Four Disaster Care Volunteers Recieve The President's Volunteer Service Award

The President's Volunteer Service Award is an initiative of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) and is administered by Points of Light Foundation. Through a shared mission of inspiring more to answer the call to service, the President's Volunteer Service Award celebrates the impact we can all make in bettering our communities and our world.

The President's Volunteer award is a tremendous honor and recognizes those who have set themselves apart from their peers in their willingness to volunteer and serve their community and Nation.

The Disaster Care Ministry is proud to share that four of our members were selected to receive this award for the 2016 year for their efforts in the service of those impacted by Disasters. 

David Ricks, Dan Cowan, Dianna Lee and Greg Bourbon were presented with their medals, a certificate, and a letter from the President of the United States on January 8, 2017. The Awards were presented at by Rev. Glenn Merrit who was the first Director of LCMS Disaster Response. The Disaster Care Ministry hosted a reception to celebrate the four winners, The assembly of 1500 Flood Buckets in 2016, The delivery of 5000 Flood Buckets since the Bucket Brigade began in 2008, and the 30th Disaster responded to since 2000.

Operation Christmas Hope is Big Success

On August 16, 2016, prolonged rainfall in the southern part of Louisiana resulted in catastrophic flooding. In September the Disaster Care Ministry worked with Lutheran Churches in North Texas to put together a work weekend and feeding event. On the way home, we discussed how there were so many children who had lost everything and were not going to have much of a Christmas. From that conversation, Operation Christmas Hope was born.

We decide we wanted to provide children in Baton Rouge with the message of Christ birth by giving them a copy of Paul L. Maier's "The Very First Christmas" accompanied by a shoebox gift.

LCMS Disaster response agreed to supply the books if we would come up with the shoe box gifts. The Disaster Care Ministry purchase gifts and plastic boxes to assemble 700 gifts. 

Members From  Beautiful Savior Lutheran Arlington TX, Trinity Hawkins Lutheran TX, and Lamb of God Lutheran Flower Mound, TX. donated 252 gifts for a total of 952 presents.

On December 10 we loaded up the 952 presents and 1000 books.

On December 12 we delivered the trailer load of goodies to Camp Restore Baton Rouge, LA.

Trinity Lutheran Baton Rouge and Camp Restore Distributed the presents and books the week before Christmas.

Special Thanks to Trinty Lutheran Baton Rouge, Camp Restore, LCMS Disaster Response, Trinity Lutheran Church, Hawkins, and Lamb of God Lutheran Church, Flower Mound for their help.