name: Lutheran Disaster Response - 2010 MS Tornado -> Lutheran Disaster Response
notes: ELCA NEWS SERVICE April 26, 2010 Lutheran Disaster Response Provides Grant for Mississippi Tornado Response 10-124-JB CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) provided a $10,000 emergency grant to Lutheran Episcopal Services in Mississippi to help the agency in its initial work to assess needs and respond following the April 24 tornadoes that struck central Mississippi. LDR is a collaborative ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS). The Rev. Kevin A. Massey, director for LDR and ELCA Domestic Disaster Response, ELCA Church in Society, said the grant provides immediate funds to help the Lutheran response locally. LDR may consider other grants in the future depending on assessment of local needs, he told the ELCA News Service. At least 10 people died in the storm, which swept through 17 Mississippi counties. Nearly 700 buildings and homes were reported to be damaged or destroyed, scores of trees were knocked down, and cars and trucks were flipped by the winds. Hardest hit was the area in and around Yazoo City, Miss. In addition to local and state police, more than 60 Mississippi National Guard personnel and military police are working in the hardest hit counties. Coordinating the Lutheran response in Mississippi is Sandra L. Braasch, ELCA diaconal minister, and director of disaster preparedness and response, Lutheran Episcopal Services in Mississippi, Jackson. Braasch is also president of the Mississippi Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster. Braasch said no ELCA or LCMS church buildings or properties appear to have been affected by the storms. Some 30 to 40 organizations have been mobilized to respond to the disaster, she said. A reception center has been established in Yazoo City to coordinate volunteers, including Lutherans, who are interested in helping area residents in recovery, Braasch said. She explained that her agency is forwarding all offers of help and assistance to the reception center established by the Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service. Volunteers to assist in removal of fallen trees and destroyed homes, as well as clearing of other debris, can sign up on the Web at http://www.volunteermississippi.org or call 888/353-1793, according to a news release from the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency. Registered volunteers will be contacted as additional assistance is needed, according to the release. The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency are making damage assessments in the counties affected by the storms. --- Information about Lutheran Episcopal Services in Mississippi is at http://www.lesm.org/ on the Web. Information about Mississippi Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster is at http://www.msvoad.org/ on the Web. For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org http://www.elca.org/news Twitter: http://twitter.com/elcanews -> Aug 2011: See http://www.citizencommandcenter.org/shelters/show/1151 for info about rebuilding grants from this group. Or if you don't have access to the password-protected info, call your LDR contact. Reportedly, there are grants available for LTRGs (Long Term Recovery Groups) that are helping rebuild after the storms. ELCA NEWS SERVICE April 26, 2010 Lutheran Disaster Response Provides Grant for Mississippi Tornado Response 10-124-JB CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) provided a $10,000 emergency grant to Lutheran Episcopal Services in Mississippi to help the agency in its initial work to assess needs and respond following the April 24 tornadoes that struck central Mississippi. LDR is a collaborative ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS). The Rev. Kevin A. Massey, director for LDR and ELCA Domestic Disaster Response, ELCA Church in Society, said the grant provides immediate funds to help the Lutheran response locally. LDR may consider other grants in the future depending on assessment of local needs, he told the ELCA News Service. At least 10 people died in the storm, which swept through 17 Mississippi counties. Nearly 700 buildings and homes were reported to be damaged or destroyed, scores of trees were knocked down, and cars and trucks were flipped by the winds. Hardest hit was the area in and around Yazoo City, Miss. In addition to local and state police, more than 60 Mississippi National Guard personnel and military police are working in the hardest hit counties. Coordinating the Lutheran response in Mississippi is Sandra L. Braasch, ELCA diaconal minister, and director of disaster preparedness and response, Lutheran Episcopal Services in Mississippi, Jackson. Braasch is also president of the Mississippi Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster. Braasch said no ELCA or LCMS church buildings or properties appear to have been affected by the storms. Some 30 to 40 organizations have been mobilized to respond to the disaster, she said. A reception center has been established in Yazoo City to coordinate volunteers, including Lutherans, who are interested in helping area residents in recovery, Braasch said. She explained that her agency is forwarding all offers of help and assistance to the reception center established by the Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service. Volunteers to assist in removal of fallen trees and destroyed homes, as well as clearing of other debris, can sign up on the Web at http://www.volunteermississippi.org or call 888/353-1793, according to a news release from the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency. Registered volunteers will be contacted as additional assistance is needed, according to the release. The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency are making damage assessments in the counties affected by the storms. --- Information about Lutheran Episcopal Services in Mississippi is at http://www.lesm.org/ on the Web. Information about Mississippi Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster is at http://www.msvoad.org/ on the Web. For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org http://www.elca.org/news Twitter: http://twitter.com/elcanews

status: Unknown -> Open