UMCOR Sager Brown in Urgent Need of Flood Buckets

UMCOR Sager Brown Depot has nearly depleted its supply of flood buckets after shipping thousands of buckets in response to recent floods. This low inventory is a serious concern especially when the Atlantic hurricane season is just beginning.

Depot executive, Kathy Kraiza, reports, “Since June 17, we have shipped more than 5,000 flood buckets in response to requests from annual conferences in the mid-west. We are down to only 200 flood buckets in stock and we are only two weeks into the hurricane season.” Sager Brown distributed 4,008 buckets in all of 2007. Increasing the supply of flood buckets has become the most urgent need at the Depot, as communities in the Midwest continue the clean-up process.

These five gallon buckets are filled with supplies to enable people to begin the overwhelming job of cleaning up after a flood or hurricane. UMCOR Sager Brown Depot and other United Methodist depots in the connection collect, package and ship buckets to flooded areas all over the United States.

UMCOR needs your help to ensure this kind of support continues to be readily available. The many emergencies over the past months have depleted response supplies with 6,624 flood buckets shipped to emergencies around the country in the past six weeks.

How You Can Help
Pleasant Hills UMC in Middleburg Heights, Ohio recently raised $700 to purchase flood buckets. They contacted Wendell Procter of Asbury UMC in Franklin, La. who then used the money to purchase supplies, assemble the buckets and deliver them to the UMCOR Sager Brown Depot.

Laura Fiffick, secretary at Pleasant Hills, explained, “We wanted to purchase as many flood buckets as possible and knew that if we were to send the supplies directly, a lot of the money would be spent on shipping.” She continued, “People were so excited to know their donations would be put to direct use that we exceeded our goal by $200.”

Congregations and individuals are urged to send completed buckets, bulk materials or a contribution to purchase supplies. A list of the contents can be found here [MH1] , or you can give $45 towards the purchase of these items for each bucket.

Your cash gift will enable UMCOR to purchase needed relief supplies. Checks can be mailed to UMCOR, PO Box 9068, New York, NY 10087. Write “UMCOR Advance 901440, UMCOR Material Resources” on the memo line of your check. Online gifts can be made at www.givetomission.org. One hundred percent of every donation to any appeal, including appeals for flood buckets, goes to support recovery efforts.