UMCOR announces partners in hurricane recovery efforts

BALTIMORE (UMNS) - The United Methodist Committee on Relief released the names of the partner agencies that will share the $66 million grant received from the federal government to handle the case management after Hurricane Katrina.

According to UMCOR, the ten social service and voluntary organizations will make up Katrina Aid Today - and will oversee 3,000 professional staff and volunteers who will assist the hundreds of thousands of families by Hurricane Katrina. UMCOR received the $66 million case management grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in October. The agency then opened up an application process for organizations wanting to help, and a grant review board selected the ten grantees.

The selected organizations have a track record of responding to the needs of disaster survivors in a recovery effort.

The grantees are Boat People SOS, Catholic Charities, Episcopal Relief and Development, Lutheran Disaster Response, The National Disability Rights Network, The Odyssey House of Louisiana, The Salvation Army, The Society of St. Vincent De Paul, the United Methodist Foundation of Louisiana, and Volunteers of America.

"Navigating the system of government and private recovery support can be overwhelming and survivors of this disaster don't often know their rights or whom to trust," said Warren Harrity, interim executive director of Katrina Aid Today.

Paul Dirdak, deputy general secretary of UMCOR, said the selected organizations have a track record of responding to the needs of disaster survivors in a recovery effort. "Additionally, each of the partners has pledged matching funds or in-kind donations that will multiply the existing resources made available under the FEMA grant," said Dirdak.

Nearly 30 organizations applied for the partnership. For more information about UMCOR, log on to http://gbgm-umc.org/Umcor.

Last updated on 25 Apr 2008

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