|
MERCI needs volunteers, materials
10/12/05
|
By Bill Norton
NC CONFERENCE DIRECTOR OF
COMMUNICATIONS
GOLDSBORO __ Some volunteers assembled Flood Buckets, some assembled Health Kits, some unloaded deliveries,
and others answered telephone calls. Some recorded data from groups wanting to volunteer, some matched a volunteer team
with an area of need and other responded to e-mail messages. In the classrooms, two groups were receiving Early Response Training.
All of this was taking place at the Marion Edwards Recovery Center Initiatives, MERCI, on Saturday, September 10.
The Center, is the hub for North Carolina Conference disaster response. Two warehouses there are used to
store materials, provide classrooms for training, and offices for coordinating volunteer work. It is located west of Goldsboro,
near the geographic center of the conference.
In addition to serving as a collection and assembly center for materials going to the Gulf Coast regions and
New Orleans, the center is serving as the national coordinating location for Early Response Teams.
Three telephone lines used to be enough to handle the calls at MERCI but not now. Even with eight telephone
lines, the phones stay busy. E-mail messages have increased from an average of 25 a day to almost 1200 messages a day.
"If it was not for the volunteers we could not deal with the response to Hurricane Kitrina," said Ann Huffman,
director of volunteers at MERCI. Following 9/11 she conducted volunteer response training in New York. "This is busier,"
she said referring to all that was going on in the offices and warehouses at MERCI.
Volunteers in the two Early Response Training classes at MERCI were receiving instruction on listening and being
observant, understanding cultural differences, how to safely use tools and chain saws, to be self sufficient, and to work together.
"There is nothing in Early Response that says 'me'. It is working in a team," said Henry Swett while
teaching one of the classes.
Phil Platter, conference UMM vice president, worked in the office to match volunteers to specific geographical
areas. In addition to scheduling teams from North Carolina, he had scheduled groups from California, New York, Michigan,
Kansas and Iowa. "People want to help and are willing to do what is needed," he said.
In the largest warehouse, Miriam Kirkwood, a volunteer from Portland,
Oregon, gathered the volunteers in a group for
a prayer before giving them instructions. She was worried the night before that not enough supplies would be available for the
volunteers. New supplies arrived that morning, some with the volunteers, and the work began.
"Consider each other, watch out for spills. If you spill it, wipe it up. If it goes in the trash can,
put it there," she said. She trained a group and then had that group train other on arrival.
Moving from group to group she checked on the work being done and if needed supplies were available. That
evening she would inventory supplies on hand to determine what projects could be completed the next day.
Mrs. Kirkwood had volunteered at MERCI for seven months last year. She arrived earlier this month and her
plans are to stay until sometime in December. She is a retired math teacher. Before her husband died, they traveled
across the US on an RV to volunteer. "The Lord told me to come here," she said.
Some of the groups she directed worked on Flood Buckets, 5 gallon containers with materials to clean up the mess
found in a flooded house, and other worked on Health Kits, containing hand soap, towel, toothbrush and toothpaste, and other personal
care products. Instructions from the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) list what items go in each bucket or kit.
Packaged Flood Buckets, Health Kits, and other items delivered to the warehouse are checked and certified as to
contents. "Each bucket or kit has to contain the same items. Who wants a shop rag when a hand towel is needed," Mrs.
Kirkwood said.
While some volunteers checked the contents of delivered buckets or kits, others assembled buckets or kits from
materials at the warehouse. Many of the buckets or kits contained additional items, such as deodorant in the Health Kits.
Missing items were added. Additional items were removed and put with similar items in a box and labeled. All items will
be shipped where needed.
"Pack those Flood Buckets four high on pallets and wrap them with plastic," Mrs. Kirkwood said to volunteers doing
packing. Within two hours 160 buckets were on pallets.
"Earlier in the week we shipped 918 Flood Buckets, 3998 Health Kits, 248 Layette Kitts, 600 School Kits, and 862
Zoe Kits," Mrs. Kirkwood said. Six trucks had been used to deliver the materials.
Volunteers, materials, and donations continue to be needed at MERCI. Response has begun but it will be years
before recovery is complete.
The MERCI Center is a North Conference Advance Special (#S - 00136 MERCI). Donations will be used for operation
expenses, such as telephone lines, Internet connections, and shipping. To donate or volunteer, call 1-888-440-9167. If the
phone lines are busy, leave a message on the answering system.
Reprint permission from Bill Norton, Director of Communications, NC Conference - UMC, (919) 832-9560
Submitted by Russell Stott
|
|
|
|
|
