Friends,

During the first week of October, Hurricane Helene spread devastation in six United Methodist Conferences in southeastern states. Then, on October 9, Hurricane Milton ravaged Florida for a second time. Among the worst areas hit, the FEMA designated disaster areas in North Carolina includes more than 20 counties in the western part of the state and now parts of central Florida. Please join us in our efforts to offer assistance, and keep those in affected communities in your prayers.

The purpose of this letter is to ask your church to consider having a special offering to assist UMCOR as they reach out to the impacted conferences. 100 percent of your gifts to UMCOR’s US Disaster Relief will go to the affected communities.

Please consider sending monetary donations through the links below. Money is what they need most and is the more efficient use of donations when they can be purchased locally. This has a more positive impact both on the cost of recovery efforts and benefits the local economy. 

Your church may consider having a special offering one Sunday just for Disaster support -additional information and materials here: Resources - Global Ministries (umcmission.org)

Donate funds to help:

• Give to the Rio Texas Annual Conference Disaster Fund #2050 – which will go under Conference Advance

• Give to: UMC Advance# 901670 – which will go under UMCOR Advance

• You may also give by writing a check to the Rio Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.

  • Write “Disaster Fund” in the memo line of your check. Place the check in the offering plate of any United Methodist Church OR send the check to the conference office at:
    C/O Treasurer’s Office
    Rio Texas Annual Conference
    16400 Huebner
    San Antonio, TX  78248

Please note that donations do go toward the church’s five-star rating. I want to remind everyone that relief is just the first step toward recovery. The ultimate goal is to make homes whole, and it is always a long, expensive, and laborious process. Thank you for all you do. Feel free to reach out to me if you have questions.

Eugene Hileman
Disaster Response Coordinator
Rio Texas Conference
aehileman@riotexas.org