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.
OVERSEAS IMMERSION TRIPS
Service, knowledge, culture and a sense of transformation will all be a part of your experience in an Overseas Immersion Trip. During an Immersion Trip you will experience the culture from the view of the poorest of the poor in the areas of health, housing, and basic needs. You will work alongside HHM in service, but you will also be given the opportunity to participate in cultural events, listen to dynamic speakers and take time to visit local sites of interest.
Belize
• Groups usually participate in the Building for Change program and help with the construction of a new home for a qualified recipient. The Building for Change program has built more than 165 homes since 2001.
• Immersion trip volunteers also spend time working at the HHM Outreach Center for children marginalized by poverty and disease. The Center provides critical outreach services to children and their families.
• Trip participants may also see the results of scholarship and tutoring efforts and meet past recipients of HHM programs.
Nicaragua
• Projects recently have included the construction or repair of homes, extensive renovations to community pre-schools in a poor area of the city of Managua, and home repairs for families in our Pathway to Change Program.
• Groups also work with selected schools and preschools to provide repairs and renovations along with working with the children.
• We also plan each trip to include activities with the children we work with, such as taking them swimming or to the zoo, or helping out with classroom activities.
• Speaking Spanish is a plus but not necessary.
General Information
• If you have an open heart and mind, then you are invited to the experience.
• You must have a passport for the overseas trips.
• All skill levels are needed and wanted. No previous experience is necessary.
• Don't worry about making a contribution “everyone does"!
• There are two meetings before the overseas trips.
• The first meeting is usually six weeks before the trip; the second is two weeks before the trip.
• You will receive all necessary information, such as what to bring, etc., at these meetings.
APPALACHIA IMMERSION TRIP
Details
Participants often meet at Hand in Hand Ministries and car pool. It is about a 3 1/2 hour drive from Louisville. Groups stay in a community center in a dorm-like setting. We usually do home repairs and sometimes deliver food items and clothing.
General Information
One meeting is held two weeks before the trip. At this meeting, you will receive all necessary information such as what to bring, etc. All skill levels are needed and wanted. No previous experience is necessary.
Hand in Hand Ministries works with several partners in the area of Prestonsburg, Kentucky. Our partners generally serve the needs of people in Floyd, Johnson, Magoffin and Martin Counties in Kentucky, some of the poorest counties in the U.S.
Please Note
If you are interested in participating on an immersion trip, the following schedule lists trips available. Any trip marked OPEN, is available for anyone wishing to make a life-changing trip. If you are interested in a date listed for a specific group, there may be space available. Please contact the Hand in Hand office 502.459.9930 or email Mary Helen Thompson at maryhelen@myhandinhand.org for more information.
Click Here to view our upcoming Immersion Trip Dates
Click Here to review our Immersion Trip Guidelines
