Preparing for the future with Train to the Plan

By Janice Mann, VIM/Disaster Response Coordinator

Arkansas Conference Volunteers in Mission and Disaster Response is hosting the spring meeting of VIM and DR Coordinators from the South Central Jurisdiction (eight states, 11 conferences) this week in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.

Our time here will include a full day’s work at ECHO village. More info on the meeting and pictures to follow in the next issue.

Train to the Plan

We are excited to announce that the Disaster Response Plan for the conference has recently been revised. A “Train to the Plan” event that included a tabletop exercise was held on Monday, March 25 at Sequoyah UMC in Fayetteville. Many thanks to those who attended and to Denni Palmer, Northwest District Coordinator, for helping make the event a success. We will be offering this same training event and exercise to any church, church group or district who would like to schedule. The plan is a guide for how local churches, districts, and the conference will organize and respond to disaster. It also includes the roles and functions of key persons in the local church, district, and conference. For more information, or to schedule an event, contact Janice at disaster@arumc.org.

Disaster Response WANTS YOU!

Local church involvement when disaster strikes is vital in assisting individuals and families affected. Disaster Response wants to help local churches understand how important they are as partners in this ministry. We would love to come talk to your group, class, or church and begin a partnership that will make a meaningful difference when disaster strikes. Contact Janice at disaster@arumc.org to find out more.

Current In-Conference VIM projects:

• ECHO Village

• Crawford County Tornado Recovery

• Marion County Tornado Recovery

• Delta Dream Facility Repair

Contact Byron at vim@arumc.org for more information and to schedule.

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We’re on the website now!!

Arkansas Volunteers in Mission and Disaster Response now has a page on the arumc.org website.

Check it out at https://arumc.org/our-ministries/vim-and-dr/

There is lots of good information there for individuals, teams, and local churches.