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Relief Donations Nearing $300,000 Mark

CHICAGO, IL (September 14, 2005) - Approximately $275,000 in donations had been received as of Wednesday afternoon in support of the Covenant Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund administered by Covenant World Relief, Covenant News Service has learned.

More than $230,000 has come in the form of checks to Evangelical Covenant Church offices in Chicago, with another $44,200 donated online at the Covenant website using credit cards.

Funds are being disbursed through Covenant World Relief (CWR) working with various partnering ministries under the direction of Jim Sundholm, CWR director. More than $135,000 has already been disbursed with equipment and some supplies also distributed. A total of $75,000 in Covenant World Relief money was at work in the storm-damaged area the day following the storm, Sundholm notes, working through a partnership with World Relief International. Funds will continue to be disbursed as the needs are identified.

Getting the food and water to the people proved a daunting task in the hours and days immediately following the flooding. The high water and wind destroyed highways and bridges, making traditional truck transport difficult if not impossible in many cases - the accompanying photo taken by one Covenanter helps illustrate the extent of the transportation challenge. Sundholm says he has found success in working through local ministries involving a number of denominations that have local churches in affected areas, supplying funds that can be used by their volunteers in those areas to meet the needs of the people.

Among those local churches receiving funding to support relief efforts are three Covenant churches in Texas, which are supporting dislocated families and individuals. A number of evacuated families with past Covenant ties also have found refuge in Covenant homes in various parts of the country, Sundholm says.

"Covenant World Relief has partnered with numerous Covenant volunteers who already had invitations to work sites in challenged areas," Sundholm says. "As those original volunteers are returning to their homes, other work sites are being opened up with invitations to additional volunteers to engage in cleanup and rehabilitation work. We will continue to work with local Covenant churches in responding to those needs," he says.

A nine-member Covenant evaluation team is scheduled to visit damaged areas in about 10 days to assess needs and consider the most effective responses, Sundholm notes.

There are several ways in which Covenanters can assist relief efforts:

• Housing - Those interested in offering housing to displaced families may visit this special link, Housing, to complete and submit an information form. That information will be used by Covenant World Relief to match displaced people with available housing, possibly working at times with other relief agencies that are partnering with Covenant World Relief in coordinating responses. Offers of housing are not binding - the actual decision can be made once a need has been identified and the potential housing donor notified.
• Contributions by check - Those interested in donating to the Covenant Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund administered by Covenant World Relief may do so by sending checks made payable to Covenant World Relief and earmarked for hurricane relief to Covenant World Relief, 5101 N. Francisco Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60625.
• Contributions online - Those interested in donating online using a major credit card may do so by visiting Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund. All online gifts will receive a charitable acknowledgement by mail for tax purposes.

Editor's note: For those who never want to miss one of these update reports or other news about Covenant ministries involving local churches, conferences and shared denominational initiatives, we offer a free service called Newswire. To those who sign up, it delivers one email each day containing the headlines and a few lines of copy for each story posted to the online Covenant news report during the previous 24 hours. To register for this free service, please go to Newswire.

To read earlier storm-related stories, please visit the following links:

• Father-Son Team Hauls Relief Supplies to New Orleans
• Relief Housing Registration Form Now Available
• North Park Reaching Out to Displaced Students
• Monetary Support Still Most Effective Relief Tool
• Words Help Paint Picture of Devastation
• Still a Long Way to Go
• Covenant Relief Dollars Already Hard at Work
• Covenant Churches Respond to Victims' Needs
• Florida Church Offers Help to Hurricane Victims
• Storm Forces Evacuation of Skilled Nursing Residents
• World Relief Responding to Hurricane Victims

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