Contributions help families of accident

Editor:

On behalf of the Carroll County Ministerial Association, Family Ties representatives and Head Start representatives, I am pleased to update the community on the progress of our disbursal of donations to the families of the bus wreck.

Needless to say, the community (both near and far) has been profoundly generous in their gifts, and we have worked swiftly to put money into the hands of the families. After our initial rush to cover the needs of families in the hospital after the accident, we proceeded to share money equally with all 10 families affected (nine children, one adult aid). We also made certain that families with longer hospital stays did not see rent, utilities, etc., fall into arrears in this unexpected absence from home.

As of Monday, Nov. 19, $16,851 was disbursed to the families in the form of cash, gift cards, or payments for pressing needs. We hold at this date a few hundred dollars and assorted gas cards for any pressing needs still before the family of the child still in rehabilitation and the travel needs of families still seeing physicians.

As more funds arrive, we will share them equally among the 10 households. We anticipate receiving a few more gifts on behalf of the families, so our committee will continue to meet, monitor needs and dispense the donations. 

Our committee of six has independently made every decision on the use of the money to date. We have careful records and careful logic to accompany these decisions, and I am open to any questions about our work. As we have hand-delivered all the donations to the families these past weeks, we can assure you that every dollar was received with gratitude.

Beyond the money, of course, the care and concern is a healing gift to all the families involved. We ask the community to continue to pray for all the families, especially those still grieving from lost children or facing long recoveries. Your love and compassion is an important piece of their recovery, and praying and giving remain crucial for our community’s recovery.

The Rev. Christopher White, Chair; Robin Huesman, Family Ties; Cydney Conley, Family Ties; Kim Watkins, Head Start’ the Rev. Rusty Bennet; the Rev. Steven Scherer