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Hoosier United Methodist News Archives
| Hoosier United Methodists together |
Nov./Dec. 2004 |
Call the bucket brigade
By Andrew Graham
Bloomington Herald-Times
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Rain comes in bucketfuls during hurricanes. And sometimes that's the way hurricane relief arrives, too.
Saint Mark's United Methodist Church members recently collected "flood buckets" of relief materials destined for hurricane victims in Florida and along the Gulf Coast.
The five-gallon, lidded buckets first went to the Midwest Mission Distribution Center in Chatham, Ill., then directly to Florida.
The distribution center was started five years ago by United Methodist churches, but Saint Mark's member Sharon Dixon noted this relief effort is completely inter-denominational.
"We're asking people from all congregations and all walks of life to contribute," Dixon said as she helped prepare donated materials for the trip to the distribution center.
Organizing the items took some time before Dixon and 10 other Saint Mark's members made the trip to Illinois. "That's just for the first trip," Dixon said. "We'll find a way to send along materials which subsequently arrive a little later. But the people who need help need it right now, so we're hopeful we'll get a lot of donations coming in for this trip."
Flood bucket contents
Donors need not provide all items listed, and can provide any amount of individual items. |
The distribution center's supply of filled buckets is depleted, Dixon said. She made it clear the donations needed are what goes inside the buckets mainly basic cleaning supplies rather than the buckets themselves.
"We have a good supply of buckets, donated mainly by construction firms and bakeries," Dixon said. "So we need materials to go in the buckets, and would ask people to keep in mind that the smaller size of each individual item permits a greater number of items for each bucket."
Dixon and other volunteers take steps to pack as many items into the buckets as possible. Interconnected racks of clothespins, for example, are pried apart so individual clothespins will fill nooks and crannies in the bucket. "And you'd be surprised how small you can scrunch up a sponge," Dixon said with a smile.
Previously donated flood buckets have already brought much-needed smiles to some faces in hurricane-stricken areas. "I've talked with people who were down in Florida to check on homes there, and they'd seen the buckets being distributed," Dixon said. "They saw how much people appreciated getting them."
For those wanting to contribute to this relief ministry, with an offering or materials for flood buckets, please contact the Midwest Mission Distribution Center at 217-483-7911 or email midwestmissiondc@aol.com.
Andrew Graham serves as a staff writer for the Bloomington Herald-Times. This story was used by permission. © 2004 Herald-Times.
Last updated on 25 Apr 2008