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Disciples Volunteering

2009 Work reports for Disciples Volunteering and Week of Compassion

Staffing of Disciples Volunteering in 2009

  • Carl Zerweck, III, Director
  • Brenda Tyler, Administrative Assistant
  • Robin Zerweck, Hospitality Coordinator
  • Deborah Conrad, Intern Coordinator
  • Josh Baird, Mission Station Manager, Slidell, La.
  • Diane Fonderlin, Mission Station Manager, Metairie, La.
  • Renee Amos, Mission Station Manager, Lake Charles, La.

DHM/Week of Compassion Summer Interns

So far, 58 Interns have served during the past five years. During the summer of 2009, we had 14 Interns in service across the country. This year we added a Second Year Internship for advanced leadership development and two of the 14 served in this capacity at Urban Spirit. Two of the Interns are supported by the United Church of Christ, including one of the Second Year Internships. Interns served at the Yakama Christian Mission, Southwest Good Samaritan Ministries, Urban Spirit, F.A.S.T., Disciples Mission Stations in Slidell and Metairie, LA, and with Disciples Volunteering in Galveston, Texas. Of the 14, one is currently in seminary and 8 others have declared their intention to attend seminary following college graduation.

General Church Mission Projects

  • 2009 General Assembly Mission Pre-Events: 210 Participants
    Assembly Mission Projects: 650
    2007: 500 Participants
    2005: 4000 Participants
  • 2010 Quadrennial Assembly Mission Pre-Event and Assembly Mission Projects—working in partnership with the Office of Disciples Women and the Quadrennial Planning Committee to plan and lead mission projects before and during the event.
  • Co-sponsored and led Disciples Women’s Habitat Builds in Beaumont, Texas (2008) and Greensboro, N.C.—(2009)—90 volunteers.

Disciples Disaster Response

Begun in September 2005 in response to the devastation of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and the number of Disciples congregations and families affected across the gulf coast from Alaska to Texas, Disciples Disaster Response has continued to grow and expand over the past four years. To date we have responded not only to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, but also to a tornado in Greensburg, Kan.; flooding in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Hurricane Ike; and flooding on the Yukon River in Alaska.

  • Disciples Volunteering, in partnership with Week of Compassion, Great River, Upper Midwest and Southwest Regions continue to staff and run Disciples Mission Stations in: Louisiana, Mississippi, Iowa, and Texas, to provide a place for Disciples’ volunteers to work in disaster response and recovery efforts. All of these Stations are committed to be part of the Disciples Hurricane Recovery Initiative Phase 2 through December 2009 and also in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, through the end of 2009.
  • Continue working with Regions to create Regionally based disaster preparedness and response.
  • 2009—Plan and lead Disciples Volunteering Summer Project in Texas City and Galveston, Texas, working to rebuild Central Christian Church, Galveston and other homes damaged by Hurricane Ike.
  • 2009—Alaska Yukon River Flood Response Project, 19 volunteers from eight Regions spent three weeks in Eagle, Alaska, on an emergency response project
  • 2009—Fourth Annual Fall Building Blitz, Galveston, Texas. The focus of this year’s two week blitz will be the rebuilding of Second Christian Church (our African-American congregation), and the home of one of their members, damaged by Hurricane Ike in 2008.

To date, since beginning Disciples Disaster Response, 10,953 volunteers, representing 1106 groups have worked 431,950 hours. Using the Independent Sectors figure of $20.25 as the value of a volunteer hour, these folks have given the equivalent of $8.75 Million in addition to the actual dollars given by they and their congregations to disasters. According to NDRI, it takes 2500 volunteer hours to rebuild a home seriously damaged by disaster(cleanup through move in). Using this number, Disciples have been involved in rebuilding at least 173 homes. We have also participated in the rebuilding/restoration of eight Disciples Congregations.

Alternative Spring Break--420 volunteers in first 3 years

  • Sponsored third annual Alternative Spring Break Project in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with 175 volunteers over five weeks rebuilding Cedar Christian Church.
  • The fourth annual project will be in Slidell, La., partnering with First Christian Church (a Disciples Mission Station for four years) to build a new Missions Building.

Interpretation and Recruitment

  • Providing resources for Mission Trip planning through newly revised Resource Book and Get Dirty for Jesus manual.
  • Created a new Long Term Volunteer Brochure.
  • Ongoing Web site development.

Leadership Development

  • In addition to the Intern program, and ongoing leadership opportunities with those participating in various Special Projects, in 2008 we created a Long Term Volunteer Ministry to work in disaster locations. To date we have 42 trained members of this ministry. Another training event will hopefully be held in January 2010 at Grace Disciples of Christ Church, Covington, La.
  • Small Scholarships are granted to individuals to attend projects as training for their future leadership roles with their congregational group.

Larger Church Partnerships

  • Week of Compassion.
  • Over the past six years, Disciples Volunteering has been involved in planning and leading projects in 15 Regions.
  • Volunteers have participated in Disciples Volunteering sponsored projects from every Region.
  • Office of Disciples Women.

Ecumenical Partnerships

  • United Church of Christ Office of Volunteer Ministries.
  • National Council of Churches Ecumenical Work Week, 2007-2009.
  • Church World Service Neighborhood: New Orleans, spring 2009.

F.A.S.T.(Faithful Advocates Serving Together)—1197 volunteers in past five years

  • Volunteers worked for nine weeks in Whitesburg, Ky.. F.A.S.T. is a program that we have been doing in partnership with the U.C.C.’s for several years. We and the U.C.C.s each provide an Intern to work in this program that serves both Disciples and U.C.C. congregations.

Special Projects as needed

  • Plan and lead Fall Mission Project 2009 at the Yakama Christian Mission to assist with needed maintenance and repair issues. This follows a similar project completed in February. Additional projects scheduled for February and October 2010.
  • Assessments done at Inman Christian Center, and Mexican Christian Church, San Antonio, Texas, to explore partnerships with them and the Christian Church in the Southwest, to do needed maintenance and repair work.

We appreciate the many ways that we serve in partnership with Week of Compassion!

Review reports from 2008, 2007, 2006 and 2005.