Calling For Volunteers
New Bern and Craven County were the epicenter of the impact of Hurricane Florence in 2018. Even after two years of work there are still more than 1000 families on the waiting list for assistance. Your help is urgently needed. Some families are entering their third winter with significant repairs remaining to be completed.
The New Hope Village is nearly completed and is already receiving volunteer teams on a very limited basis! Because of the Covid19 pandemic we are taking special precautions to protect our volunteers and the church. You can see the complete guidelines at Covid19 Guidelines and in the Volunteer Village Manual.
Briefly, here are the most important points:
Each team will live and work as a cohort with very limited contact with those in the church or the community. (Some media are referring to this as a bubble). The team covenants to:
CALL FOR LOCAL VOLUNTEERS:
While renovations are nearly complete, there is a need for volunteers to help with ongoing regular maintenance and upkeep of this 6800 square foot facility on the grounds of Neuse Forest Presbyterian Church. We need volunteers to help in ways big and small. Won't you please look at your schedule and find some time to spend on this outreach project that will help so many. We need to finish this up!! People it's crunch time! We need painters, caulkers and general clean-up. If you find it in your heart to help. This could be a great winter time activity.
Local volunteers, please contact Phoebe Briley at 252-229-0130, Carl Chapman or call Steve Mabie at 252-876-2309, so they can be there to direct you to the work that needs to be completed.
Below you can see all the progress that has been made so far, it is a beautiful facility.
The New Hope Village is nearly completed and is already receiving volunteer teams on a very limited basis! Because of the Covid19 pandemic we are taking special precautions to protect our volunteers and the church. You can see the complete guidelines at Covid19 Guidelines and in the Volunteer Village Manual.
Briefly, here are the most important points:
Each team will live and work as a cohort with very limited contact with those in the church or the community. (Some media are referring to this as a bubble). The team covenants to:
- Be tested for Covid before leaving home and if anyone text positive to voluntarily quarantine at home for 10-14 days (recently 7-10 days has being suggested).
- Agree to limit their contact with the community remaining in the village except to travel to a work site, have 1 or 2 people shop for groceries, go as a group to an open area for recreation, etc. and remain as a group.
- Wear masks when in not in the Village and within a safe distance from others not in the cohort.
- Sanitize work space and living spaces (including the kitchen) when entering or leaving an area.
- Use hand sanitizer frequently.
- Wash hands frequently for more than 20 seconds using soap and hot water.
- Should someone become ill with Covid19 while in the Village, all members of the cohort will be tested and those who test positive will quarantine for 10 days in the Village or other appropriate facility.
CALL FOR LOCAL VOLUNTEERS:
While renovations are nearly complete, there is a need for volunteers to help with ongoing regular maintenance and upkeep of this 6800 square foot facility on the grounds of Neuse Forest Presbyterian Church. We need volunteers to help in ways big and small. Won't you please look at your schedule and find some time to spend on this outreach project that will help so many. We need to finish this up!! People it's crunch time! We need painters, caulkers and general clean-up. If you find it in your heart to help. This could be a great winter time activity.
Local volunteers, please contact Phoebe Briley at 252-229-0130, Carl Chapman or call Steve Mabie at 252-876-2309, so they can be there to direct you to the work that needs to be completed.
Below you can see all the progress that has been made so far, it is a beautiful facility.
A Message From Our Pastor
The Neuse Forest Presbyterian Church has converted a storm-damaged educational building into a hosting facility for work teams coming from outside the area to spend the night. Over 5000 hours of volunteer time by hundreds of volunteers from near and far have contributed to the success of the conversion. Here are some pictures from our journey to re-purposing the building.
Without the generous support of the churches of New Hope Presbytery, PDA and countless individuals this project could not have been completed.
This new facility NOW starts to host hundreds of volunteers to help rebuild the homes and lives of those who, in many cases, have lost everything in Hurricane Florence. Our opening the Village enables Presbyterians and communities from across the country to come help. If you want to bring a work team, contact the PDA Call Center at (866) 732-6121 or [email protected] .
Thank you all for the many blessings, volunteer hours, prayers and support!
Grace and peace,
John Robinson
