[StBernard] Group raising funds to send water to Katrina victims

[Westley Annis]

Group raising funds to send water to Katrina victims

By JOHN SANTA
Daily American Intern

A local church group that recently sponsored a mission trip to St. Bernard's
Parish in Louisiana to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina has set up a
disaster relief fund, giving Somerset County residents an opportunity to do
their part to assist in the relief effort.

The First Christian Church of Somerset has established a fund through
Somerset Trust Co., according to Christy Hay, a First Christian Church
parishioner who established the fund on the church's behalf.

The short-term goal for the fund is to gather $5,500 for a tractor-trailer
full of bottled water that will be delivered to the Living Cornerstone
Church Recovery Center in Violet, La., where the water will be distributed
to the residents of St. Bernard's Parish, Hay said.

"They have no water to drink or cook with," Hay said. "I felt that the need
is so great and we have no clue - 10 months after the disaster - the
devastation they have.

"I really don't want these people forgotten. I'm not going to bombard the
community but we have no idea what these people are going through. We have
no clue," she added.

Volunteers are also needed to assist in the relief effort.

"Groups of 10 to 15 people are the ideal size, but larger groups are OK
too," said Bill Richardson, director of Cutting Edge Ministries in
Pittsburgh, who facilitated First Christian Church's missionary trip.

"Every three weeks I am taking a team down to Louisiana," Richardson said.
"People are doing everything from gutting homes, drywall, basic carpentry,
clean-up and painting. We also work with a food distribution site in St.
Bernard's Parish."

Skilled and non-skilled volunteers are needed for the relief effort and they
definitely leave a lasting effect on the people they help.

"There is nothing like a volunteer," said the Rev. Rustin Treadaway of the
Living Cornerstone Church in St. Bernard's Parish. "When a volunteer comes,
you already have their heart so you know there is nothing else they can give
you. The volunteers have really helped. When people go down and take time
out of their lives to help it is really appreciated."

Before Hurricane Katrina, there were 27,900 homes in St. Bernard's Parish
and 69,000 to 72,000 people living in the parish. Only slightly more than
20,000 people were able to return and live in the parish after the
hurricane, according to Treadaway.

"We have close to 19,000 residents living in FEMA trailers and out of 27,900
residences we have 26,000 homes that are not livable," Treadaway said. "We
do not have a major grocery store open yet. We do have convenience stores
and some restaurants, but no fast food restaurants open yet.

"A FEMA trailer is a 32-foot travel trailer. To live in that for two weeks
is OK - for 11 months isn't," he added.

The First Christian Church assembled 34 volunteers from the Somerset area
and departed for its mission trip to St. Bernard's Parish on June 17. The
group worked for five days and, while in the parish, the volunteers gutted
and renovated four homes and a church, according to Judith Mickey, mission
trip coordinator.

"I found out that mission work is more about the work, but to go down and
meet the people and hear their stories and get that physical connection was
amazing," Mickey said. "They are just like people in Somerset County.

"I would do it again in a heartbeat. Even with the conditions and the heat
and the heartbreak, everyone on the trip said they would do it again," she
added.

Donated money should be sent to the Disaster Relief Fund c/o First Christian
Church, Somerset Trust Co., 151 W. Main St., Somerset, Pa. 15501.

Anyone wishing to volunteer their time for a mission trip should contact
Richardson at (412) 418-7371.