The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is mobilizing and coordinating relief efforts through CBF churches in the Oklahoma City area as well as Cooperating Baptists Fellowship of Oklahoma, according to the organization’s national disaster response coordinator, Tommy Deal.
Steve Graham is the Oklahoma coordinator.
They are asking interested churches and volunteer teams to use the “call center” phone number to inquire about needs and make arrangements for volunteer visits. The number is 405-447-2471.
Jill Hatcher, a member of First Baptist Church of Norman, has been designated as Oklahoma CBF Disaster Response Coordinator. She will connect volunteers and groups with needs in the affected area.
In one of his regular situation reports, Deal said volunteers are needed for general labor like sifting through debris, reclaiming belongings and dragging items to piles for collection.
Volunteers also are needed to help sort supplies, organize supply centers and help victims “shop” for needed supplies.
“Others who can offer a listening ear and comforting shoulder can bring a glimmer of hope,” Deal wrote. “Trained crisis counselors and chaplains could be a great help in the field and for team debriefings in the evenings.”
Hatcher has indicated that church-based supply centers for donated goods are full and that the securing of supplies has been put on temporary hold.
Deal said that one of the most effective ways to get appropriate supplies into tornado victims’ hands when they are needed is through monetary contributions to CBF. Mail checks to CBF, Disaster Response Ministries, P.O. Box 101699, Atlanta, GA 30392. Make checks payable to CBF.
To make online credit card contributions, go to www.thefellowship.info/GiveNow and follow the prompts.
