Hand In Hand Ministries
2225 Steier Lane
Louisville, KY 40218
Toll Free: (888) 244-9056
Office: (502)459-9930
Fax: (502) 459-9945
Hand in Hand volunteers and staff are providing tornado relief in areas devastated by Friday's tornadoes. Staff from Hand in Hand's Auxier Center have been in the Salyersville area where St. Luke's church was destroyed along with many homes where they have been part of search teams, clean-up and more for those affected by the storms.
Monday morning update
Our focus is going to be on tornado relief in Salyersville and Magoffin County - areas we have worked in since 2005. St. Luke's Church was destroyed Friday afternoon by a tornado that also destroyed or damaged more than 100 homes in the area. There were 7 neighbors who had taken refuge from the storm in the basement of the church and were trapped by debris until rescued (unharmed) about an hour after the storm.
Helen Penningtong ran St. Luke's Open Door food bank and clothes closet. It is the only food bank serving Magoffin County. With a 23% unemployment rate in Magoffin County, the food bank was vitally important to the area. Fr. Bob Damron, the pastor of St. Luke's, has already announced plans to rebuild, but it is going to take a long time.
Hand in Hand volunteers had renovated St. Luke's several years ago and continued to provide clothing, food and other items to the food
bank. Hand in Hand is helping set up a temporary replacement and is in
emergency need of bottled water, non-perishable foods and canned
goods. We also need cleaning supplies, diapers, pull-up diapers, adult
diapers and personal care items.
We have enough clothes from previous donations and need to focus on
the items listed above.
We have also been inundated with requests for home repair and are
working on scheduling trips to help as many people as we can. Needless
to say, our budget for home repair did not include response to this
natural disaster and we donations to help as many people as possible.
Appalachia Programs
The Auxier Center
The Auxier Center – formerly the Auxier Lifetime Learning Center – was begun by Charlie and Sue Schaffer at the beh
est of Rev. Ralph Beiting, who founded the Christian Appalachian Project.
The Auxier School was closed in the 1990s, and The Auxier Center was founded in 2000 as the new hub for community activities. It has since been a source of education, recreation and a gathering place for social events, and its work has grown to include four surrounding counties and parts of West Virginia.
The Auxier Center became a part of Hand in Hand Ministries on January 1, 2007.
Below is a listing of the Center’s accomplishments in 2010, and stories of some of those helped.
One of The Auxier Center’s main goals is to bring Eastern Kentucky residents access to the internet and new job opportunities by providing free computers to those who complete the center’s computer course. HHM has also delivered over $100,000 in food, clothing, furniture, toys and the basic necessities to families in Appalachia over the last year. Most of the supplies were collected at the HHM Warehouse in Louisville.
The Auxier Center
2010 Statistics
Home Repair Program
• Repaired 58 homes for low income families
• 22 groups of volunteers made immersion trips in 2010
• Built 10 wheelchair ramps
Outreach Program
• Served nearly 100 families by distributing items such as clothing, bedding, baby items, furniture, etc.
Food Pantry
• Distributed food to nearly more than 400 low-income families
Spring and Fall Classes
• Educated adults in the basic computer class
• Provided adults with quilting and sewing classes
• Provided cooking, literacy, sewing machine repair and other classes
Five Kids Summer Camps
• Hosted local children
Computer Give Away
• Distributed more than 100 computers to low-income adults and children in West Virginia and Kentucky and offered free computer repair other families in need.
Assisted other local organizations
Donated books and supplies to:
• Paintsville Independent School
• St. Lukes Catholic Church
• Beauty Thrift Store
• Goodwill
• Christian Appalachian Projects Elderly Program
Please click here to view testimonials from our trip to Appalachia Auxier Center.
Please click here to view photos from our trip to Appalachia Auxier Center.
