Church raises $290,000 for Katrina relief Church raises $290,000 for Katrina relief (September 21, 2005)

Members of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church have contributed $290,000 in offerings for Hurricane Katrina relief, Pastor John Ortberg said last week.

The offerings ranged from gifts as large as $15,000 to small contributions from kids who raised money through bake sales, he said.

These offerings will go to the following projects, according to Julie Gavrilis, director of communications for the church.

** Grace Presbyterian Church in Houston to help settle evacuees.

** The School of Urban Mission in New Orleans, which survived the hurricane and has been used as an emergency relief staging area in the town of Gretna, Jefferson Parish. (Menlo Park Presbyterian Church partners with the school's Oakland campus.)

** Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, for a short-term staging area. These are tent units that provide dormitory space, cooking facilities and medical triage units to receive and deploy short-term teams for cleanup and rebuilding efforts.

** Menlo Park Presbyterian Church teams responding to the disaster. The church plans to organize at least one medical team, made up of doctors and nurses who are church members.

In addition, the church is a collection point for hygiene bags (soap, shampoo, comb, toothpaste, toothbrush, deodorant in a gallon-size zip lock bag). Take them to the church's front office desk at 950 Santa Cruz Ave. between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday prior to October 1.

For more information, call the church at 323-8600; or go to mppc.org and click on Hurricane Katrina button at the bottom of the page.

E-mail a friend a link to this story.