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Urgent Needs

Dear Volunteers in Mission – present, past, and future:

 
The events in Haiti have swept into our hearts and stirred up that need in us to do something. I have some thoughts to share with you about what "do something" might be. Many of you have contacted me already about going to Haiti – and until we are ready for volunteer teams, please consider the following:
 
10 Steps to Haiti
 
1. First, continue to give financially to UMCOR, the United Methodist Committee on Relief. You can give online at this link.
 
2. Second, share with your friends and neighbors the value that a donation to UMCOR represents. 100% of every dollar donated goes directly to Haiti recovery. Money is flowing to Haiti now and the needs for funds will only grow over time – so ask them to donate to UMCOR and continue to give regularly in the future. Form a task force in your community to grow this effort and keep it going.
 
3. Third, educate yourself about the unique role of UMCOR, an organization that is already on the ground, assisting in relief efforts and saving lives. Read more here: United Methodist Giving Tops $1 Million for Haiti. Continue to follow the news from our Conference and other UMC websites and share the actions of our Church with your congregation, family, friends, and community. Visit www.umc.org/haiti for all of the most up-to-date national and conference-wide news, blogs, and video and audio stories from within the United Methodist Church. In addition, customizable print ads, web graphics, and other resources are available there for downloading. Get the latest news on UMVIM's response to the situation in Haiti at www.umvimwj.blogspot.com and our own Conference website.
 
4. Fourth, work with your church to provide an immediate outlet for hands-on volunteering and for recruiting people for future UMVIM teams to Haiti. Encourage your church to make UMCOR health kits. We must develop a steady stream of materials to keep the kits coming. All materials from our Conference should be sent to the UMCOR West Office and Depot, 1479 South 700 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84104-1605. You will find instructions for completing health and layette kits at this link. (Even though the reference is to Sager Brown, the instructions apply to the UMCOR West depot in Salt Lake City, as well.) Recruit people outside your church to join your effort. NOTE: We need someone in our Conference to serve as a hub for collecting items from other churches – someone to receive kits and materials which we will transport to Salt Lake City in massive truckloads. Contact me if you would like to take on this task.
 
5. Fifth, participate in an UMVIM trip to the UMCOR depot in Salt Lake City. Consider teams to the depot as UMVIM training for your church and community, laying the groundwork to prepare them for future trips to Haiti. Contact me or Eddie Frutchey to find out more.

6. Sixth, commit to leading or joining a team to Haiti in the months and years ahead. The recovery effort in Haiti will take years. Go to www.umrespond.org/haiti to register to be a volunteer to Haiti. Your name will go into the national UMCOR database that UMCOR and UMVIM will use once we get the green light from the Haiti Methodist Church and the Haiti government to send in teams. Look for this picture in the lower right side of that page.
 
7. Seventh, prepare yourselves physically and financially for the task ahead. If you have not completed an UMVIM trip in the last year (and haven't filled out the new forms), get yourself updated as a volunteer using the new process and the new forms. Once you complete the new process, by the way, you will never have to fill out the forms again. So go on that diet you planned to start anyway, and stick to your exercise program (you have one, right?). Develop a travel and expense funding plan for yourself (donors and savings) for the next two years. Save your vacation time and make arrangements at work for your absence. Develop a local support team to help sustain you in this effort. 
 
8. Eighth, prepare yourselves spiritually for the task ahead. Discuss this matter with your pastor and with God. Pray – the need for prayer continues! Pray for the Haitians who are injured and who have lost loved ones, pray for the rescuers, and pray for those who are working behind the scenes to coordinate the massive relief and recovery effort.
 
9. Ninth, recruit, train, and prepare your teams technically for the mission ahead. Get yourself into UMVIM team leader training if you have not had the class in the last two years. Refresh and upgrade your ability to manage the people, tasks, and ministry of this undertaking. Check on our UMVIM website for an UMVIM Team Leader training event near you. Enroll in one or more of the UMCOR training classes on March 26, 27, & 28 (2010). These training classes include: Emergency Response/Care Team, Basic Disaster Overview, Care for Children in Disaster, Case Management, and certified Chainsaw Training. Begin training your team, have a kick-off meeting, develop funding plans for your team, and organize your church and community to support the team.
 
10. Tenth, continue to pray for the citizens of Haiti and all those who are working to help them recover from this disaster.
 
Philip Bandy
Director of Volunteers in Mission