UCC ups fundraising goal to $3 million for hurricane relief

Written by J. Bennett Guess

Tuesday, 06 September 2005

UCC leaders announced today (Sept. 6) that its members and congregations will need to raise at least $3 million to support longterm hurricane relief and recovery. “As this tragedy continues to unfold, we see the need for resources for longterm recovery,” said Susan Sanders, the UCC’s minister for the global sharing of resources. “Knowing the generosity of UCC members and friends, we are confident that we will meet our goal.” As of Sept. 5, online contributions to the UCC’s “Hope Shall Bloom” hurricane recovery initiative had surpassed the $100,000 mark. “As of yesterday evening, we had received a total of $100,434 in online contributions for relief efforts related to Hurricane Katrina,” reported the Rev. George Graham of the UCC’s financial development ministry. Graham and others worked over the Labor Day weekend to process church members’ web-based gifts. However, Graham expects the number of online gifts to grow even more significantly in coming days as UCC members and congregations begin to grasp the enormity of the disaster and contemplate how best to offer their support. In addition to the one-week tally of online fundraising, Sanders reported that on Sept. 6, the hurricane relief fund received $12,240 from contributions sent to the UCC's national offices in Cleveland through the U.S. postal service. Already, according to Sanders, the UCC has made significant pledges of financial support to: Church World Service, which is leading hands-on emergency relief and rescue. Slumber Falls Camp, the South Central Conference’s outdoor ministry in New Braunfels, Texas, which is housing evacuated residents of the Gulf Coast Region. The UCC’s Southeast Conference, at the request of the Rev. Andrew Young, which is providing food to evacuees in Atlanta through the Hosea Williams Feeding Program. The Amistad Resettlement Project of the Community of Faith Church (UCC/Disciples of Christ) in Houston, which is working to resettle 50-100 families. UCC-related Back Bay Mission in Biloxi, Miss., which was devastated by the storm and remains standing in 5-feet of water. The UCC's national setting is also wiring a portion of the donated funds directly to the UCC’s Southeast and South Central Conferences so that money will be available immediately as local needs arise, Sanders said.