In Today's Hotline: Read how UMCOR is responding to needs around the world.
RELIEF SUPPLIES: SCHOOL KITS NEEDED
FAIR TRADE: ECO-PALMS FOR PALM SUNDAY
GLOBAL: WORLD WATER DAY
US: CLEANUP IN NEW JERSEY
RELIEF SUPPLIES: SCHOOL KITS NEEDED
The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) and partner International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) have been helping school children in the Gaza Strip by supplying them with school kits. Last year IOCC, working with local partners, distributed nearly 16,000 UMCOR-donated kits to children in four of the five governorates in Gaza.
The kit ministry continues in 2012. Some 35,000 kits already have been committed to Armenia and Georgia, and additional shipments are planned for Haiti and South Sudan. Eager students around the world are happy to receive blessings from UMCOR in the form of pencils, crayons, paper, and other necessary items to assist them in their learning.
Your help is needed to provide hope in the form of a school kit to children like those in Gaza. Lend your support to help our depots replenish their school kit supplies.
You can view school kit contents here, or give toward the purchase of these items by giving to Material Resources, UMCOR Advance #901440 . The cost of one school kit is about $11.00.
FAIR TRADE: ECO-PALMS FOR PALM SUNDAY
Palm Sunday is April 1 this year. Celebrate the triumphal entry of Christ using palm fronds that are fairly traded through Eco-Palms. Palms purchased through Eco-Palms were bought from harvesters at a fair price and cut down in a way that protects the environment.
Time is running out to order palms through Eco-Palms! Credit card orders must be made by March 14 and check orders by March 8. Palms will be delivered March 26 - 30. Order now.
Learn more about Eco-Palms through UMCOR’s church bulletin insert.
You can also support small-scale farmers by giving to Sustainable Agriculture and Development, UMCOR Advance #982188.
GLOBAL: WORLD WATER DAY
Use World Water Day on March 22 as an opportunity to learn and share with others about water issues around the world.
At Old Mutare Hospital, a United Methodist Hospital in Zimbabwe, access to clean water is a constant struggle. Expectant mothers must cook their meals in an outdoor kitchen and fetch water from one of two wells on the hospital grounds.
When it is time for mothers to deliver their babies, nursing staff rely on a bucketful of water and an UMCOR birthing kit. Zimbabwe still faces emergency humanitarian challenges in the form of water-related diseases like cholera, food shortage, and limited access to basic services.
UMCOR’s bulletin insert about Old Mutare and World Water Day video help tell the story of water and how precious it is in many parts of the world.
Give to support UMCOR’s water programs, Global Water and Sanitation, UMCOR Advance #3020600.
US: CLEANUP IN NEW JERSEY
The tireless work of United Methodist volunteers and UMCOR to provide assistance in the wake of Hurricane Irene has been recognized in New Jersey.
UMCOR recently received a letter of commendation from the State of New Jersey. The letter notes UMCOR’s contributions in the recovery through volunteers and support.
You can help families recovering after a disaster by volunteering and giving to US Disaster Response, UMCOR Advance #901670 .
UMCOR provides emergency relief in many areas of the world. To find out more about UMCOR's ministries, please visit umcor.org. You can donate to any project by placing a contribution in the offering plate at a local United Methodist church; by sending a check to UMCOR, PO Box 9068, New York, NY 10087-9068; or by calling 1-800-554-8583, where credit card donations are accepted. You can also give online by clicking any of the "Give Now" links. UMCOR is exempt from tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of the United States and qualifies for the maximum charitable contribution deduction by donors.
And, please pray for those who are hungry, displaced, sick or in poverty because of these and other natural and human-made disasters, and for the workers who minister to them.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
