information, or to register, contact us at sejinfo@umvim.org
TEAMS Needed:
For information on team projects, contact the person listed or sejinfo@umvim.org.
Disaster response teams are urgently needed in many locations throughout the United States and around the world.
Churches in the USA are still being destroyed by arson. (700+ documented arsons since 1998) See how you can help. Contact: Shantae Crawford at the National Coalition for Burned Churches -
Ncfbccp@aol.com
Alaska:
Teams needed at Douglas UMC and Aldersgate UMC, both in Juneau for VBS, and Habitat house. Contact: Kurt and Jan Kaiser, UMVIM WJ Coordinators, love2trvl@imbris.com.
Argentina:
An exploratory trip to 7 projects in this conference produced full reports on each site, including photos, & are available at http://www.gbgm-umc.org/volunteers/tmsa.htm For more info, contact: UMVIM, SEJ.
Bosnia:
Help construct barns with or for vulnerable families throughout Bosnia.
Minimal project costs due to UMCOR Bosnia’s ability to cover most materials. Block Construction with some wood framing. Skills required: Masonry, carpentry, strong backs and a will to assist a family to meet their own food needs. Contact: Carol Van Gorp carolvangorp@earthlink.net
Chile:
Housing for Pastors. The church currently has to pay rent for housing for several pastors. A parsonage can be built for $5000 US. The goal is for the church to build 10 houses in four years. With the current plans, an existing foundation, and prefab housing materials, a two week team can complete 75% of the work. Tocopila. Construct a second floor apartment for the pastor and family at the only Methodist church in this poor community. The church is currently involved with a feeding program for local children.
Georgia (USA):
Mountain Top Boys Home, near Lafayette, GA, is seeking volunteers to build a 2500 sq. ft. chapel and additional dorms at a juvenile rehabilitation center for boys. Materials are furnished, only labor is needed. Contact: Lamar Beard, volunteer coordinator, 770/708-8564 (w); 404/432-9507 (h); lbeard@nortelnetworks.com. Collinswood on beautiful Lake Oconee is a 27-acre site intended for
development by the Methodist church primarily for mentally challenged individuals. A campus of buildings is planned which will accommodate 48 residents and staff (85 eventually) and up to one hundred (100) day users. Plans have been drawn for several buildings. Money is being raised now for
this project that will take several years to complete. Volunteers are currently needed for cabin construction. Contact: Lamar Beard, volunteer coordinator, 770/708-8564 (w); 404/432-9507
(h); lbeard@nortelnetworks.com. NEW HOPE COMMUNITY CENTER Ms. Harrietta Reynolds, 1336 Conklin Ave. Augusta, GA 30901-5404. 706-722-0086; 706-733-3973; augustaga37@comcast.net Community outreach center needs refurbishing to reopen. RV. S,A.
Louisiana:
Hurricane Lili and Tropical Storm Isidore Damage In Louisiana. Need Teams and Volunteers for cleanup now and for long-term recovery. Skills needed - basic to advanced carpentry, plumbers, electricians, and unskilled laborers. Looking for donated team housing in Louisiana as well as local churches. Most damage is along the coast from Texas to Mississippi.Contact Tony Fontenot,
(337) 981-7050, Mobile: 337-280-0275, or identify@bellsouth.net for information and scheduling of teams and individual volunteers.
Baldwin - UMCOR at Sager-Brown - Community Outreach and Disaster Relief. Work in UMCOR Depot processing kits for emergency shipment. Work on campus to facilitate buildings, grounds or facilities.
Housing rehabilitation in surrounding community.
Mexico:
Conferencia Septentrional - Querétaro. This conference has had very few volunteer teams and has several profound needs. Full reports on multiple sites, including photos, are available at http://www.gbgm-umc.org/volunteers/tmmex.htm#north For more info, contact: UMVIM, SEJ.
