By CAROLINE CARMICHAEL/ Staff Writer

Clanton First United Methodist Church has been designated a drop-off location for disaster relief donations under the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR).

With numerous individuals impacted in the flooded areas of Texas and Louisiana by Hurricane Harvey, the Alabama-West Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church is striving to provide assistance with its donation collections at various drop-off locations.

Conference volunteers are collecting items to be assembled into hygiene kits and cleaning buckets.

“What we do is collect the items, and then they can pack them,” Clanton FUMC Office Manager Lynn Best said. “And every bucket’s the same, and it’s things that they know [they need] just temporarily to get by.”

Donations of $12 for hygiene kits and $65 for cleaning buckets can be submitted for the assembling team.

“We know that they’re going to need those cleaning buckets,” Best said.

Monetary donations can be made online at UMCOR.org or by check delivered to Clanton FUMC.

Checks are payable to AWF Conference UMC with the memo UMCOR 901670.

According to a release from the church, UMCOR operates to bring disaster and emergency aid for circumstances both within and without the U.S.

Best said that of all funds donated, “100 percent goes to UMCOR to relief victims. Nothing is taken out of administrative—nothing. It all goes towards the victims.”

“The United Methodist Conference is also sending a disaster first-response team, and what they’re doing is the tree removal and tarping roofs right now,” Best said.

Physical items needed by the disaster team include:

• Box fans
• 25-foot, heavy-duty, 14-gauge extension cords
• Two-gallon garden sprayers
• Flat-billed shovels
• Rakes with 3-inch tines

“UMCOR is a well-oiled machine, so only these items will contribute to the success of the volunteer teams to do their jobs in the disaster relief areas. Please, no other items at this time,” the release read.

“It’s better, really, for transportation-wise, to donate money. But we do need the box fans, the rakes, the extension cords, all that,” Best said.

Donations — both physical and monetary — can be dropped off at Clanton FUMC, located at 207 8th Street, Monday to Friday between 8 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Best said donations will be transported from the church to disaster areas on Sept. 9.

In a statement addressed to everyone moved by the tragic circumstances issued by Hurricane Harvey, the church said,

“We thank you for your concern and the prayers you have already been offering for the people of Texas as they experience the destruction of Hurricane Harvey and its aftermath. Please continue to pray for the first responders, those whose homes are destroyed or damaged and those whose lives will never be the same. Also pray for the congregations on the front lines as they respond to the current needs and the needs that will be there for months and years to come.”