An Ellijay church has started a relief fund for Ukraine through which donations will be handled by a Methodist outreach group with a good reputation for getting money where it should go.
Last week, Ellijay First United Methodist Church (FUMC) started the mission committee fundraiser in which donations go directly to the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), which is providing assistance to people in Ukraine and Ukrainians fleeing to neighboring countries.
Jennifer Hays, a church member who brought the idea to start the relief fund before the FUMC congregation, said she wanted to do something for the many people facing unimaginable events and horrors as the Russian invasion continues.
“Seeing what those people are dealing with, the Lord just put it on my heart that I could do more,” she said.
In trying to decide which of the many humanitarian organizations to join with, Hays was concerned about how much of the money that goes to some organizations actually reaches people it’s supposed to help.
“I did a lot of research, and UMCOR spends most of their money directly on programs. They have (very little) overhead expenses, and 98 percent of every dollar they get goes right to the people that need it. You look at something like UNICEF or Samaritan’s Purse, who I’ve supported many times, and they don’t come anywhere close to that,” she said.
Hays said anyone who wants to donate money to the Ukraine relief fund can do so at the church located in downtown Ellijay at 75 McCutchen Street. Hours are 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Thursday. Donations can also be left in a locked drop box on the west side of the church by the portico, noted Dr. John Brantley, FUMC pastor.
“The time is now and the need is now,” Hays said. “You write a check to our church and, in the memo line, put Advance #982450. That’s our code. All the money gets sent directly to the UMCOR registered office in Atlanta. Once they get it, it doesn’t stay there. It goes exactly to where people need it.”
Hays said she was told by an UMCOR representative that many are wanting to donate items of comfort, like blankets or teddy bears, to the Ukrainian people. With the fast-moving humanitarian crisis and postal regulations involved, those types of donations don’t move as quickly as money, she noted.
“It’s just not cost-effective,” Hays said. “Anything you send like food or medicine, what it has to go through before it gets there and all the red tape makes it take a lot longer.”
The church is planning two upcoming fundraisers for its Ukrainian relief effort.
Cartecay Methodist Church and FUMC will partner for a hot dog luncheon from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday, April 3. The luncheon will be held at FUMC. The FUMC men’s group will also host a pasta dinner at the church on Wednesday, April 20, Hays noted. Proceeds from both events will go to the Ukraine relief fund.
Hays, a former schoolteacher, said she doesn’t have any Ukrainian ancestry, nor does she know anyone in the war-torn nation. She has been keeping up with the increasingly harrowing news coverage of the war, which, at 75, she figures is the worst humanitarian crisis in her lifetime.
“I’ve been following it all along. (You see a lot of things) like women and children crying. I’m not a political person, really, but I feel that this is a situation where there’s a clear right path and a clear wrong path,” she said.