You've seen the pictures of Superstorm Sandy and the terrible destruction which still is being measured.
Like most people, you've wished you could do something to help -- something that would make a real difference.
There is.
The campaign, led by the county's United Methodist churches, will collect pre-paid gift cards and send them to the New Jersey shore, whose communities took the brunt of the storm's attack.
"The biggest advantage to sending cards is their flexibility," said the Rev Lee Romero, pastor of the Johnson City First United Methodist Church.
"A truckload of food is good, once it finally gets there, but a prepaid card can be food, or clothing, or gasoline, or plywood, even Christmas toys for kids who have no toys left. And they can be in survivors' hands in just a couple of days."
Where do you get a gift card? Lots of places. Many retailers sell them in stores, such as Dollar General, Wal-Mart or Home Depot. The trick is making sure the company does business in New Jersey. Pick up a card and bring it in, and it'll go in the next shipment.
Pastor Ken Greene of Blanco United Methodist Church recommended putting a maximum of $50 on each card for further flexibility.
"A family with a bigger need can be given more cards, but there's no way to cut pieces off a $1,000 card to distribute smaller amounts," he explained.
The easiest way to help, of course, is to simply write a check to one of the churches, marked for Sandy relief, and the church will purchase them in quantity through Cattleman's Bank.
"We really prefer to send cards from credit card companies," Rev Romero added, "because they can be used in so many different places and for almost anything the survivor needs."
He added that the campaign is not just a Methodist program, either at this end or in New Jersey, and invited other churches to join the effort to make it a truly ecumenical project.
At the New Jersey end, Romero said, the distribution will be managed by a District Superintendent of the United Methodist Church, but he quickly added that the recipients will be whoever needs the help, whatever church they attend, or even if none at all.
"There is lots of help flowing into the disaster area, from the federal government, the Red Cross, and from churches, but the need is so great and so immediate that nothing will be enough or be fast enough," concluded Rev Greene.
"This lets someone here in Blanco County deliver help quickly to someone in immediate need. Will $50 fix a house? No, but it will help a family get by until the FEMA check arrives."
The churches plan to ship the first cards out by the end of this week.
For more information about the Superstorm Sandy relief campaign in Blanco County, call the church offices at 868-7414 in Johnson City or 833-4870 in Blanco.
1 photo attached to this article.
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