When a pandemic and flooding both struck, you were there in Michigan

“CWS has been so great. As a walker in a CROP Hunger Walk, I had some idea of what CWS does. In general, I always tend to think of it has happening in remote areas of the globe…to that impact happening locally, I am so thankful to have walked in multiple CROP Walks and that CWS comes through wherever the need is,” said Samantha McKenzie.

Sam is the CEO of Hidden Harvest, a hunger relief and food rescue mission organization that serves in the Bay, Midland and Saginaw regions of Michigan. She and her team have distributed 38 million pounds of healthy and nutritious food to 170 hunger relief agencies in the area. Hidden Harvest is one of the agencies that receives a grant from the Saginaw CROP Hunger Walk, so they are actively involved in planning their Walk each year.

This year, however, multiple disasters have struck the area where Hidden Harvest works, and they turned to CWS for further support.

First, the COVID-19 pandemic created a huge challenge for so many families who were trying to meet their basic needs and put food on the table. Sam saw a need for hygiene and school supplies among many of their clients, so she reached out to CWS about getting CWS Hygiene Kits and School Kits. We shipped 300 hygiene kits and 800 school kits to Hidden Harvest. “I know so many people that really needed that stuff, and it’s hard to find in stores. All agencies have seen need for cleaning supplies for hygiene. To have the opportunity to share that is a huge blessing,” she says.

The team at Hidden Harvest was able to share the kits with several of their partner organizations. From there, they were put in the hands of students in neighborhoods that struggle with poverty, people facing homelessness and more. One of these partners was Heart of Saginaw, run by a husband and wife named Tom and Mona. Sam told us, “These [CWS school kits] are so well needed. Heart of Saginaw sees about 200 kids during every give away and try to encourage these kids to reach a little higher and they really form connections with the kids. People are very thankful. To have these school kits for these kids that have been struggling to do distance learning, in houses that are struggling to provide food for their kids and doesn’t have internet and parents that may not be able to go pick up the school packets. To have some very basic school supplies in the cutest bag ever, those bags were so nice, you can tell someone put a lot of love into those- so that was a wonderful thing that Tom and Mona were so thankful for. They know that they’re blessed because they get to pass those blessings on to those 200 kids.”

Not even two weeks after Hidden Harvest received the kits, disaster struck again. The Edenville Dam failed and caused the Samford Dam to breach. Massive flooding hit Midland County as billions of gallons of water from the Tittabawassee River and Wixom Lake poured into thousands of homes, several businesses, most of the local schools and the town’s University. Between 10,000 and 40,000 people had to evacuate from their homes.

Sam thought of CWS. “Unfortunately, one crisis really helps you prepare for another,” she says. She reached out, and soon 900 CWS Emergency Cleanup Buckets were on the way to two of Hidden Harvest’s partners. Three days after the dams broke, the buckets were there. More than 1,000 volunteers from all over the country came to town to help clean up. “They’re trying to prevent mold from setting in, so acting fast is so important,” Sam remarked. The CWS buckets come prepacked with several clean up items and Sam mentioned that because of this, “the CWS buckets are saving volunteer hours.”

Recovery will take months or years for these families and businesses. Insurance challenges are causing extra stress and financial burdens for many of the people who were affected. To be able to be part of that initial clean up and alleviate some of their financial burden through all of this has been pretty great. It has been very meaningful to be part of this response,” Sam expressed.

Whether it’s Myanmar or Michigan, CWS is committed to helping people worldwide be more resilient. We’re proud to stand with Hidden Harvest and partners around the corner and around the globe as we overcome hunger and poverty—and move forward in the wake of disasters—together. Thank you to everyone from the CROP Hunger Walk family who is helping to change the world, one step at a time.

CWS Blankets shipped to temporary shelters in Rhode Island

Communities across the United States are scrambling to stop the spread of coronavirus. Churches, businesses, individuals and local governments are teaming up to care for their neighbors.

Rhode Island is no exception. The Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency has opened temporary shelters for people experiencing homelessness. As Pamela Leary from RIEMA explains:

“The Governors’ office, the RI Emergency Management Agency, countless other state agencies. private industry and organizations such as Church World Service, have been working tirelessly to meet the Governors’ objective: to keep all of the residents of RI, especially its most vulnerable populations, safe during this unprecedented crisis.

“Part of this initiative included the setup of many exterior shelters outside of our existing homeless shelters, to allow for more social distancing, and also to assure that no person in need is turned away. These shelters were outfitted with heat, power, bathrooms with the ability to sanitize, and cots. The shelters soon realized that this extension exceeded the resources that they had on hand during ‘normal’ operations, such as additional blankets.”

REIMA contacted Newman Congregational Church, a longtime supporter of the CWS Blankets program. They were looking for blankets for these temporary shelters.

