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Methodist Church members make donations to Wanblee relief
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FarkLaRee Mayes couldn't help but express her satisfaction as she bent to lay a case of bottled water on a front seat of the bus.
"It feels good," she said.
Not the lifting and carrying; the helping.
Like other members of the First United Methodist Church in Rapid City, Mayes brought by a personal load of essentials to donate to people in Wanblee who have been displaced by last week's blizzard.
None gave a huge amount. Many gave a little. Some donated cash to buy more.
With such communal giving by church members, the total was great -- in spirit as well as actual assistance for those in need. After the bus filled up, a church volunteer representative drove it to the local Red Cross headquarters, to be transported out to the Wanblee on the eastern edge of the Pine Ridge Reservation.
The Crazy Horse School has offered emergency shelter for more than 200 people since the storm swept across western South Dakota last Wednesday and Thursday. Reservation residents and non-Indian ranchers and rural residents continue to endure hardships, including enduring electrical blackouts and limited travel.
Members of the Methodist Church can't fix the travel and power problems. But like others with an urge to help, they can offer essential donations. First Methodist member Marie Tesch helped put out the word on that Monday, after reading an Journal update on the plight of people of Wanblee.
"I picked up the paper this morning and said, 'Oh, we've got to do more than just pray,'" Tesch said Monday, as she helped load donations into the church bus.
First United Methodist lead Pastor Doug Diehl said he has come to expect that kind of individual response by members of the congregation.
"That's one of the things about our church that I love: We have members who really care and are willing to get involved," Diehl said. "And we make our church available as a collecting place."
Contact Kevin Woster at 394-8413 or kevin.woster@rapidcityjournal.com
Salvation Army accepting contributions
The Salvation Army in Rapid City is asking for donations to help Wanblee residents struggling in the aftermath of last week's blizzard.
As many as 500 people are in immediate need of candles, flashlights and easy-to-prepare meals, Salvation Army spokesman Mark Kirkeby said. He asked citizens to bring donations to the Salvation Army Thrift Store at 621 E. St. Patrick St. from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. today.
It will immediately be distributed to those in need, he said.
Richard Smith, executive director of the Black Hills chapter of the American Red Cross, on Monday accepts a donation shipment for recent blizzard victims from Sharla McCaskell, associate pastor of First United Methodist Church in Rapid City. (Courtesy photo)
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