| KBC Relief Volunteers Move to Texas for Ike Aftermath |
| Release Date: 09/17/2008 |
BEAUMONT, Texas – The Kentucky Baptist Convention’s disaster relief volunteers previously staged in Thibodaux, La., have finished their work there and are now on their way to Beaumont, Texas, to join relief efforts in areas affected by Hurricane Ike.
According to Coy Webb, disaster relief associate for the KBC, the volunteers had been serving in Thibodaux since Sept. 3, shortly after Hurricane Gustav made landfall. Thirty-four volunteers from across Kentucky helped with the effort as part of the kitchen, communications and shower units sent by the KBC.
Webb said all three units are being taken to Beaumont, along with 20 volunteers. Some of those volunteers are part of the original team first deployed to Thibodaux; others joined the effort when they were sent in as replacements.
Those who will be serving in Beaumont include volunteers from Bowling Green, Cadiz, Crofton, Florence, Hopkinsville, Lawrenceburg, Monticello, Shelbyville, Shepherdsville, Versailles and Winchester.
Webb said additional KBC volunteers have already arrived on site at Friendship Baptist Church in the Woodlands, an area outside of Houston, Texas, where a Southern Baptist feeding unit was already stationed. The team of 12 volunteers from Henderson will be replacing other Southern Baptists who have been working with the unit.
It is uncertain how long either effort will last, Webb said, but the KBC is already working to coordinate additional volunteers to relieve both teams.
The KBC is also keeping watch for potential relief needs in Louisville and across the state, following severe windstorms related to Hurricane Ike on Sept. 14. No formal effort is underway yet, Webb said, but some Kentucky Baptist disaster relief volunteers are actively providing relief in their own hometowns.
Webb, who just returned from a 12-day international relief trip to Georgia, said the six-member team helped provide more than 13,000 meals to refugees displaced by recent conflicts between the countries of Georgia and Russia.
The team included Coy Webb of Shelbyville and member of Clayvillage Baptist Church; Tom Westerfield of Crofton and member of First Baptist Church, Hopkinsville; Dovie Smallwood of Frenchburg and member of Frenchburg Baptist Church; and Monticello residents Tommy Floyd of Oak Grove Baptist Church, Glenn Hickey of Monticello First Baptist Church, and Bernard Randall of Mount Zion Baptist Church.
Contributions to the KBC’s disaster relief efforts may be sent to the KBC, Dept. 5008, P.O. Box 740041, Louisville, KY 40201-9976. Please note “disaster relief” in the check memo. Online donations are also being accepted at www.kybaptist.org/dr .
Kentucky Baptists are part of a larger network of Southern Baptist volunteers trained to respond to disasters by manning mass feeding operations, using chainsaws to clear downed trees and limbs, clear mud out of flooded homes and more. Together, Southern Baptists comprise the third largest relief organization in the United States.
To learn more about Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief, go to www.kybaptist.org/dr .
The Kentucky Baptist Convention is a cooperative missions and ministry organization made up of more than 2,400 autonomous Baptist churches in Kentucky. A variety of state and worldwide ministries are coordinated through its administrative headquarters in Louisville, Ky. including: missions work, disaster relief, ministry training and support, church development, evangelism and more. For more information, visit www.kybaptist.org.
Release prepared by Kristie Randolph, KBC Communications |
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