Three months after devastating storms passed through the heart of Oklahoma, donations and volunteer help from the Church of God continues to come in for tornado relief of Moore and surrounding cities.
Operation Compassion, an independent benevolent agency with roots in the Church of God, was one of the first groups on the scene when the tornadoes struck last May. The Church of God immediately launched an appeal for relief, which included an on-site visit by Church of God General Overseer Mark Williams and First Assistant General Overseer David Griffis. With devastation in the background, Williams recorded a video message which highlighted the impact being made in the area, as well as testimonials from Church of God members. Before departing, Griffis, who leads a Covenant Leadership Team that includes the Heartland region, presented a check to regional overseer M. Darrell Rice.
As of August 12, donations received at the International Offices had totaled $117,214.14. Gifts came through general donations via the Church of God website and through church and minister reports. Disbursements from the fund included the Chaplains Commission ($6,000), Men and Women of Action ($5,000), God’s Pit Crew ($6,000), Operation Compassion ($25,000+) and the Heartland Region ($40,000). Donations to these groups allowed them to continue with on-site relief efforts.
In a recent update, Darrell Rice reported that a group of disaster relief volunteers from Florida included an employee of Marcone Appliance Supply.
[1]Heartland Overseer M. Darrell Rice, second from left, is joined by Pastor Greg Garvie, Randy Johnson of God's Pit Crew and Rick Vogel of Marcone Appliance Supply, who presented a check for $35,000. (Click on image to enlarge)
“This employee knew that his/her company was collecting funds for disaster relief and contacted the appropriate persons at Marcone, suggesting they consider the work we were doing,” Rice stated. “I had no idea this was going on until a call came from Marcone corporate offices asking me to explain what we were doing. They were interested in contributing the funds they had collected across the country to an organization that would guarantee the funds went to victims of the tornadoes. In several conversations, it became apparent the challenging aspect of giving to a church or church organization, but they had no problem giving to a faith-based organization.” Rice went on to say that Marcone focuses much of their charitable donations on Ronald McDonald House(s) and military interests – particularly USO. So this was an unusual departure, but they wanted to assist the tornado victims.
“Because of our partnership with God’s Pit Crew and commitment to build at least two houses for families that lost everything, I put Marcone executives in touch with Randy Johnson (God’s Pit Crew founder and CEO). The end result is Marcone had raised $30,000 and also collected $5,000 from Whirlpool.” On August 8, Rick Vogel, vice president of Marcone, traveled to Oklahoma City to meet with Johnson, Pastor Greg Garvie of the RiverLife Church of God in Moore and Rice and presented a check in the amount of $35,000. The location for the presentation was on one of the lots where a house will be built and given away in October.
“The next morning (August 9) Rick Vogel was part of a meeting where we revealed to a single mother and her children that they had been selected to be the recipients of one of the houses,” Rice concluded. “All of this was made possible through a partnership with the Church of God Heartland Region, Marcone Appliance Supply, Whirlpool, Operation Compassion, God’s Pit Crew, and the Church of God International Offices. God used this tragedy to show what it is to be the church and the family of God. To God be the Glory!”
The new homes are slated to be dedicated on October 19, both within view of the Tower Plaza Elementary School, where seven children died after taking a direct hit from the tornado. The school is also being rebuilt and will re-open in the fall of 2014.