Rev. Timoth Sylvia from Newman contacted CWS to see how we could help. And of course, we were glad to answer the call. Within a couple of days, 50 warm wool blankets were on their way.

“The blankets that were received were immediately distributed to three local homeless shelters, occupied by some of our most vulnerable residents. Thank you for answering this urgent and immediate call to action. Please stay safe and know that your efforts were truly appreciated,” Pamela said.

CWS Community Engagement Specialist Adam Smedberg helped organize the blanket delivery. “The resources we held were needed by our neighbors and we are thrilled to be able to share them,” he said.

When requests like this come in, it isn’t just Church World Service that answers the call. It’s a huge network of churches and supporters nationwide. And we couldn’t respond without them. Thank you to everyone who makes these programs possible.

When tornadoes hit, Ohio congregations receive support from the same organization they had supported: CWS

On the evening of Memorial Day, a group of 15 tornadoes touched down in western Ohio. Sweeping through with winds as powerful as 165 miles per hour, the tornadoes smashed homes, blowing out windows and peeling away roofs. They caused extensive damage in Trotwood, Harrison Township, Dayton, Beavercreek and Celina. Some of the heaviest damage happened in Trotwood, where the tornadoes knocked houses off their foundations and damaged several apartment buildings, including one complex where the entire roof was torn away, displacing many people. Officials reported that two people were killed and about 90 were injured.

The following morning, the Rev. Terry Kukuk knew the churches in the area needed to help respond. She is the Executive Presbyter of the Presbytery of the Miami Valley.

“Immediately we knew that we had to mobilize and do something because our neighbors were in need. So, throughout the course of the first couple of days as we were trying to gain footing and how to help, not only did we call in our Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Team, then we were also encouraged [to contact] Church World Service–and that’s when the bell went off. Oh, my gosh! All of the years of packing the kits and the blankets and the buckets, now they can come to us,” said Rev. Kukuk.

Church World Service provided 60 lightweight blankets, 60 hygiene kits and 180 cleanup buckets to the Miami Presbytery for tornado response.

Rev. Kukuk immediately enlisted the help of the members of Trinity Presbyterian Church in Dayton. Trinity Church is near several areas affected by the tornadoes. Several members of the congregation had their homes damaged during the tornadoes, including their pastor. He and his wife will be staying in a hotel for six months because their home was damaged. Thankfully, it can be rebuilt.

Some of the hygiene kits and blankets were donated to churches serving as temporary shelters. For example, Corinthian Baptist Church was hosting families who were displaced. Bethesda Temple also received CWS Blankets for the individuals staying at their temporary shelter for the American Red Cross.

“When you are staying in a temporary shelter something as simple as a CWS Hygiene Kit and a soft blanket to keep you warm can provide you with a little piece of comfort and dignity,” said Rev. Kukuk.

Several days into the distribution of CWS Kits and Blankets, the members of Trinity Church discovered a different need. Many people who lost their homes or apartments were being asked to move into apartments that were not cleaned and ready for renting.

“The apartments they were moving into were not rent-ready. They were unkempt and uncleaned, and the buckets came in handy for them to clean up the apartments and get them ready to live in,” said Eliot Heflin, a long-time member of Trinity Church, who is currently serving as Ruling Elder.

Rosemary Smith, a member of Trinity Presbyterian Church for over 30 years, also expressed joy about receiving the donations from Church World Service. “In those 30 years, we have given consistently to the missions of the nation and the world. The tornado and its effect on us as a community is the first time I’ve seen our dollars come back to us. As Christians, we know that we are supposed to take care of the physical needs of each other, just like Christ did. So God is with us and has always been with us. It’s in times like this that we as a community really come together and accept God’s charge to care for God’s people.”

As the cleanup process continues in the Dayton area, people who lost the roofs of their homes and now have water damage are receiving the CWS Emergency Cleanup Buckets. They are the perfect way to start the cleanup process.

Rev. Terry Kukuk reminds the congregations and donors of the importance of continuing to make CWS Emergency Cleanup Buckets. “We look at the buckets as our faithfulness. It’s our faith in action, that we pack these buckets and we send them off. We don’t know who they are going to, but we know they are going to someone. And that’s just an incredible way that the Spirit prompts us to act. And what I think is great about the buckets is that they are ready to go long before a disaster hits. So when that disaster hits we have an immediate response.”

Church World Service can provide CWS Kits and CWS Blankets in times of need because of the generosity of our dedicated congregations and volunteers. Because of the support of our donors, Church World Service has distributed 4,342 emergency cleanup buckets, 5,580 hygiene kits, 1,460 school kits, 10,351 lightweight blankets and 3,063 heavyweight blankets so far in 2019. Thank you!

“It was an amazing feeling that usually we are the ones sending the buckets off and now they are coming to us and we are just grateful for the immediate response of Church World Service,” said Rev. Kukuk.

“It’s more than just a bucket. It’s become a bucket of hope.”