July 1, 2009

Local Disaster Response volunteers with the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee are helping Holland, Michigan, residents clean up and muck out their homes and businesses after major storms swept over the Michigan lakeshore about two weeks ago.

CRWRC-DRS is partnering with Good Samaritan Ministries in downtown Holland to connect families to churches, organizations, and individuals who can help storm victims. The agencies are working with Maplewood Reformed Church and Holland City officials, among others, to coordinate services.

Overall, the downpour on Friday, June 19, 2009, dropped 6.8 inches of rain in five hours, including local reports that 4.3 inches of rain fell in just one hour during that time. The deluge left washed-out roads, swamped basements, felled trees, and backed-up sewers, causing millions of dollars in damage across a three county area.

Bill Adams, CRWRC-DRS director, reports that in some locations people are still discovering the extent of their losses today as flood water is removed or recedes from their property.

Those living in the Holland area who are in need of assistance can call Good Samaritan Ministries at 616-392-7159 to arrange for assessment and clean-up services. Those who would like to volunteer can call CRWRC-DRS at 1-800-848-5818 or fill out a volunteer application at http://www.greenshirts.org/.

Good Samaritan Ministries is an outreach organization with a network of more than 80 churches that fulfills thousands of local requests for assistance each year from neighbors who need transportation, child care, housing, home repairs, and programs for at-risk youth.

CRWRC-DRS has a network of 2,000 trained and experienced disaster volunteers from across North America who respond to domestic disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, flooding in the Mid-West, wild fires on the West Coast, and tornadoes across the country's mid-section.

Maplewood Reformed Church is offering dumpster service for flood-damaged items at 133 East 34 Street for South Side residents. For more information, go to http://www.maplewoodchurch.org.

For more information about these programs, visit http://www.crwrc.org/, or call 1-800-55-CRWRC.

CRWRC is a non-profit agency of the Christian Reformed Church in North America ministering in development, relief, and justice education with people in need in 30 countries around the world since 1963.

Christian Reformed World Relief Committee