ACS Warehouse manager, Natalie Word, and NAD ACS Director, Derrick Lea, speak with the Lee County official about assistance.
ACS Disaster Response teams from the Southeastern and Florida conferences are currently operating two State Warehouses in Florida in response to Hurricane Ian. One is located in Fort Myers, and the other in Coral Springs, the larger of the two with 250,000 square feet of usable space. In addition, Distribution Sites have been set up at multiple churches that give ACS volunteers an opportunity to have direct contact with those affected in the community, portraying Christ’s love in action through service. Last Thursday, a delivery of goods was sent to two sites in Naples and Fort Myers. Volunteers helped unload the water and food items that are being distributed throughout this week to residents.
The South Central Conference ACS team is also rendering support on the ground in Coral Springs as a portion of their territory includes certain areas of Florida State. “It’s this collaborative spirit that strengthens ACS around the NAD, and enables us to continue to be one of the most respected organizations operating in Donations Management,” stated W. Derrick Lea, Executive Director of NAD ACS.
FEMA is providing aid to homeowners and renters in certain counties who had uninsured losses from Hurricane Ian that may be eligible for federal disaster assistance. FEMA may provide financial help with temporary housing expenses, basic home repairs, and other essential disaster-related needs. Eligible counties include Brevard, Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Flagler, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Hillsborough, Lake, Lee, Manatee, Monroe, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, and Volusia.
The South Central Conference Adventist Community Service Disaster Response Team (ACS DR) has partnered with the members of the South Mississippi churches, to provide some relief for the water crisis in Jackson Mississippi. The city’s clean water shortage happened after the city experienced a high level of flooding due to heavy rainfall over the last week, leaving the city without enough safe water for people to use. Read More
Ephesus Seventh-day Adventist Church in New Orleans, Louisiana, hosted a Community Services training for its members on May 28, 2022. It was coordinated by the Community Services team under the leadership of Lucinda Keller and her family. The meeting went very well and all of the speakers who committed to speaking came through. The attendees enjoyed the training, as well as the food and snacks that were provided.
On June 13, 2022, catastrophic flooding due to heavy rainfall and rapid snowmelt resulted in the closure of Yellowstone National Park with over 10,000 tourists evacuated. The unprecedented flooding has caused massive destruction in several surrounding communities in Southwest Montana. Road closures, collapsed bridges, damage to homes and property are forcing residents to evacuate. The Montana Conference ACS Disaster Response team has been engaged in the Recovery Efforts under the coordination of ACS Director, Gabriele Miranda-Laub.
A group of volunteers led by ACS trained member, Sheila Elwin, helped clean out areas in Livingston that were flooded and distributed 5-gallon flood buckets filled with cleaning supplies. The Southwest Montana COAD organized a Multi-Agency Resource Center (MARC) at the Livingston Fairgrounds where people could come and get information for help from various organizations, including the State of Montana and FEMA. A MARC was also held in Gardiner last Sabbath where buckets donated by a local company were distributed.
Pastor Carlile and church members from the Billings and Bridger churches responded in the Red Lodge and Fromberg areas. Hundred flood buckets filled with cleaning supplies donated by the Upper Columbia Conference, and 200 blankets as well as some comfort kits were distributed in Fromberg. “The buckets represent a collaborative effort of ACS, Pathfinders, and NPUC Disaster Response Coordinator. Thank you to Richie Brower and Pathfinders, Larry Mays (NPUC Disaster Response Coordinator), and others who assisted in filling these buckets several months ago in readiness of such a disaster occurring,” stated Patty Marsh, ACS Director of Upper Columbia Conference.
“I want to thank all of the volunteers, as well as the Upper Columbia Conference, that have been serving in our conference and state. ‘In Christ’s name’…is what we do. God Bless each one of you, stated Miranda-Laub.
Let us keep the affected communities in prayer as they cope with this tragedy.
The Red Lodge community inundated by recent Montana flooding. Photo Credit: Chris Sullivan, NBC Montana.
