Start-over Assistance

News March 01, 2016

Pacific United Methodist Church is working hard to help victims of the recent record-breaking flood. Church members have helped with sandbagging, clean-up, delivered furniture, and taken people shopping. They have passed out clean-up buckets, cooked for volunteer workers, cooked for a family while they removed belongings from their home, and stored that family’s things in a member’s garage. Another member volunteered at the Presbyterian church where help was also being offered.

In order to further help victims of the recent record-breaking flood, Pacific United Methodist church has a virtual furniture collection on their Facebook page. Everyone is invited to participate. If you have furniture to donate, please take a photo of it and upload it to the Pacific United Methodist Church Facebook page. Do not bring furniture to the church; there is not room to store it. If you are a flood victim and wish to claim a piece of the furniture, post a comment under the photo and someone will contact you.

Pacific UMC pastor Rev. Dr. Nora Jones worked with the Red Cross at the Senior Center to comfort and assist families affected by the flood. Rev. Jones is a trained disaster responder and was instrumental in connecting folks with resources. She also worked at the Multi Agency Resource Center with along with a member of the church.

Assisted by church members, their donations, and by donations from members of the larger community, Rev. Jones is currently working with ten displaced Pacific families and a family of ten in Union. Led by Rev. Jones Pacific UMC has coordinated with Eureka UMC to distribute beds to four families, purchased a baby mattress for another family, bought a sensory weighted blanket for an autistic child, paid emergency motel bills, and furnished a rent deposit for a family. PUMC has also distributed donations of linens, dishes, and cookware.

The job is far from over. It takes time as well as money for people to get settled back in their homes. Meanwhile, if you have something to donate, please upload a photo of the item to the Pacific United Methodist Church Facebook page. Checks can be sent to the church labeled “Flood Relief.”

If you have services to donate, leave a message on the church phone (636-257-3426) and someone will contact you. If you don‘’t have resources to share, remember you have yourself. Rev. Jones says, “Sometimes the greatest gift we can give someone is to listen and let them know we care.”