Update #13
Sunday, November 11, 2012, Veterans Day
9:00am
Good morning -
As we continue to move through the aftermath and short-term recovery stages of this disaster, I am very aware that we are part of a region that has been affected by Hurricane Sandy and that, even as we focus on Staten Island, we can begin to reach out to help others in the region at the same time.
Part of the way we can do this is to improve the infrastructure to support our parishes and the people of Staten Island. Another way is to add a parish-based system of volunteering to the many individuals who already are. These, with the means to volunteer in the Diocese of Long Island, are presented in greater detail below.
Update: the Mid-Hudson region is unchanged from yesterday; power continues to be restored in Region II; the focus of NYC is on Staten Island, where your help is still needed.
Episcopal Relief and Development grant: Episcopal Relief and Development has awarded the Diocese of New York a $20,000 grant for disaster support. These funds will go to parishes to help those who have been directly impacted by Hurricane Sandy. To apply for these funds, please use the Needs Request form on the Diocesan website and provide as much information as you can about the need you are addressing, how your use of Episcopal Relief and Development money will address that need, and the amount you are requesting. This grant is for parishes to provide direct support (miscellaneous goods & services) to those directly affected by Hurricane Sandy.
Parish-based Volunteering: I want to be very clear that this model does not replace the efforts of individual volunteers but supplements the excellent work that they are already doing. Thank you to everyone who has signed up to volunteer through the Diocesan website and visited our EDNY Volunteer Opportunities Facebook page, and thank you for all that you are doing for others - keep up the good work!
In the parish-based model of volunteering, members of a congregation organize themselves to commit to volunteer on a certain day and for a set number of hours and go as a group that represents their parish. This parish volunteer system needs a leader - someone in the congregation who organizes other members to go and then coordinates with the recipient organization. (Note that the leader does not have to be clergy). The group needs to commit to a date, the number of volunteers and the length of time to volunteer. The leader then contacts the recipient organization to schedule the parish group's volunteer date, time, location, and, if possible, learn in advance what the group will be doing. (Note: what's needed may change from day to day without notice. Please be understanding and flexible in your approach.)
Trinity Wall Street is following that model yesterday by sending three teams to volunteer in Staten Island: one group was to have mucked out the home of a St John's parishioner; others sorted clothes at a drop-off center.
The parish-based system requires someone at the other end to coordinate and plan where parish groups can go - the trip above was planned through coordination between the Rev'ds Roy Cole, Matthew Heyd, and Chuck Howell as a parish-to-parish event.
We are in the process of formalizing a structure to coordinate and deploy parish-based volunteer groups for Staten Island - for now, if your parish can organize such a group, please contact Fr Chuck Howell at 718 727-6100, Fr Roy Cole at 718 447-1605, or me at 917 301-0267.
Diocese of Long Island (EDLI): the Rockaways, Nassau and Suffolk counties have been hit hard and there are many people without homes there; they can use our help. Parishes or groups who can help should organize themselves according to the Parish-based volunteer model above. The leader is asked to complete EDLI's on-line Parish Volunteer Registration Form at http://dioceseli.org/newsDetail.php?Register-your-Parish-Volunteer-Team-Today-590 and call The Rev'd Stephanie Spellers at 617 312-5218 to confirm date, time, and number of volunteers. Cars will be needed to get to the volunteer sites.
Links added to the Diocesan website: we are posting the links to New York State's Office of Emergency Management and to New York City's webpage on the Diocesan website as a resource to you. They include updates, announcements of resource locations, and other information that may be helpful to you.
In my conversation with the Rev'd Stephanie Spellers, Canon for Missional Vitality for the Diocese of Long Island, yesterday, she said that the following phrase came up in a staff retreat on Mission: "We will partner with anyone at any time." May we all in this region affected by Hurricane Sandy be good partners with each other as we work together to serve the common good.
Thank you for all that you are doing.
God bless you,
Stephen+
