(Air1 Closer Look)— It’s been another busy year for Convoy of Hope, which delivers emergency food, water, hygiene kits and truckloads of kindness to cities hit by disaster.
Hear an update from Ethan Forhetz, Convoy’s VP of Public Engagement.
Hurricane Beryl – Houston
Convoy of Hope sent more than 1.2 million pounds of relief supplies to the people of Houston after Hurricane Beryl left thousands without electricity. Convoy usually sets up one central distribution point in a church parking lot; but Ethan says this time was different:
“Houston is such a large area, we have so many Church Partners there, all who were asking for supplies, so what we really had there was a just a truckload after truckload of supply leaving Convoy of Hope and going to those different locations.” Local volunteers then hand-delivered relief to people in need.
Other supplies included items most of us take for granted every night: “We got mattresses -- hundreds of mattresses -- to people who lost their bedrooms in that storm.”
Hurricane Debby – Florida, Southeast U.S.
The Convoy of Hope disaster response team left HQ in Springfield MO the very morning that Debby hit land. “They're like a group of firefighters -- when the bell rings they're on it, they're ready to go. They even park the vehicles in the garage in a way that, man they can get out in just a few minutes; they can fire those trucks up and start heading out on the road.”
The teams also do regular practice and training sessions ahead of each hurricane season, ever pursuing the shortest response times.
War Zones – Ukraine, Israel/Gaza
Convoy of Hope supplies are not confined to the United States nor to natural disasters. They go wherever a need arises, such as overseas where people are caught in crossfire.
“We’re sending food and supplies and sleeping bags, sleeping tents -- so many families displaced -- so our teams have been working there, since really the first week of both of those wars.”
Community Events
Convoy leadership holds fast to building strong partnerships with local churches wherever they are called to serve. In the quiet between disasters, they hold Community Events in U.S. cities nationwide to cultivate those crucial relationships. The pandemic put them on hold but they are now back on the calendar.
One thing we know, says Ethan, is that “Convoy of Hope’s gonna come back home, but the church is going to be there -- and the church will still be able to minister to the greater needs of the people long term -- and that is their spiritual needs.”
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Find out how your family, church, bible study or civic group can pack ziplock bags with simple hygiene items that supply hope to people struck by disaster.
https://convoyofhope.org/get-involved/build-a-kit/
