UPDATE: May 30
As of May 30, shipments have included 1,560 CWS Hygiene Kits, 1,718 CWS Emergency Cleanup Buckets, 150 CWS Blankets and 90 CWS School Kits. Despite low stock levels of some types of kits, we plan to continue to respond to requests for supplies in response to the tornadoes and flooding. Depending on fund availability, CWS assistance may include financial funds channeled through local partners and/or CWS ecumenical partners with teams in the affected areas.
**Original Situation Report: March 26**
Deadly flooding has devastated communities across Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri in the last few weeks. People have been forced to leave their homes, farmland is underwater and the estimated economic cost is staggering. As The New York Times reported on March 25, “Already the flooding along the Missouri River and its tributaries has caused at least $3 billion damage and forced thousands from their homes as floodwaters penetrated or flowed over several hundred miles of levees.” The flooding’s heartbreaking damage can be clearly seen in this collection of images from CNN.
ONGOING: How to Help
Please consider assembling and donating CWS Kits to replenish warehouse stock levels and enable our team to continue to respond to this emergency – and to future ones. Visit cwskits.org to learn more about how to assemble CWS Kits. Many spring kit depots, where you can drop off assembled CWS Kits, are open for the season. Find one near you at cwskits.org/depots.
Donations to this response can be made here or can be sent to your denomination or to Church World Service (P.O. Box 968, Elkhart, IN 46515. Designate “2019 U.S. Spring Storms”).