KBC, Southern Seminary to Partner for Buckets of Hope Collection
02/15/2010
LOUISVILLE – The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary will play a key role in the collection of “Buckets of Hope” for Haitians, a major relief effort being coordinated through the Kentucky Baptist Convention’s Baptist Men on Mission Department.
Kentucky Baptists desiring to help Haitians affected by the Jan. 12 earthquake can participate in the effort by purchasing five-gallon buckets and filling them with specified food items. Completed buckets must be delivered by March 4 to one of the participating Kentucky Baptist associations, said Coy Webb, disaster relief associate for the KBC.
From there, the buckets will be taken to one of 15 “cluster points” across the state, where they will then be transported to Southern Seminary’s campus in Louisville. Volunteers from the seminary will pack the buckets onto pallets and shrink wrap them together in preparation for transportation, said Webb.
The seminary is donating the shrink wrap and volunteer time towards the effort, and a local vendor in Southern Indiana has agreed to supply the pallets at no charge, said Bob Perkins, director of campus safety and security for Southern Seminary.
“We are so pleased that the KBC and Southern Seminary are going to work together on this project,” said Perkins. “Many of us here at the seminary wanted to be a part of this effort, so we asked how we could help. It’s really an answer to prayer.”
After the buckets have been prepared for shipment at the seminary, the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board (NAMB) will arrange for the buckets to be transported to Miami, Fla., where they will be packed in cargo containers and shipped to Haiti. NAMB is overseeing the “Buckets of Hope” initiative across the entire Southern Baptist Convention.
Each bucket will be packed with a gospel tract in the French Creole language and a label indicating that the “Bucket of Hope” is a gift of Christian love and support from Southern Baptists, said Webb.
According to Webb, the KBC is currently estimating the Kentucky Baptist “Buckets of Hope” project to produce approximately 10,000 buckets, based on the feedback it has received from participating associations.
“We think we will see at least 10,000 buckets come from Kentucky Baptists, but we very well could even exceed that number,” said Webb. “When you add that figure to what might come from the other 42 participating Southern Baptist state conventions, it’s exciting to think about such a tremendous number of buckets being sent to hurting people in Haiti.”
Each bucket and its contents cost approximately $30 to assemble, said Webb. An additional $10 cash contribution is requested for each bucket to help offset the cost of transporting the buckets to Haiti.
The buckets will contain non-perishable food items such as rice, beans, flour and peanut butter. Detailed instructions for the project are available at www.kybaptist.org/dr.
Churches and individuals packing buckets should take their completed buckets to a participating Baptist association near them, or to one of the 15 cluster points across the state.
According to Webb, most Kentucky Baptist associations across the state are serving as collection points. A complete list of participating associations is available at www.kybaptist.org/buckets. Churches and individuals may also contact their local association to find out where the collection is taking place, he said.
- The cluster points for bucket collection include:
- Blood River Baptist Association in Hardin
- Bracken Baptist Association in Mays Lick
- Daviess/McLean Association in Owensboro
- Elkhorn Baptist Association in Lexington
- Freedom & Wayne County Association of Baptists in Monticello
- Greenup Association of Baptist Churches in Ashland
- Knox Association of Baptists in Gray
- Little Bethel Baptist Association in Madisonville
- Long Run Baptist Association in Louisville
- Northern Kentucky Baptist Association in Erlanger
- Pulaski County Association of Missionary Baptists in Somerset
- Pike Association of Southern Baptists in Pikeville
- Severns Valley Association of Baptists in Elizabethtown
- Three Forks Baptist Association in Hazard
- Warren Baptist Association in Bowling Green
Participating in “Buckets of Hope” is just one of the ways Kentucky Baptists are responding to the devastation in Haiti. The KBC recently sent a medical team to Haiti from Jan. 31 to Feb. 8, and additional medical and chaplain/assessment teams are scheduled to serve in Haiti from March 11-19. Additional Kentucky Baptist disaster relief teams will be needed in the coming months, said Webb.
The KBC is also accepting monetary donations through a designated fund for the Haiti relief effort. Contributions may be sent to the KBC, P.O. Box 856300, Dept. 124, Louisville, KY 40285-9900. Please note “Haiti Earthquake” in the check memo. Online donations are also being accepted at www.kybaptist.org/dr.
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. Together, Southern Baptists comprise the third largest relief organization in the United States.
To learn more about Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief, go to www.kybaptist.org/dr.
The Kentucky Baptist Convention is a cooperative missions and ministry organization made up of nearly 2,400 autonomous Baptist churches in Kentucky. A variety of state and worldwide ministries are coordinated through its administrative offices in Louisville, Ky. including: missions work, disaster relief, ministry training and support, church development, evangelism and more.
The Kentucky Baptist Convention is a cooperative missions and ministry organization made up of nearly 2.400 autonomous Baptist churches in Kentucky. A variety of state and worldwide ministries are coordinated through its administrative offices in Louisville, including: missions work, disaster relief, ministry training and support, church development, evangelism and more. For more, find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
