Louisville—Although there have been no major disaster relief requests made of Kentucky Baptists since hurricanes Katrina and Rita slammed into the Gulf Coast in 2005, numerous smaller events have kept volunteers busy and funds tight.

Baptist Men on Mission disaster relief associate Coy Webb said Kentucky Baptist disaster relief teams responded to 18 locations in 2007, using a total of 1,625 volunteers. Already this year, Kentucky Baptist teams have been called out seven times to deal with clean up related to tornado and windstorm damage, large snowfalls and flooding.

The responses are keeping volunteers busy and straining the available funds for meeting their needs, Webb acknowledged. He noted that while the Cooperative Program funds the infrastructure of Kentucky Baptist disaster relief, the assistance efforts themselves are supported through donations of various types.

Webb also pointed out that disaster relief volunteers pay for their own uniforms and travel, while the American Red Cross provides much of the food prepared by Kentucky Disaster Relief kitchens. Associations also help to provide much of the equipment and some funding for relief efforts.

However, other costs are typically covered by a fund that receives donations from Kentucky Baptists and the public. These donations go directly to actual relief response expenses, including food supplies, fuel for chainsaws and relief vehicles. Funds also are used for volunteer training, the purchase and maintenance of equipment, and tax and licensing requirements for the ministry, Webb noted.

A little more than $112,000 was spent in 2007 and “that was actually one of our lowest years in terms of expenses,” according to Webb, adding that a single response to winter storms across Kentucky earlier this year cost the ministry $22,000.

Gifts typically arrive following major disasters because of widespread publicity, but smaller disaster relief needs generally do not result in substantial gifts.

Webb said Kentucky disaster relief funds are low now because individual donations have been down since the outpouring of generosity that followed Hurricane Katrina. Donations made then helped establish a strong financial base for immediate relief, as well as for ongoing recovery efforts in those areas.

“Our ability to respond depends on having the funds to do so,” Webb explained. “Disasters hit suddenly, but donations are often weeks in coming.”

Kentucky Baptists are part of a larger network of Southern Baptist volunteers trained to respond to disasters by manning mass feeding operations, using chainsaws to clear downed trees and limbs, clear mud out of flooded homes and more.

Southern Baptist disaster relief volunteers work in conjunction with other organizations, such as the Salvation Army, the American Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Together, Southern Baptists compose the third largest relief organization in the United States.

“Kentucky Baptist disaster relief is one of our frontline ministries that, I believe, has gone a very long way in establishing the integrity of our witness in the secular world,” Webb said. “Someone recently told me that yellow shirts and yellow hats are recognized as people who care and you can count on.”