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e-HUM Flood Update |
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Compiled and edited by Daniel R. Gangler, June 17, 2008 If you have flood relief needs or wish to volunteer for flood relief, contact Jenni Walker, South Indiana Conference Resource Administrator at jenniwalker@mac.com or call 812-893-1760. If you live in the Columbus District and need flood relief assistance, contact:
For assistance in Bloomington and Terre Haute Districts, contact:
HEALTHFLEX PROVIDES EMOTIONAL SUPPORT THROUGH HELP LINE
Our prayers and thoughts are with you and the members of the Indiana conference. United Behavioral Health (UBH) is offering a free Help Line (24 hours, 7 days a week) as a public service to those living in Indiana, Wisconsin and Iowa who need help coping with the emotional devastation of the recent flooding. The phone number is 866-342-6892 and will be available as long as it is needed. Personal, immediate assistance can be offered over the phone, as well as assistance finding local resources to help manage stresses related to flooding. UBH has also added a special alert to their website that provides information and contact numbers for resources for those affected by the storms. These resources can be accessed at the Web site: creating a personal login to the site (www.liveandworkwell.com) or by logging in using “GBOP” as an access code (see the link on the far right side of the page). UBH has included local and federal resources that may be of service to participants affected by flooding as resources to offer their congregants. The GBOP access code is the one used by HealthFlex participants. There is a flyer produced by UBH on the Indiana Area Web site (here) to offer some recommendations and guidance to those recently affected by flooding. It may be useful to send out to participants to help them better handle this added stressor in their lives. -- Noreen F. Orbach, Ph.D., Managing Director, Health and Welfare Services General Board of Pension and Health Benefits VOLUNTEERS TO SERVE IN FRANKLIN, REPORT TO FRANKLIN COLLEGEVolunteer opportunities are now available through Franklin College at the Dietz Center on the east edge of campus on Forsythe Street. Anyone willing to volunteer should register at the center. Volunteers should bring sturdy shoes, gloves, drinking water, shovels and be willing to work not only in houses but in the donation centers. FEMA and the American Red Cross also are located in this area. Groups of 10 or more are asked to call 317-444-1978 or 317-738-8807. It is requested that volunteers do not bring children. Click here for driving directions to Franklin College and a map of the campus. – Grace UMC, Franklin HERE IS INFORMATION ABOUT AVAILABILITY OF VIM ACCIDENT INSURANCEThose that wish to purchase the General Board of Global Ministries’ Volunteer In Mission accident insurance coverage need to write “Midwest Floods of 2008” as the United Methodist VIM project name. The cost of the insurance is 75¢-a-day for each person. The insurance is not required but available to volunteers. The form is available online at www.sicumc.org/documents/VIMinsuform.pdf. If you wish this insurance, complete the insurance application form and e-mail it to Michael Deborjia, mdeborjia@gbgm-umc.org, with a cover letter from your church with details about the church’s involvement in the Indiana Flood Recovery. Mail the same cover letter with the insurance application form(s) and payment (one check for all applications). Make sure that you have the applications and payment in hand before e-mailing the General Board of Global Ministries. For “Sponsoring Organization,” list the name of your church. Submit the applications with payment (one check) directly to the General Board. Let Elsie Miller know if you have any questions. – Elsie Miller, emiller@sicumc.org BLOOMINGTON DISTRICT RECEIVING ASSISTANCE FROM LOCAL BUSINESSESUnited Methodist Churches of the greater Bloomington area continue to assist Central Indiana flood survivors with flood bucket clean up kits being distributed to residents in flooded areas. This past Thursday, 200 flood buckets were delivered directly to Worthington, Ind., by the Midwest Mission Distribution Center, a depository near Springfield, Ill., where local UM churches donate relief supplies for distribution. This past Friday, the Bloomington District UMC office received a phone call from Senator Vi Simpson regarding an urgent need for flood buckets in Brown County. On Monday, June 16, volunteers from area United Methodist Churches gathered to assemble flood bucket at the South Indiana Conference Center in Bloomington at 1520 S. Liberty Drive. Thanks to the generous donations of our United Methodist churches as well as residents in this area, we assembled 94 flood bucket kits. In addition, we received eight buckets already assembled from one of our local congregations. The Bloomington District will schedule another volunteer day during the next week. The Bloomington District Office continues to work with businesses in the community such as Ivy Tech State College, Denny’s Restaurant, Kleindorfer’s Hardware and Bloomington’s Westside Dollar Tree for supplies to assemble more flood bucket kits. The Dollar Tree is a drop-off site where flood bucket items also can be purchased. For residents wishing to drop off donated items at the South Indiana Conference Center, Bloomington District Office at 1520 S. Liberty Dr. in Bloomington, please do so from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monetary donations and checks may be made payable to the Bloomington District UMC or South Indiana Conference. All gifts are tax deductible. For more information or interview, please call the 812-339-1445. The United Methodist Churches are committed to helping those in need and we will continue to assemble the flood bucket clean up kits as long as the donation and the need is there. – Jessica Lindsey, jlindsey@sicumc.org. |