New Life Seventh-day Adventist Church partnered with Mind Changers and Amazon for a Back-to-School outreach on Saturday, August 7th, where they distributed 625 backpacks with supplies to the Westside community in Huntsville, Alabama. New Life/Maranatha had 192 backpacks for K through 6th graders and 83 ACS tote bags for middle school and high school students. Amazon brought 250 pre-packed backpacks and Mind Changers had the rest. Besides the school supplies giveaway, the community members also enjoyed free food, music, and games. South Central Conference Adventist Community Services (ACS) provided popcorn and snow cones and they fed their volunteers vegetarian pizza. The organizers had hot dogs, hamburgers and chips, drinks, etc. for the general population. The festivities continued the following day with a family movie night. The event organizers were glad to see a large turnout from the community, enabling them to create local relationships by focusing on their needs.
One of our Emotional and Spiritual Care providers speaks with Search and Rescue workers during one of their breaks, offering support to those working on the scene.
UPDATE – July 7, 2021
Adventist Community Services Disaster Response (ACS DR) teams continue to assist with Recovery Efforts in Surfside, Florida. Donations are pouring into the Warehouse which are being sorted and categorized for distribution for families of those affected by the condo collapse. Local churches such as the Tabernacle Seventh-day Adventist Church are being utilized as Distribution Sites where the survivors and other community members can have access to these donated goods that include food, clothing, personal care kits, and other essentials items. Several areas surrounding the Disaster Site are shut down and multiple buildings in Miami have been evacuated due to safety concerns. The American Red Cross is helping displaced residents and emergency providers find a safe place to stay by setting up shelters in a hotel nearby, as well as offering their headquarters to house evacuees. In addition, we are working in coordination with them to provide counseling through our credentialed personnel. ACS Emotional and Spiritual Care providers are teaming up with Red Cross providers to render aid to residents and community members in various areas around the Disaster Site.
One particular survival story was told by a young lady who lived in the collapsed building. She explained to our Providers that her mother had saved her life. Upon inquiring as to how this was so, she went on to share that the only reason she was not home on that fateful night was because her mother had fallen ill earlier in the day. She decided to leave her apartment and stay with her mother that night just to ensure that she would be okay. As she spoke, she got emotional and our Providers offered to pray with her. Right there in the middle of the hotel lobby, our Providers prayed and asked God to continue to be with her and her mother. At the end of the prayer, she asked if she could receive a hug. Though as Providers we are careful with how touch is used, each of the Providers embraced and asked God to be with her. “There are more stories that could be told, but needless to stay ACS is participating in work that will have impact on those affected by this event,” said W. Derrick Lea, Director of NAD ACS.
Click here to read article on the Miami building collapse by NAD Communications.
ACS Warehouse Management team sorting through boxes of donated goods.
ACS personnel cleaning and preparing a couple of extra rooms in the Tabernacle SDA Church for distribution of supplies.
W. Derrick Lea, NAD ACS Director, meets with the Providers to ensure that they are abreast of their role in lending comfort and support.
ACS and Red Cross providers discussing on how to coordinate the counseling sessions.
One of our Emotional and Spiritual Care providers speaks with Search and Rescue workers during one of their breaks, offering support to those working on the scene.
Comfort animals worked in concert with our Emotional and Spiritual Care providers.
Care Providers praying with the young lady who resided in the building but was not home on that fateful night.
ACS Providers connecting with people in the community.
ACS Disaster Response personnel from the Southeastern and Florida conferences assembled early this morning at Feeding South Florida in Pembroke Park which will be utilized as a Warehouse. It is located about 15 minutes away under normal traffic conditions from the Disaster site. This area of the city is shut down currently allowing only designated response personnel and residents within a 15-block radius of the site, and police are ensuring these restrictions are enforced through verification of credentials every other block. ACS conference directors Conrad Duncan and Robert Moore outlined the plan of operations for the team. Each person was designated with a particular role and then a tour of the facility was given to the entire team.
