Hurricane Katrina Disaster Relief

(At left, NASA image shows how warm ocean waters fueled Katrina 25-27 August 2005.) You can help alleviate the suffering of Hurricane Katrina victims in a couple of ways:

1. The Presbyterian Church (USA) is providing Hurricane Katrina Disaster Relief along a number of fronts (latest update from PCUSA below). Money gifts to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance efforts are needed. You can donate online (using a credit card) to one of the following accounts:

• U. S. Hurricane Response (to help disaster survivors), account no. DR000169
• Pastoral Care (for assistance to pastors), account no. DR000161
• Church Property Damage, account no. DR000163

If you would prefer, you also can make contributions by cash, check, or money order to:

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Individual Remittance Processing
P. O. Box 643700
Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3700

2. Powell Valley Hurricane Relief is also putting together direct help via an organization in Jackson, Mississippi. The deadline for donations is Tuesday, 20 September 2005, when a trailer will head south. Needed items are as follows:

• diapers
• wet wipes
  
• baby ointment
• jars of baby food
• formula
• baby clothes
• any other baby items
• brooms
• mops
• buckets
• disinfectants (bleach, 409, Windex, etc.)
• toilet paper
• paper towels
• napkins
• paper plates/bowls
• forks, spoons, and other eating utensils
• Tylenol
• Imodium
• Pedialyte
• Children's Motrin, Tylenol, Benadryl, etc.
  

Money donations are also welcome and can be made to "Powell Valley Hurricane Relief Fund" at Bank of the West, First National Bank, or Shoshone First Bank.

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Situation report update — Hurricane Katrina (7 September 2005) The latest update from the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance web site:

As the aftermath of the hurricane has unfolded, it has become clear that PDA will be active on several fronts:

• Organizing — Supporting Presbyteries in organizing their own response and planning for long-term recovery. We already have a request from Mississippi Presbytery for $1 Million.
• Shelter — Training and supporting churches that have agreed to become short and long-term shelters for evacuees. Developing a protocol for matching evacuees with offers of housing is becoming an urgent concern, one shared by most of our ecumenical partners.
• Work Site Staging — Setting up, and initially running, staging sites for recovery operations with the support of Norwegian Church Aid. We are hoping to have the first site up and running within the next two weeks. PDA has agreed to allow the American Baptist Church to direct volunteer teams to our National Call Center to register and to use our worksite staging areas while in the area.
• Care to the Caregivers — Long term pastoral and spiritual care for pastors and church leaders, as well as training for those who will do spiritual care in the community, are developing in the presbyteries affected. We are expecting to plan retreats for pastors from the affected areas in October or November and follow up with Compassion Fatigue training similar to what we are doing in Florida for Hurricane Dennis survivors and the 2004 Hurricane affected areas.
• Organizing PDA to support all of these activities — In addition to the PDA National Call Center set up at Ferncliff, we have set up warehousing operations in Houston to support our work on the ground and collect our new Personal Health Kits and Hope-in-a-Box Kits for distribution to shelters.

Twenty-two members of the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Team (PDAT) are actively involved in the response. . . .