The need is immediate for your contributions to assist in the recovery of the severe flooding in Louisiana.
Parts of Louisiana received 30 inches of rain within 3 days, leaving 20 parishes in a state of emergency and stranding nearly 30,000 people. In all, over 12,000 needed to seek refuge in shelters, nearly a dozen died, and an estimated 40,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed in the Baton Rouge and Lafayette areas. (from the UCC Disaster Response website)
To donate online go to: https://transactions.ucc.org/CampaignForm/UCChrist/emergency_usa
If you prefer to donate by mail, make checks payable to
Emergency USA Fund.
Mail to:
United Church of Christ
c/o Financial Services office,
700 Prospect Ave.,
Cleveland OH 44115
Here is what anyone interested in helping Louisiana should know:
- Cash is the most effective and efficient way to meet basic needs now and in recovery.
- Don’t donate items unless you have received a specific request from an organization on the ground that can handle storage and distribution. Consider the cost of transportation vs. purchasing locally.
- Don’t self-deploy. Only travel to the area if you’ve been trained and called upon by an organization requesting your physical presence.
- Be patient. Begin to clear your calendar months from now and set aside time for serving to help repair/rebuild homes.
- Give to a reputable organization.
- Pray for the survivors and emergency personnel.
Monetary donations provide the most effective, efficient, and versatile form of support for disaster survivors: