News & Updates | Posted Wednesday, August 14, 2013
The fight against hunger is part of our DNA at CWS, and it is being re-affirmed with a new recommitment in our programs and among our staff. As part of that effort, United Methodist photographer Paul Jeffrey and I are starting work on a book on global hunger – the third of a “humanitarian trilogy,” for Seabury Books, an imprint …
News & Updates | Posted Wednesday, June 19, 2013
A visit last week to the Ironbound District of Newark, N.J., by Church World Service Emergency Response Specialists Joann Hale and Susanne Gilmore illustrated CWS’s commitment to finding disaster survivors having the hardest time recovering and to making sure their recovery needs are met. Hale and Gilmore spent the past two weeks visiting five southern and four northern New Jersey …
News & Updates | Posted Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Revised Appeal Goal: $120,000 Received to Date: $27,000 Situation: While severe storms continue to pound many of the U.S. Midwestern and Eastern states, dry conditions in the West have resulted in dangerous wildfires in California, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. Of immediate concern is the Black Forest Fire in El Paso County north of Colorado Springs, Colo. Since it started …
News & Updates | Posted Wednesday, June 12, 2013
When you hear the term “faith-based humanitarianism” (admittedly, a mouthful), what do you think of? Do you think it means trying to promote a certain religious faith? Does it mean passing out religious tracts along with blankets and cleanup buckets during an emergency? Or does it mean that, if you work for a faith-based organization, the foundation on which your …
News & Updates | Posted Thursday, June 6, 2013
Revised Appeal Goal: $100,000 (Up from $55,000) Received to Date: $27,000 Situation: Severe springtime weather continues to adversely affect much of the United States. In recent weeks, storms, floods and tornadoes have hit many states, including Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Louisiana. On May 15, the EF-4 tornado that hit Granbury, Texas, killed six persons and …
News & Updates | Posted Thursday, May 30, 2013
CWS Central America and Caribbean Liaison Don Tatlock lives in Granbury, Texas. His work requires frequent travel to the region, but he was in Granbury on May 15 when as many as three tornados hit the town. “We heard the siren and the televised warnings,” he said. “My wife and I were home and took shelter in the bathroom. All …
News & Updates | Posted Saturday, May 25, 2013
When a natural disaster strikes such as Hurricane Sandy or most recently the Oklahoma tornado, how do you respond? There are those who go on social media such as Facebook and Twitter to express their thoughts and send out prayers. While there are others who sit patiently by the television and wait for an update from their local news broadcast. …
News & Updates | Posted Friday, May 24, 2013
For CWS Great Plains Assistant Regional Director Rebekah Belase, this past week’s devastating tornados struck very close to home. Belase commutes to her office in Topeka, Kansas, from her home in Stillwater, Okla. Stillwater is about a 90-minute drive from Moore. It feels even closer – “I have quite a few friends from college who live in Moore and Norman,” …
News & Updates | Posted Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Appeal # 627-Y Initial CWS Appeal Goal: $55,000 Situation: Emergency responders are still in “search-and-rescue” mode, trying to find survivors of a devastating tornado that destroyed large areas of the Oklahoma City area on Monday (May 20). The community of Moore, Okla., was particularly hard-hit. It was still not clear how many people died in the devastation, with numbers fluctuating …
News & Updates | Posted Tuesday, May 7, 2013
As the 2,500th CWS Emergency Cleanup Bucket arrives today in flood-ravaged Illinois, Church World Service is appealing urgently for people to replenish its rapidly dwindling supply. Heavy precipitation from early 2013 storms and floods has resulted in widespread and severe flooding in Illinois and other states. “The CWS Emergency Cleanup Buckets are giving hope and help to survivors,” said Barry …