Hurricane recovery efforts receive two grants totaling $825K
Hurricane-related disaster recovery efforts of the South Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church will see a boost thanks to two grants totaling more than $825,000.
The conference has been awarded two grants from the United Methodist Committee on Relief—one to wrap up disaster recovery work on homes damaged by Hurricane Matthew in 2016, and another to launch disaster recovery efforts in the wake of 2018’s Hurricane Florence.
On Dec. 7, the UMCOR Board of Directors approved the following:
- A $322,164 grant that will pay for the conference’s final recovery efforts (from Jan. 1 to June 30, 2019) at homes damaged by Hurricane Matthew in 2016.
- A $502,886 grant that will pay for the first phase of the conference’s recovery efforts (from Jan. 1 to July 31, 2019) at homes flooded in the wake of Hurricane Florence, which caused historic flooding earlier this year across a large swath of northeastern South Carolina.
The Hurricane Florence grant is part of a $2 million gift to UMCOR from the Duke Endowment, which is the first part of a $5 million package Duke Endowment trustees approved to support communities in South Carolina and North Carolina that were affected by Hurricane Florence.
UMCSC Disaster Recovery coordinates its efforts with the state Emergency Management Division and other nonprofit groups through South Carolina Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster.
The goal of UMCSC Disaster Recovery is to accompany communities in need over the long haul of their recovery until a “new normal” is established after a crisis. It works with homeowners who might be on fixed incomes, cannot afford insurance and don’t qualify for federal disaster assistance.
Much of the hands-on disaster recovery work is handled by volunteers from across the state and the nation. The presence of these volunteers keeps down the cost of repairing homes, which allows UMCSC Disaster Recovery to help more people in need.
How to help
Help is needed through volunteering or financial donations.
UMCSC Disaster Recovery needs volunteers to roof houses, repair siding, install Sheetrock, repair floors and other tasks to return South Carolina families to safe situations. Volunteers can help any period of time, even just a day or two. Both skilled and inexperienced volunteers are welcome. To volunteer, contact UMCSC Disaster Recovery at 803-726-3105 or [email protected].
To donate to disaster recovery through UMCOR, visit www.umcor.org.