As the floods began impacting western Washington in the second week of December, Episcopal Relief & Development was quick to engage the staff at Diocesan House to ask “How can we help?” Within the first 48 hours, Diocesan Staff members Canon Cristi Chapman and Michael Seewer worked up a plan working with Race Hodges of Episcopal Relief and Development. And by the following Monday, the Diocese of Olympia received a $20,000 grant to support relief efforts in Western Washington. This money was made available to anyone in Western Washington who had been impacted by the floods, whether Episcopalian or not. In addition, as impact from the floods was communicated to the Diocese, donations came pouring in (and are still being received as we speak), currently totaling just under $14,000. This brings the total amount of relief money to just under $34,000!
In working with Episcopal Relief, diocesan staff identified a strategy to get the money in the hands of those who need it as quickly as possible. A Flood Impact Form was created so individuals impacted by the flood could request support. In the days that followed, even as the impacts of the flood continued to change on a daily and sometimes hourly basis, Michael Seewer began working with clergy in the regions affected. The contact information of those who had requested support from the Diocese was shared with the local clergy, and those clergy assembled quickly to begin contacting impacted families and issuing them gift cards.
The damage and need for relief communicated to us has been widespread, from as far south as Lewis County to as far north as Whatcom County. “In the eastern part of Lewis County, [we are aware of] 11 families impacted by the flooding who are in the Red Cross Program, plus at least 10 more families who are living in their flooded RVs.”, said The Rev. Kay Flores, rector of St. Timothy, Chehalis. And in Whatcom County, The Rev. Dr. Jane Maynard, priest-in-charge of Christ Church, Blaine, has been working with the Whatcom Long Term Recovery Group to get assistance to as many of the 800 families on their list as possible.
Some of the areas of greatest need as has been reported to us are along the Skagit and Snohomish Rivers, impacting communities from Mt. Vernon to Hamilton along the Skagit River, to Snohomish and Monroe along the Snohomish River. In Mt. Vernon, The Rev. Dennis Taylor, deacon at St. Paul’s, Mt. Vernon, has been assisted by a team of volunteers from the parish to assist in getting relief money in the hands of dozens of families along the Skagit River. When they reached out to the people who contacted the Diocese for assistance, those families often shared information about other families they knew who also could use assistance.
And along the Snohomish River, Chinook Farms was hit particularly hard. Holy Cross, Redmond’s Food Bank is in partnership with Chinook Farms, and most of the farm was destroyed. The need here is particularly great. Working with The Rev. Jim Eichner, associate rector at Holy Cross, we have been able to provide financial support to approximately 30 families, in addition to providing access to power washers for clean up and money to assist in rebuilding two of the greenhouses.
We have even been able to provide support to those on the other side of the Cascades (in the geographic region of the Diocese of Spokane), particularly to those who were evacuated to Chelan from Holden Village. We have been working with The Rev. Paul Palumbo, Pastor of Lake Chelan Lutheran Church, to provide assistance to approximately 18 families impacted in that community.
We continue to learn of more families who could use assistance in the recovery after the flood, and so the numbers continue to grow. Diocesan staff continues to engage with clergy across the Diocese to follow up with those whose homes have been destroyed, and whose communities have suffered the impact. Thanks to the generosity of dozens of people across the Diocese who helped raise the additional $14,000, we have been able to provide financial assistance to over 130 families. This number will likely continue to increase, and if you’d like to make a donation for additional relief money, you can do so by visiting the Diocesan Give page, selecting “Other Donations” in the Giving Options menu, and typing “Flood Relief” in the Designation Specification box. Feel free to reach out to Michael Seewer if you have any questions!