Updated Opportunities to respond to Superstorm Sandy

Here are the latest updates from our partners regarding opportunities to respond to Superstorm Sandy.

Texas Baptist Men
Volunteers from Texas Baptist Men are focusing on feeding in New York, New Jersey and West Virginia. See the latest updates at www.texasbaptistmen.org. Click here to donate.

Cooperative Baptist Fellowship

Millions ontinue to struggle in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Basic necessities like food, water, and shelter are in short supply in many places. The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and its partners have been monitoring the developing situation. Although this is not the time for short-term teams to venture into some of these hardest hit areas, there are opportunities for individuals and churches to provide tangible assistance.

 In metro New York, one of our partner congregations, Metro Baptist Church, has already been the hands and feet of Christ during this ordeal. Daily, they have been opening their doors and giving whatever they had to there community in need. A bowl of soup, a simple bag of toiletries, or even a quick place to charge a dying cell phone are some of the simple ways that they have been the presence of Christ in New York City.

Below you will find three simple collection projects that would be a GREAT benefit to hurting people in New York. Please prayerfully consider participating.

Toiletries Project: Travel sizes or shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, lotions, tissues, and Chapstick

Snacks Project: Breakfast bars, granola bars, packs of crackers, raisins, juice boxes (Metro has been offering “snack bags” to people who come to the center. These are quart sized Ziploc bags that are filled with portable snacks.)

In working with both of the above projects, quart-sized Ziploc bags are needed.

Clothing: Heavy coats (all sizes-especially larger sizes, for layering purposes), gloves, socks, hats, scarves, sweaters, and men’s pants. (Please keep in mind that these should be either gently used or new items.)

All items can be collected and shipped directly to Metro Baptist Church. Please do not send these donations to CBF National.

Metro Baptist Church
c/o Tiffany Henkel
410 West 40^th Street
New York, NY 10018
Thank you in advance for your assistance!


World Vision

Areas of Focus will be:
New York: Queens, Bronx, Staten Island, Brooklyn, Westchesterm Yonkers
New Jersey: Atlantic City, Hoboken, Newark (as needed)
West Virginia: Philippi and surrounding communities, Eden, Kentucky

Key Headlines, as of Nov 2nd:
- Distribution of Disaster Response Items started 11/1/2012 in WV; some unscheduled distributions were done by assessment teams.  More distributions this week see below.
- Disaster Response Shipment from N. Texas has arrived in NY 11/2.
- $368,000+  raised for relief efforts to date
- Three of our field sites are responding from within the impact zone.
- Our flagship site in the Bronx NY was heavily damaged from flooding, causing significant loss of relief supplies.
- We have established and opened up a second distribution point in the Bronx.
- We have multi-state assessments taking place and have eleven focus communities.
- We have over 600 partners that we will connect with and mobilize.
- Product relief has begun flowing in those communities.  
- Relief has included food, water, sanitation, and shelter.
- NYC has one of the highest poverty rates in the US where 30 percent of youth under 18 live under the poverty line.
- Over 30 calls to DCS, Church and Staff offering Volunteers groups and individuals to assist.  Staff is mobilizing to engage volunteer connection asap.