Hurricane Harvey hit the Gulf Coast of the U.S. August 26 affecting millions of people with multiple days of heavy rain, winds, and rising tides. The United Methodist Church is actively present, working with local and state emergency management, FEMA, and other volunteers active in disaster. This is how you can help:

 

PRAY

We thank you for your concern and the prayers you have already been offering for the people of Texas as they experience the destruction of Hurricane Harvey and its aftermath. Please continue to pray for the first responders, those whose homes are destroyed or damaged, and those whose lives will never be the same. Also pray for the congregations on the front lines as they respond to the current needs and the needs that will be there for months and years to come.

GIVE

The next best way to help is to provide financial contributions which can be used to purchase appropriate and needed items quickly and locally.

• You can give at Navarre United Methodist Church.
• You can donate directly online to UMCOR by clicking here.
• Your church can also send donations to the Fiscal Office, 4719 Woodmere Blvd., Montgomery, AL 36106. Note "UMCOR 901670" in the memo line.
• If you prefer donations be sent directly to the affected annual conferences in Texas instead, send those to the same address above with "Hurricane Harvey - Texas Disaster Response" in the memo line.

DONATE

The Disaster Response Warehouse in Decatur is asking for these donations:

• Box fans
• 25' heavy-duty 14-gauge extension cords
• 2 gallon garden sprayers
• flat billed shovels
• rakes with 3" tines

Navarre UMC is also collecting UMCOR Cleaning Buckets (flood buckets) and Hygiene Kits (health kits). Assembly instructions can be found here. Please follow the instructions carefully.

These following churches in our conference are current collection points. Please contact the church directly in advance to arrange for delivery.

• Aldersgate UMC, Montgomery
• Dothan First UMC
• Church Street UMC, Selma
• Clanton First UMC
• Cokesbury UMC, Pensacola
• Gulf Shores UMC
• St. Mark UMC, Mobile

VOLUNTEER

We also need help with transporting items from these locations to the disaster warehouse in Decatur, AL, or Sager Brown Depot in Baldwin, LA. If you can offer such assistance with a truck/trailer and/or as a driver, please contact Susan Hunt at susan@awfumc.org.

Once the waters recede and invitations from the affected conferences have been extended, we will provide more information about how teams can volunteer on the ground. Please do not self-deploy until we provide additional instructions.

We are already in conversation with the leadership of UMCOR and other conferences' disaster response leadership teams. 

Rev. Alan McBride is organizing teams to travel for 2-3 days to help clean up Texas. If you are interested in joining a team please fill out the form below:

Updates will also be posted to the conference Facebook page as needed.