In addition to collecting the donated goods that come in, we have identified various Distribution Sites which include our local churches. We will utilize our ACS Volunteers to operate at these sites in order to be able to provide these goods directly to families of those affected. In addition, the team traveled to the Disaster site and met with Serve Florida at their Command Center. They discussed what support ACS would consider helpful which included travel cost coverage for our volunteers, increased messaging to the public of the donations that will be helpful, and transportation support for the Warehouse to deliver goods to those affected.
Video: Southeastern Conference ACS Director Robert Moore and Florida Conference Ryan Amos speak about ACS involvement.
A 13-story condominium tower, Champlain Towers South, located near Miami, Florida, partially collapsed in the early hours of June 24, 2021 morning. Sixteen people have been confirmed dead and around 150 unaccounted for. We are working together with the ACS teams at the Southern Union Conference, and Florida and Southeastern conferences who are assessing the situation in order to determine how to best serve the affected community. The local authorities of Florida State have requested ACS to assist with Warehouse operations. ACS Disaster Response (ACS DR) leadership from both conferences are working in a coordinated way to form a Warehouse Management team and are in discussion on how the Recovery Efforts will take place. ACS Directors Robert Moore and Conrad Duncan have each identified trained members from their conference that will outfit this team for 24 hours a day during the first week of operations.
In addition to the need for a State Warehouse, we are also attempting to set up Distribution Sites for community members. We’ve also been asked by the American Red Cross whether our Emotional and Spiritual Care Providers could be utilized to provide assistance for families affected by this tragic event. We will be in discussion with them to determine the particulars of this assignment for this phase. Since Florida has been the site of several challenging circumstances, we have credentialed Providers who are ready to be of service. W. Derrick Lea, Director for North American Division Adventist Community Services, is currently onsite meeting with our ACS team members at the Warehouse to put the operational plan in place, set schedules of those assigned, and collaborate with authorities responsible for overall Response in the community. “The days will be long, but we trust that many will be helped through our efforts, and that those who observe us will see Christ working through us,” said Lea.
Please keep the individuals and families who have been affected by this tragedy in your prayers.
Members of Allegheny East Conference’s Dupont Park church in Washington, D.C., were disappointed when they had to suspend their Community Baby Shower (CBS) and Back to School Giveaway, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Several months into the community’s new normal of social distancing, and after much prayer and discussion over the church’s spiritual obligation to the community, church members started planning the event.
Dupont Park’s Inner-City Ministries leader, Lamont Bailey, says, “Our goal [was] simple: to eliminate the choice parents have to make—deciding between what’s best for their kids and best for their budget.”
Valerie Freeman, marketing manager for Inner-City Ministries, adds, “We knew that serving God also meant serving others, and this was another way to share the message of God’s love through giving, and that our church was a dwelling place for love.”
Church members donated diapers—an essential item not covered by many government assistance programs—wipes, baby clothing and 100 backpacks filled with school supplies. But the group still needed an additional 15,000 diapers to meet their goal.
Volunteers prayerfully continued to reach out for donations and were able to collect some 17,200 diapers, books from local libraries and other items to meet community needs.
“We often limit our capacity by forgetting that if we partner with Christ and have faith, all things are possible,” says Freeman. “The team learned an important lesson throughout this venture: If we pray for rain, we should automatically bring an umbrella, for this is a reflection of our faith. God answers prayers.”
In October, the church held their CBS event and provided essential items to 223 new and expectant moms and families at a Drive-By Community Shower and Back to School Giveaway.
Prayer warriors greeted and prayed with each mother or family that entered the CBS parade. Organizers report that the attendees appreciated how church members doted on them and the impending birth of their babies.
The highlight of the event was a pregnant mother with a huge baby bump who bravely walked into the CBS with a friend, not knowing what to expect. This walk-in mother left enthusiastically because she received bags of the things she needed for her baby. “Dupont Park CBS staff supported and loved every mom with each bag given,” says Freeman.
