The Alabama-West Florida Conference continues to serve those in need along the panhandle of Florida after Hurricane Michael.
Conference leaders and UMCOR consultants have assisted those who setup temporary shelter at Forest Park UMC in Panama City, FL, to find new housing arrangements. Our sincere appreciation is extended to the UMCOR team who was on the ground in the area assisting conference leaders to ensure care and dignity were shown to all temporary residents.
We also joyfully announce that the Alabama-West Florida Conference is the recipient of a $628,768 grant from UMCOR. We are grateful to UMCOR for recognizing the extensive need along the coast. This grant will allow for three volunteer coordinator sites to be established, support staff to manage these sites, construction costs for those we help and assessments for the next grant. UMCOR is sending another team to the panhandle in January to consult with the conference so that we manage the sites in an effective and efficient way.
Susan Hunt, AWF Director of Mission and Advocacy, has established a partnership program for churches to partner with Marianna-Panama City district churches. Click here to read suggestions on ways you can help provide support to those churches in need. Should you have questions, she can be reached at susan@awfumc.org. If your church wishes to participate, please contact Susan.
We continue to encourage all volunteers to register through the portal to ensure our volunteer coordinators appropriately match the skill level with the need.
Thank you for the many ways you continue to minister to those in the Port St. Joe, Marianna and Panama City areas.