From Numbness to Action: Ending World Hunger

News & Updates | Posted Friday, October 25, 2013

As originally published by Sojourners, 10/18/2013, 4:32 p.m. http://sojo.net/blogs/2013/10/18/numbness-action-ending-world-hunger My child ate today. Breakfast was pancakes and sausage. Walking to school I said, “If you don’t like the leftover hamburger that I put in your lunchbox, just buy something from the cafeteria. You have plenty of money in your account.” Tonight we will have tacos, but if I am too …

CWS responds to U.S. Storms, Floods, Tornadoes, Wildfires

News & Updates | Posted Monday, September 30, 2013

Appeal # 627 Y Initial Appeal Goal: $120,000 Revised Appeal Goal: $150,000 Received to Date: $27,000 Situation: Heavy rains Sept. 9-16 caused severe flooding in Colorado.  In most of the affected areas, rains exceeded 20 inches over several days.  As many as five dams burst or were overtopped, causing additional flooding.  The flood emergency has affected an area of more …

CWS Situation Report: Colorado Floods 2013 (U.S.)

News & Updates | Posted Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Situation: Continuing heavy rains that began the week of Sept. 8 continue to cause severe flooding in Colorado. Seven fatalities have been reported. Additionally, 218 persons have been injured and 648 are reported missing. At this early stage 1,500 homes have been destroyed and another 17,500 are damaged, according to the Colorado Office of Emergency Management. The flooding along the …

Bucket Brigade

News & Updates | Posted Wednesday, September 4, 2013

With a goal of creating 15 to 20 CWS Emergency Clean-up Buckets, First Christian Church, Fullerton, Calif., assembled double the amount this summer.  Parishioners donated the full cost of a bucket, gave donations toward a bucket or brought supplies to fill buckets and created 37 buckets for emergency response within the US. “We started the project just before the devastating …

To Really Make a Difference, Get Prepared Well Before Disaster Strikes

News & Updates | Posted Wednesday, September 4, 2013

September is National Preparedness Month, a good time to consider how to be prepared to care.  I write as someone who has been involved in disaster preparedness for more than 30 years, as a volunteer and as a professional in the Air Force, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and now Church World Service. Start by taking a personal inventory.  How …

CWS Helps Iowa Couple, Other Survivors of Spring and Summer Storms

News & Updates | Posted Tuesday, September 3, 2013

When Bill Recker and Carma Agan lost their Buck Creek, Iowa, home to flash flooding in June, they would have faced a lonely struggle to recover if it weren’t for the Delaware County Disaster Recovery Committee. With support from Church World Service, that community-based group is “working on multiple fronts with these folks to generate enough support to get them …

Greeting Cards Do More Than Spread Cheer

News & Updates | Posted Wednesday, August 28, 2013

At Granger United Methodist Church in Medina, Ohio, women’s groups and children make and sell beautiful greeting cards with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the CWS Blankets+ program. When the greeting card ministry started in 2002, it yielded $200 from the sale of homemade Mother’s and Father’s Day cards.  By 2012 it had expanded to a full range …

March on Washington: The Fierce Urgency of Now for Immigration Reform

News & Updates | Posted Wednesday, August 28, 2013

As originally published by Huffington Post, 08/28/2013, 9:26 a.m. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-mccullough/march-on-washington-the-f_b_3818593.html As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, we honor Dr. Martin Luther King and the many other courageous civil rights leaders who helped fostered the progress we have seen in this country. I am proud to count many in the Church World Service family among them. …

Appeal Update #3: 2013 U.S. Storms, Floods, Tornadoes and Wildfires

News & Updates | Posted Thursday, August 22, 2013

Appeal # 627Y Appeal Goal: $120,000 Received to Date: $27,000 Situation: Throughout the spring and summer of 2013, numerous emergencies have affected communities throughout the United States. Many communities have suffered the destructive impact of tornadoes. The largest were in Oklahoma, striking the Oklahoma City area over a period of several days.  Affected communities were Carney, El Reno, Moore, Norman, …

Red Cross Awards CWS $305,395 for Sandy Recovery Work

News & Updates | Posted Thursday, August 15, 2013

The American Red Cross has awarded Church World Service $305,395 for its work to help communities that are struggling to recover following Superstorm Sandy. “There are many communities in the storm’s impact area where people are struggling,” CWS Associate Director for Emergency Response, Barry Shade said. “We help bring communities together so that everyone has a chance to recover, and …