The Westbank United SDA Church in New Orleans, Louisiana, has been actively serving their community members who are experiencing food insecurity due to Hurricane Laura accompanied by the COVID-19 pandemic. They received 1, 586 boxes of food from Farmers to Families of Fort Worth, Texas, last week to distribute to the community. In addition, they were blessed with a sixteen foot truck full of items that were sponsored by the Fondren Seventh day Adventist Church of Houston this past Sunday. Several of their volunteers also worked at the Distribution Site in Lake Charles on September 8th. Their area churches supported a full U-Haul truck with items and gift cards for the survivors of the hurricane.
“Thank you for your prayers and support. It has been a pleasure to continue to serve all of God’s people in Jesus name. God has been good amidst all of our challenges. We will continue to be grateful, prayerful and vigilant in representing the Southwest Region Conference Of Seventh day Adventist Church with God taking the lead,” said Irene Williams, M.S.W., Coordinator, ACS of Southwest Region Conference.
Becky Anderson in photos of Newport sewing projects.
Newport SDA Church’s former ACS thrift store in Newport, Washington, is currently being utilized as a sleep/rest area by the staff of the Newport hospital responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the request of a local member, the church pastor’s wife Becky Anderson has been coordinating the sewing of special masks and fabric gowns for health workers to wear over the limited supply of plastic PPE. Both the masks and gowns can be washed and reused. Over 100 masks and 50 gowns have been requested. Becky is also involved with the making of a plastic disposable prototype of a Gown for the health workers to wear. All three of these items were enthusiastically received by the COVID-19 incident commander at the Newport hospital. Becky has around 25 dedicated workers taking part in these sewing projects.
Becky Anderson in photos of Newport sewing projects.
Becky Anderson in photos of Newsport sewing projects.
Becky Anderson in photos of Newport sewing projects.
The Community Services Team of New Life Adventist Church in Chicago met early Christmas morning at the church to set up to feed people from the community. Upon arrival, they noticed that some guests had already showed up. The Team, led by Dollie Williams, hurried and prayerfully took on the tasks of the activity. Sister Williams said, “It brought tears to my eyes to see so many people coming seeking a meal so early in the morning on Christmas!”
The Team was ready for action! They had prepared a full Christmas meal, “Soul food” accented with “Mississippi sweet potato pies”. The food was already hot as it was freshly prepared, so they rushed and started serving. The faster they served the more people came until the room filled up to overflowing. However, the people didn’t complain. They took chairs and set them up in the hallways to rest their plates while they ate. They were even allowed carryouts. The Team also had a nurse on duty throughout the event.
What a blessing it was for the guests, as well as for the volunteers. Sister Williams is grateful for all the members that gave donations to help with the meal. She also appreciates the efforts of those that helped to prepare the meal and those that helped to serve the meal. The youth of the church also took part in this event. They usually go out on the streets to serve the homeless people once they are done serving meals at the church, but due to the request of the guests to take meals to homebound people, they refrained from going to the streets. However, they gave gifts to all the guests, both adults and children. At the end of the day, there were over 100 carryout meals!
In addition to the need for a State Warehouse, we are also attempting to set up Distribution Sites for community members. We’ve also been asked by the American Red Cross whether our Emotional and Spiritual Care Providers could be utilized to provide assistance for families affected by this tragic event. We will be in discussion with them to determine the particulars of this assignment for this phase. Since Florida has been the site of several challenging circumstances, we have credentialed Providers who are ready to be of service. W. Derrick Lea, Director for North American Division Adventist Community Services, is currently onsite meeting with our ACS team members at the Warehouse to put the operational plan in place, set schedules of those assigned, and collaborate with authorities responsible for overall Response in the community. “The days will be long, but we trust that many will be helped through our efforts, and that those who observe us will see Christ working through us,” said Lea.
