Providing Help to Our Flood-Devastated Community

We are continuing to power ahead, full force, to care for the needs of our broken community after Hurricane Irene ripped through on August 28, 2011. Catskill Mountain Christian Center leapt into action with incredible speed and efficiency, immediately tearing out 7200 square feet of our own contaminated flooring first and then using our facility (including two rented tents on our lawn) as base of operations for a multi-faceted and broad-based response to the disaster. Some of the ongoing work CMCC has accomplished in the past two weeks includes:

• Over 59 homes and businesses have been made habitable by mucking basements, removing appliances, tearing out carpets and whatever else was needed to restore living conditions to our neighbors;
• Coordination of over 200 volunteers from out of town who came from far and wide to lend a hand.
• Liaising with at least 8 community, regional and national agencies including regional churches, village, town, state and federal agencies, Red Cross, National Guard and others.
• 2,500 hot, fresh meals have been prepared and served to victims, senior citizens and volunteers in our dining areas;
• Our own team of church leaders and members have worked over 3,400 hours, volunteering to serve their neighbors;
• The Family Table food assistance arm of our ministry has given away over $75,000 in groceries and household supplies to over 500 affected families.

CMCC will continue offering help, Jesus’ love and hope while Margaretville and our surrounding community rebuilds. Our motto of ‘Serving our neighbors with our hands, Proclaiming God’s kingdom with our voices’ has never been more fitting.

I would like to humbly ask if you would consider coming alongside us with prayer and financial help to empower this ongoing relief work. We are in this for the long haul and our regular budget and the financial help we've received from caring friends is being quickly drained to keep our efforts going. This has been a shining moment for the work we started here twenty years ago and we are confident that Jesus will be exalted as we move forward.