Florida United Methodists lead the nation in giving to UMCOR’s fund
to help people affected by the Sept. 11 attacks. Now, they want to
know how it’s being used. (Please see correction below.)
By Michael Wacht
ORLANDO — In light of the recent controversy
surrounding the American Red Cross’ plan to divert funds intended
for the survivors and families of victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks, United Methodists in the Florida Conference have been asking
what the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is doing with
the money it has collected.
The Florida Conference leads all other
conferences in giving with more than $826,000 donated through Nov. 19.
Those donations have been made through and by more than 335 Florida
Conference churches.
Nationwide, United Methodists have given more
than $5.3 million to UMCOR’s “Love in the Midst of Tragedy”
fund. The largest group of donors is individuals who have given
directly to UMCOR rather than through a local church.
UMCOR Deputy General Secretary Rev. Paul Dirdak
said in a Nov. 30 letter that the church’s relief agency is
currently active in response efforts in New York and Afghanistan. The
agency is providing counseling, legal and immigration assistance to
survivors, families of the victims and displaced people in New York.
It has also focused on helping children recover from the trauma of the
attacks. Those services have been provided both at interagency
response centers and local United Methodist churches at a cost of
approximately $150,000, according to Dirdak.
UMCOR is also working with Church World Service
to provide supplies to help 26,000 refugees of the conflict in
Afghanistan survive the rapidly approaching winter. Tents, blankets,
food and medicine have already been sent to the Afghanistan/Tajikistan
border. A shelter kit for a family of six can be provided for $307,
and kitchen, bedding and hygiene supplies cost $118.50.
UMCOR’s directors are now working on a
five-year plan, slated to be in place by Jan. 15, 2002, according to
Dirdak.
“At this point, I think that we are ahead of
schedule and will have the plan in place before then,” Dirdak said.
“Even if we meet the 1/15 deadline, we will be ahead of most of the
other agencies.”
UMCOR typically spends about five years
responding to major disasters, Dirdak said, adding the agency is
committed to spending all donated funds on affected people. More than
75 percent of the funds will be spent in the New York/New Jersey area,
with lesser amounts going to Central Asia and other locations within
the United States.
Much of the agency’s efforts will be targeted
at helping families through “the problem-solving process of getting
their lives back together,” Dirdak said.
“Love in the Midst of Tragedy” is UMCOR
Advance Special #901125-3. Donations can be made through any local
United Methodist Church or directly to UMCOR at 1-800-554-8583 or
on-line at http://www.disasternews.net/donations/umcor.php.
For more information on disaster response efforts, visit http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/loveupdate/faq.cfm.
Correction
Love offering is larger than earlier
reported
Total giving to the United Methodist Committee
on Relief’s (UMCOR) “Love in the Midst of Tragedy” fund is more
than $10.4 million as of the end of November. More than $6.4 million
was given in November alone.
This is nearly double what was reported in the
Dec. 21 edition of the “Florida United Methodist Review.” The
Review’s story used figures from early November, which was the most
recent information available at the time the story was published. |
