Rotary District 7730

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Dear Rotary leaders,

Here is an update on the tornado disaster in Riegelwood:

A total of forty homes were destroyed. Of those homes, thirty have extended families in the community who are able to take care of them. The additional ten families do not have families nearby, have nowhere to go, and do not have any means of support.

The point people in Reigelwood who have taken on the responsibility of mobilizing the relief effort are Pastor Bill Altman and his wife Ruth of the Wesley United Methodist Church. The church is located in the community on Rt. 87, one mile north of Rt. 74/76.

I have committed emergency shelter for all ten families at the Greentree Inn, the first of whom are with us now — more expected through the weekend. FEMA will begin to provide assistance very soon. However, these families will need immediate financial assistance and will need assistance beyond FEMA’s scope, to be specific, living expenses and funeral expenses.

I am asking the Rotary Clubs in our District to:

1. make a financial contribution to these families out of club funds, and
2. solicit personal donations from your Rotarians ASAP.

Checks can be made out to “Wesley UMC Tornado Fund” and can be mailed to me, or to: PO Box 116, Riegelwood, NC, 28456. If you send checks directly to Riegelwood, please e-mail me your club’s exact commitment so we can keep track of the contributions within our district.

To supplement the generosity of our Rotary clubs, our district will also contribute a Rotary Foundation District Simplified Grant toward a specific project in response to the disaster.

We do good work all over the world. This disaster occurred right here in our district. I know how generous Rotarians can be when people are in need. And I know that we can count on your support. Thank you!

Lead the Way!