Juarez - The Bethesda Medical-Dental Clinic located in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico still has an urgent need for UMVIM medical/construction teams to provide medical and dental services to low and no income families in Juarez, and to expand the clinic size for the desperately poor of this city. The clinic is located adjacent to El Paso, Texas. Operacion Hogar can coordinate housing, meals and airport pickup services for teams arriving at the El Paso Airport. Contact Shirley Foster at 505-437-2009 or OperacionHogar@zianet.com Monterrey - Juan Wesley Seminary needs extensive renovation. For more information, contact the project architect and supervisor, Billy Bridges, 225-291-1646; fax 225-291-0168. Nuevo Casas Grandes, Chihuahua - This new church build is ongoing. The education wing and restroom section have been walled and roofed, and load bearing columns completed for the sanctuary part of the building. The need to finish is urgent, as the facility will be used to provide adult education, health care services, vocational handcraft training, Christian Education, as well as church services. This is the only Methodist presence in a town of 90,000, the religions being mostly Mormon and Mennonite. Contact Shirley Foster at 505-437-2009 or OperacionHogar@zianet.com Pitorreal - It is necessary to have continuous UMVIM teams to keep the clinic open to address the health needs of the Tarahumara Indians and to continue construction on the church camp for children and youth and the clinic. It is recommended that a nurse/doctor be included as a team member due to the remoteness of the area. Potential teams may contact Shirley Foster at 505-437-2009 or OperacionHogar@zianet.com
Nicaragua:
El Ayudante Ecumenical Orphanage in Leon. Construction teams are needed to help with the construction of a building to hold 64 children. There are opportunities for evangelism and vacation church school in the community. Materials costs $3,000 per team.
North Carolina:
Last Chance for North Carolina Hurricane Floyd Victims
The state of North Carolina decided to fix the state's budget deficit by pulling money away from the Hurricane Floyd survivors. Over 200 families in one county alone stand to lose their chance for ecent housing if they can’t get a commitment/contract from a builder as soon as possible. The North Carolina Conference United Methodist Church qualifies as a builder for these folks. We can do it because we use volunteer labor and build homes for the amounts given to families. Most contractors will not build for these amounts. (The amounts vary but none go higher than $73,000) We would like to help these families, but we need volunteers, we need lots of volunteers! It takes about 4 months to build a house and uses, on average, 10 teams.
Each one, as a good manager of God’s different gifts, must use for the good of others the special gift he has received from God (1 Peter 4:10)
How many families we can help depends on YOU, the volunteer. Please consider bringing your gifts to share with the folks still suffering from the worst natural disaster to ever hit North Carolina (and before the next one hits!) Let’s continue to show these folks that the “body of Christ” is very much alive and present in today’s world. If there is a good possibility you can come to North Carolina during the next year, let us know. You don’t need to commit now to a certain date. We just need an idea of how many teams would be willing to come so we will know how many families we can commit to helping. Remember, 10 teams per house is what we need. Our new number is 888-440-9167, our email is merci@nccumc.org Please let us hear from you soon.
In His service,
Barbara Tripp
Director, M.E.R.C.I. http://www.merciumc.org/
(Formerly Disaster Recovery Ministries)
NCCUMC
Poland: Zaborze
Team needed to construct a playground for children in a village where there are no organized safe and wholesome activities for the local children.
Texas (USA):
DISASTER RECOVERY INTERFAITH - HOUSTON Ruama Camp, O: 713-224-6611, C: 832-465-6772, ruamacamp@hotmail.com Web site: http://www.floodofhope.org/. Recovery teams needed to help the elderly and the poor recover from the second largest urban disaster in US history. All construction skills needed to help 1,500 families rebuild their homes. Housing available in local churches. S, A, F, OA, individuals, NOMADS. Spanish speaking volunteers needed. Check for maximum numbers of volunteers.
For further information on the Team opportunities listed above - Contact the person listed, or: UMVIM, SEJ, sejinfo@umvim.org. |
