Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) has received a $1.4 million grant from the American Red Cross to coordinate volunteer housing for Hurricane Sandy relief workers.
“In the seven years I’ve been with PDA [five as a volunteer and the past two as staff] we’ve made good contacts with the Red Cross,” said William (Rick) Turner in a June 11 interview. “This grant is partly recognition that we know what we’re doing and do it well.”
The grant ― which started May 31 ― enables PDA to assess potential hosting sites for relief workers, to establish those sites and get them up and running and to train people to manage and operate them.
Turner said that eight Presbyterian sites have already opened in the New York-New Jersey area. They range in size from Olivet Presbyterian Church on Staten Island, which can host 10 volunteers, to First Presbyterian Church of Jamaica, Queens, N.Y., which can house 50 workers.
“We’ve also helped Lutherans, Methodists, some non-denominational churches and even one Episcopal church assess their sites,” Turner added.
Read more at http://www.disasternews.net/news/article.php?articleid=5469