Special to The Leader

 

AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas Methodist Foundation (TMF) today announced grants totaling $185,484 to nine churches and non-profit organizations providing services and support to thousands of lives disrupted by the extensive destruction caused by Hurricane Harvey. These grants follow an initial $200,000 unrestricted gift from TMF to the two United Methodist conferences most severely affected by the disaster.

“Our goal was to get these funds into the community through organizations uniquely equipped to help our neighbors suffering from the storm,” said TMF president Tom Locke. “I’m proud of our staff, grants committee and board of directors who acted quickly to allocate $128,000 from our operating budget for these grants and accelerated the process to make the funds immediately available to answer critical needs, “ Locke continued. The remaining $57,484 comes from endowment funds and donor gifts.

“With several thousand flooded homes in our mission field, the support of the Texas Methodist Foundation will allow our church to work with the most vulnerable who experienced the flood waters of Harvey – the poor, the elderly and the undocumented,” explained Dr. Will Reed, senior pastor at First UMC, Pasadena.

The grant contract with each organization specifies that the funds go towards programs that will benefit storm victims. “Whether it’s a church providing food, housing, medical or mental health assistance or a non-profit offering case management to help victims navigate government and insurance processes, our goal is to distribute these funds to organizations who are effectively helping those most in need,” said TMF director of grants Jacki Lammert.

Grant recipients announced are:

Attack Poverty

Chapelwood United Methodist Church (UMC), Houston

Fondren Apartment Ministry (FAM), Westbury UMC, Houston

First UMC, Pasadena

First UMC, La Grange

First UMC, Victoria

Houston: reVision

Project CURATE, Houston

Salvation Army

“As the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey continues, TMF is committed to providing vital aid and standing with our neighbors in communities affected by the storm,” Locke said.

As an initial response, TMF donated $200,000 to disaster relief efforts, with $100,000 going to the Rio Texas Conference and $100,000 to the Texas Conference. TMF also set up a fund for each conference to help those affected by the hurricane.

TMF also implemented a disaster relief assistance program to help United Methodist churches affected by Hurricane Harvey that have existing loans with TMF.

In addition to these immediate efforts to assist with recovery, TMF announced a goal of $50 million in new funds for the foundation’s Methodist Loan Fund in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. Investors in the Methodist Loan Fund provide the money for competitive loans made through TMF to United Methodist churches in Texas and New Mexico for new construction and capital improvements to create or expand ministries in their communities.

For more information on the Methodist Loan Fund, please visit https://www.methodistloanfund.org. For other information and ways to help, please visit https://www.tmf-­fdn.org.