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DISASTER RESPONSE

Early Response Team (ERT) Training and other Disaster Response events will be listed on the Mission Opportunities in East Ohio page and/or the Events Registration page.

The East Ohio Conference responds when disasters strike

Responding to Hurricanes and other Natural Disasters

The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is working with disaster coordinators and Early Response Teams (ERT) in annual conferences to assist local churches in responding to tornados, hurricanes, storms, and other ongoing situations in the United States and around the world.

As we lift these concerns before God, we are reminded to:

Do No Harm right now:

• Do Not “self-deploy” into a region until invited. It is important that emergency responders, governmental agencies and the American Red Cross do their respective jobs so that teams can be invited to enter a disaster area.
• Do Not send supplies and clothes. Unwanted items sent into disaster zones become burdens on an already-overwhelmed area.

Do Good right now:

• Pray for the communities impacted by the disaster, the lives forever changed, and those responding.
• Collect an offering or host a fundraiser in your local church. Because of the connectional network of The United Methodist Church, 100% of all funds will be delivered to persons directly involved in or responding to the disaster.
• Make checks payable to your local church. The church treasurer will forward the collected money to the Conference using the church remittance form. 
• Donate online by visiting www.umcor.org and clicking on the Donate button
• Consider making a contribution to the following through the conference. Instructions on how to donate by mail or online are on the donation page.

  EOC Fund 1327 – US Disaster Response & Recovery
  The conference forwards 100% of donations to this fund to General Advance 901670 for US Disaster Response. Please indicate if your donation is for a specific disaster/event. 
  
  EOC Fund 1301 – International Disaster Response & Recovery
  The conference forwards 100% of donations to this fund to General Advance 982450 for International Disaster Response. Please indicate if your donation is for a specific disaster/event.
  
  EOC Fund 9200 – Disaster Response in Ohio
  Provides funding for immediate and long‐term recovery for the community and the survivors of a disaster in the East Ohio Conference or neighboring areas.
  
  EOC Fund 9648 – Disaster Response Leadership Development
  Funding for Early Response Team (ERT UMCOR) training, scholarships, and leadership development sponsored by the East Ohio Disaster Response Committee. 
  

• Assemble UMCOR relief kits and deliver them to one of the distribution centers or Gay Street UMC. See their websites for details on what kits they accept and how to assemble them. Always contact them to see what they need most and schedule a delivery. We usually collect items for UMCOR kits in June at Annual Conference. Gay Street UMC in Mount Vernon, OH is also a year-round drop-off location for Midwest Mission, details can be found here. The EOC Area Center does not have space to store kits. You can also make a monetary donation to these UMCOR collection sites through their EOC Fund number.
  
  UMCOR Cleaning Kit Instructions 2024

  Mission Barn in New Castle, PA - EOC Fund 9918
  Midwest Mission in Chatham, IL - EOC Fund 9944

• Lead an Early Response Team. Trained responders interested in being part of a future East Ohio team should E-mail Tom King. The Disaster Response Committee holds Early Response Team trainings periodically throughout the year, these will be listed on the Mission Opportunities page.
• UMCOR ERT Deployment Protocol
• Consult your district response coordinator to explore ideas.

Many prior disasters still have a need for long-term recovery teams. Consider taking UMCOR Team Leader Training and volunteering to for an UMVIM Long-Term Recovery Project.

• UMVIM Team Leader training is usually offered once or twice a year, check the Events Registration page to see if there are any coming up.
• Search for long-term recovery projects by location or type of work on the NCJ UMVIM website. As of October 2024 there are nine long-term projects in Ohio.

Disaster response begins with preparation.

• Learn about Connecting Neighbors, which provides community-wide training hosted by your church – including an inventory of resources offered by a variety of local responders. E-mail Tom King to learn more.
• Take Early Response Teams (ERT) training to learn important perspectives and experience for stopping damage and beginning clean up after the local Emergency Management Agency has determined it is safe to enter the area.
• Make a family plan by visiting www.ready.gov. Your family may not be together if a disaster strikes. Know how you’ll contact one another and reconnect if separated. Establish a family meeting place that’s familiar and easy to find.

Thank you for your continued prayers and for the donation of your time and financial resources as we work together across The United Methodist Church to respond to those in need.