Volunteers
8
Philanthropy Journal of North Carolina
Good neighbors
Durham church helps rebuild
Alabama town
Members of Bethany United
Methodist Church in Durham
pitched in after a tornado dev
astated a community in
Alabama.
By Kathleen McDonald
Piedmont, Alabama
G ary and Pat Crispell
wanted to teach their
three sons a lesson about
community spirit. So in late July,
the Crispell family and nine fellow
members of the Bethany United
Methodist Church in Durham
formed a work team and traveled
470 miles to the tornado-ravaged
communities surrounding
Piedmont, Alabama.
It was last March 27, on Palm
Sunday, when a tornado tore
across northeast Alabama, goug
ing a swath of death and destruc
tion. In mere minutes, the twister
leveled three churches, including
Goshen United Methodist Church,
where 20 people were killed.
Along its ruinous path, the twister
damaged 1,400 homes and demol
ished 250 others.
The homeowners in all affected
counties were immediately deemed
eligible for federal disaster grants,
but six months later only a nomi
nal amount of funds have trickled
in. This is the result of what some
RELIGION
homeowners believe to be a mas
sive amount of red tape. Tired of
being homeless and frustrated
with the government, many
Alabama residents are relying on
themselves and the kindness of
others to rebuild their lives.
“Out there, we’ve got a lot of
good families,” says Kimberly
Gura, a disaster relief coordinator
with the North Alabama Confe
rence for the United Methodist
Church. “We’ve got terrific volun
teers. We’re just saying, ‘The
heck with the government. These
people need homes.’” The
church’s Volunteers In Mission
organization is committed to
rebuilding 50 destroyed homes.
Since the spring disaster,
dozens of work teams from around
the U.S. have flocked to the area to
lend a helping hand. Members of
the Bethany United Methodist
Church, some with construction
expertise and others without,
spent four days in late July fram
ing, insulating and wiring homes
for electricity.
“We were all given a talent,”
says Lee Hardin, a residential con
tractor and owner of JHL
Construction in Durham. “And we
use our talent to make a living.
We’re also supposed to use it to
help others.”
Says Charlie L. Bumpass, a
retired electrical contractor: “It
just needed to be done. The people
needed some help. I don’t want
anything in return. You just hope
they pass it along to someone else
down the line.”
By helping Alabama residents,
the Crispell family - including
Peter, 16, Mark, 13, and David, 10 -
got their chance to return the
kindness they received in 1982
when their Durham home burned
to the ground.
“We lost everything and start
ed over again,” says Pat Crispell,
whose mother grew up in
Alabama. “And lots of people
helped us. People we didn’t even
know.”
“So it’s pay back time,” says
her husband Gary Crispell, owner
of Designs Alive, a Durham land
scaping business. “And we’re
more than happy to do it.”
Alabama residents accepted
the help graciously.
“This was a devastating thing
to happen, but ail these people
coming in has really been some
thing,” says Joy Miller, whose 100-
year-old uninsured home was con
demned after being struck by the
Look for TOWN page 9
Giving in the U.S.A.
Americans contributed an aver
age of $248 each — about 1 percent
of their incomes — to charity in
1992.
October 1994
Durham resident Gary Crispell, who runs Designs Alive, works with his
son David, on a home in tornado-ravaged Piedmont, Alabama.
Photo by Kathleen McDonald
A community effort
Crisis shelter is safe haven for abuse victims
Child abuse is a problem that
hurts the entire community. In
High Point, volunteers are
working together to help vic
tims and prevent abuse
through an emergency care
facility.
By Ealena Callender
High Point
A rmed with paint brushes,
/ \ hammers and nails, volun-
/ Iteers in High Point have
given new life to an old house and
transformed it into a community
asset.
Now, the house serves as an
emergency shelter for abused and
neglected children.
In a collaborative effort involv
ing High Point Regional Hospital,
Youth Focus Inc. and Childwateh
Inc., Hallelujah House recently
opened its doors.
. “It’s been a real community
effort,” says Meredith Banes, vice
president for development for High
Point Regional Hospital.
Youth Focus, a private, non
profit organization that operates
group homes for children in
Guilford county, provides the staff
and operates the house, known as
Hallelujah House. The facility for
Hallelujah House was leased to the
Junior Leagne by High Point
Regional Hospital for two years for
$1 a year. Childwateh is a project
of the Junior League.
The process of finding a safe
T
I hi
here has been an
incredible outpouring of com
munity support to help these
children. Nobody tells us no."
EUen Whitlock
President, Junior Leagm
of High Paint
home for abused children can
often cause additional emotional
damage.
“Once abuse has been con
firmed, sometimes the wheels of
the social service agencies turn
rather slowly,” says Banes.
Before long-term arrangements
are made, children might have to
spend a night in a social worker’s
office or even return to an abusive
situation, potentially compromis
ing their safety even fnrther.
Since the opening of Hallelujah
House in late August, children
have an alternative.
Hallelujah House provides
short-term emergency shelter and
24-hour therapeutic care for chil
dren who have suffered abuse or
neglect or are at risk of being
abused.
Children may stay in the home
for a variety of reasons. For exam
ple, after being removed from their
homes because of a crisis, children
may stay at Hallelujah House while
custody arrangements are being
made. Or if a child’s parents have
been hurt or killed in a car acci
dent, the child may stay in the
shelter until a guardian is contact
ed.
“To disrupt a child in the mid
dle of the night and have them sit
at the police department or in a
social worker’s office versus hav
ing a place that is warm and nur
turing until arrangements can be
made will cut down tremendously
Look for SHELTER, page 9
BRIEFLY
Teen talkline
seeks voices
Teen Talkline, a program of
Hopeline Inc. of Raleigh, is
looking for volunteers to
operate a telephone hotline
service for teenagers.
Training begins October 3
at 7 p.m. For information or
to sign up call Stephanie
Moore or Christie Fields,
(919) 828-7411.
United Way seeks
volunteers
The United Way of Wake
County is looking tor volun
teers to work in a number of
member agencies, including
the American Red Cross,
Easter Seal Society of North
Carolina and Meals on
Wheels. Call the United
Way's Voluntary Action
Center, (919) 833-5739.
SAFEchild seeks
volunteer support
SAFEchild, a Raleigh non
profit that provides help to
parents and children, is
seeking volunteers to facili-
ate weekly support groups
for its "Welcome Baby" pro
gram that pairs first-time
mothers with experienced
mentors. Training is provid
ed. For information, call
Joanna Hobler, (919) 231 -
5800.
Volunteer opportunities
at rape crisis center
The Orange County Rape
Crisis Center is seeking vol
unteers to work with sur
vivors of rape, sexual assault
and child sexual obuse.
Volunteers will work in pedi
atric clinics, the center's
office and as community
educators. Call (919) 968-
4647.
History museum
needs guides
The North Carolina Museum
of History in Raleigh is seek
ing volunteer tour guides for
the newly-expanded collec
tion. Volunteers will take an
11 -session course on
exhibits, communications
skills and teaching tech
niques. Guides will need to
donate at least two hours per
week. Call Debra Nichols,
(919) 715-0200.