Volunteer Contacts (from website):
To help with Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts in Mississippi
Call toll-free: 866-435-7091
E-mail: disastercenter@meridianumc.org
FAX: 228-374-2067
Go to website to download Volunteer Work Team Guidebook
for volunteering policies and instructions.
Our volunteer call center is located in Biloxi and serves as the point of contact for churches, teams, and individuals wishing to come and work in Mississippi, make donations to our disaster relief, or simply get up-to-date information regarding the recovery process. Our primary focus is the scheduling of teams and individuals who wish to come and serve in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina.
We are open five days a week, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. We are located in the Central Time Zone.
To get information about scheduling trips, please download Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) (see website), or call our volunteer coordinator, at the toll-free number above for detailed information and assistance. The FAQs answer questions such as "What sort of work are you doing?" and "What costs are involved?"
Recruiting Volunteers in Your Church
If your church or organization is interested in bringing a group to Mississippi, but you need more info and have questions, we have a Volunteer Packet, consisting of a DVD along with a CD full of resources, that we would be more than happy to mail to you. The information in this packet will also help you as you recruit volunteers for your team. Just call us toll free at 866-435-7091 or email us at disastercenter@meridianumc.org.
Policy on Youth Volunteers
We encourage youth to participate in relief and recovery efforts, believing such work will help them develop their sense of compassion and the desire to help others. Youth, defined as persons ages 14-18, will be invited to work in Mississippi see website for our Safe Sanctuary Policy.
Camp Sites
We are currently housing volunteer work teams at three camps across the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Please click the links below for Camp Site calendars and Camp Site descriptions.
-Camp Gulfside (Waveland)
-Camp Love (Gulfport)
-Camp Hope (Vancleave)
To better serve you, we have recently updated our calendar system. The totals at the bottom of the calendar represent the number of spaces still available at the camp on a given night. We hope this will make our calendars easy to read and aid us in the scheduling process.
Please also note that we do not work on Sundays. Please schedule your team to arrive late on Sunday afternoon and leave on Saturday morning. We are currently scheduling the remainder of 2009 and all of 2010. We even have teams scheduled into 2011. We encourage you to complete the Volunteer Request Form and submit it as soon as possible. We schedule according to first received requests.
See website for campsite availability and more information.
Mississippi United Methodist Katrina Response Office
An UMCOR Partner Organization
"Healing Hearts and Homes"