More than 80 South Carolina Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers are participating in a “spring break project” this week to assist homeowners in Spartanburg County, which has the highest number of residents still needing assistance with damages from Hurricane Helene.
Spring break projects are part of a new approach to state disaster relief efforts, SCBDR Director Susan Peugh said, allowing for more volunteers who aren’t necessarily retirees to better plan their participation days, as opposed to immediately responding after a disaster.
Nine S.C. Disaster Relief recovery units are serving, along with several cadets from The Citadel’s Baptist Collegiate Ministry. Associate BCM directors Rob Christie and Cooper Morse are serving alongside the students. Four students from Parkway Baptist Church in Auburn, Ala., led by Gus Malcolm, returned for the second year to participate with SCDR.
“The S.C. Baptist DR teams have been a blessing to so many residents in Spartanburg County this week,” Peugh said. “Their hard work and faithful service has been a beautiful act of worship.”
Stationed at Northbrook Baptist Church in Boiling Springs, chainsaw crews are cutting down leaning trees and clearing debris, while DR rebuild teams are replacing sheetrock and re-shingling damaged roofs. A shower unit from York Baptist Association and a feeding team from Screven Baptist Association are supporting the recovery teams.
“Northbrook Baptist has been a tremendous partner for Disaster Relief. They generously opened their facility to us to use during the recent ice storms, which allowed us to prepare over 2,000 meals for those in need,” Peugh said. “Their continued hospitality provided lodging for our volunteers during spring break. We simply could not have been successful without their support.”
Spring Training for S.C. Disaster Relief volunteers is slated this Saturday, March 14, at First Baptist Church, Spartanburg, and Unit Leader Training is planned for April 10-11 at Grace Baptist Church, Florence.
(This story will be updated.)
