RSSEpiscopal Relief & Development Announces Winner of Emergency Preparedness Plan Competition
6/25/08
Episcopal Relief & Development is pleased to announce that Lutheran Episcopal Services in Mississippi is the winner of its first ever Emergency Preparedness Plan Competition and will be given $25,000 to implement their winning plan.
A Second Prize, worth $10,000, was awarded to the Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee. The Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania won Third Prize, valued at $5,000. Both the Episcopal Diocese of West Texas and the Episcopal Diocese of Southwestern Virginia were given Honorable Mentions.
“We are so pleased to congratulate all the winners. In the United States, our dioceses often face a range of disasters from wildfires and hurricanes, to tornadoes, ice storms and floods,” says Abagail Nelson, Senior Vice President for Programs at Episcopal Relief & Development. “The diocesan planning, scenario staging, and interactive networking with government and voluntary agencies described in these submissions were excellent. We hope that these plans and exercises will help the churches fulfill their critical role of care to the community if dioceses are impacted.”
Decisions were made by a panel of judges made up of the Rt. Rev. George Packard, Bishop Suffragan for Chaplaincies, the Rev. Canon Phillip Rapp, Executive Director of Episcopal Community Services in America, Ken Curtin, Liaison to the Federal Emergency Management Agency Region II Voluntary Agency and Linda Reed-Brown, Former Associate Director, Church World Services Emergency Response Programs, Domestic Division.
The submitted plans were evaluated on several criteria, including how well they were integrated into community and governmental networks, partnerships created with other organizations and Episcopal Dioceses and after action programs.
“This initiative was designed to inspire dioceses to think creatively about their response to disasters. Houses of worship are often the first place people turn to in times of need,” said Robert W. Radtke, President of Episcopal Relief & Development. “We are pleased with the response to the competition and heartened that dioceses of the Episcopal Church make it a priority to carry out their ministries, even in times of crisis and emergency. We encourage any diocese interested in disaster preparedness to be in touch with us for guidance about how to prepare for disasters.”
A new call for submissions will be announced in 18 months to spark even more awareness of and interest in disaster preparedness within the 100 Domestic Dioceses of the Episcopal Church.
To support Episcopal Relief & Development’s work to heal a hurting world, please make a contribution to Episcopal Relief & Development, online at www.er-d.org, or call 1.800.334.7626, ext. 5129. Gifts can be mailed to: Episcopal Relief and Development, P.O. Box 7058, Merrifield, VA 22116-7058.
Episcopal Relief & Development is the international relief and development agency of the Episcopal Church of the United States. As an independent 501(c) (3) organization, Episcopal Relief & Development takes its mandate from Jesus’ words found in Matthew 25. Its programs work towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Together with the worldwide Church and ecumenical partners, Episcopal Relief & Development strengthens communities today to meet tomorrow’s challenges. We rebuild after disasters and empower people by offering lasting solutions that fight poverty, hunger and disease, including HIV/AIDS and malaria.
