Sheldon, Iowa — It’s becoming apparent that the city of Houston, Texas and its residents are going to be dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey and all the flooding for some time to come. Many area organizations are beginning efforts to see how they can help.
One of those is the United Methodist Church. Sheldon United Methodist Church Pastor Kevin Gingerich tells us about the “flood buckets” effort in which the church has participated several times. He says they are to assist people with flood-related cleanup.
He tells us what is in a kit.
Gingerich says that since most people would probably not want to donate the bucket and its entire contents since it would probably cost over $60 per bucket, they are accepting individual items, which will be put into buckets.
The pastor says they’re also preparing “health kits.” He tells us what’s in a health kit.
Gingerich says they already have about 36 flood buckets left over from when they helped out Rock Valley after the 2014 flood, and those will be sent to Texas right away.
He says if you want to drop off supplies for the flood or health kits, you can drop them off from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the church. He says feel free to call or stop by for more information. Their number is 712-324-4894. The pastor says they’ve also been asked to be a dropoff point for water bottles and other items. He says you can contact the church office for more details. He also says that there is a church in Sanborn collecting supplies as well.
Other organizations are coming forward offering support to hurricane victims. Hy-Vee, Inc. announced Tuesday they will be accepting customers’ donations for those affected by Hurricane Harvey. Hy-Vee will match all donations received from August 30 to September 30, up to $100,000. Funds will be provided to the American Red Cross to help with relief efforts, including supporting volunteer efforts, opening shelters and providing meals and other supplies.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency or FEMA says that the most effective way to support disaster survivors in their recovery is to donate money and time to trusted, reputable, voluntary or charitable organizations.
FEMA says cash donations offer voluntary agencies and faith-based organizations the most flexibility to address urgently developing needs. With cash in hand, these organizations can obtain needed resources nearer to the disaster location. This inflow of cash also pumps money back into the local economy and helps local businesses recover faster.
FEMA asks people not to donate unsolicited goods such as used clothing, medicine, or perishable foodstuffs at this time. They say that when used personal items are donated, the helping agencies must redirect their staff away from providing direct services to survivors in order to sort, package, transport, warehouse, and distribute items that may not meet the needs of disaster survivors.
You can also contact the Red Cross if you want to help people affected by Hurricane Harvey. You can visit redcross.org, call 1-800-RED-CROSS or text the word HARVEY to 90999 to make a $10 donation.
