East Cooper Community Outreach (ECCO) has announced that it will set up a disaster relief fund to help the community after the next hurricane strikes the East Cooper area. The funds of $360,000 will come from ECCO’s Advancing the Mission Campaign. East Cooper residents will be assisted by 30% of the $1.2 million campaign goal.

“Based on the fact that ECCO was born as a result of the disaster named Hurricane Hugo, it is very fitting that we operate in a proactive manner. In Hugo, our response was reactionary. Next time, we want to be prepared,” said Chris Marino, Board member and Chairman of the Community Gifts portion of the Advancing the Mission campaign.  

ECCO has taken an aggressive stance in preparing for the next storm in several ways. In 2006, ECCO reached an agreement with the Town of Mt. Pleasant to take over ECCO’s 14,000 square foot building at 1145 Six Mile Road for the distribution of relief supplies.  The Town will then distribute the supplies to the community through local community churches.  

Since 2006, ECCO has initiated and hosted disaster preparedness meetings for the East Cooper community. In these meetings, ECCO has:

 

1.  Served as a centralized facilitator to the East Cooper community by organizing churches and other non-profits to have a preplanned relief service for its community. Specific tasks will include but not be limited to:

    •   Assist churches in developing their own disaster preparedness plans.

·       Organize East Cooper churches into community clusters and have them plan and coordinate relief services to be offered.

    •   Encourage churches to have members trained in specific areas of relief service. 

    •   Encourage churches to recruit other churches in their clusters to participate in the plan.

    •   Urge each cluster to have a ham radio system.

    •   Encourage churches to develop partnerships with churches in the inland area.  These partnerships could provide supplies, volunteers, and prayer support.

 

2. Encouraged churches to locate the most vulnerable members and neighbors, see that people are aware of the resources available and help provide the resources.  Specific tasks will include but not be limited to:

     •   Encourage churches to locate people who are elderly, with special needs or who may need transportation in their geographical areas.

     •   Encourage churches to check on the vulnerable before and after the disaster.

     •   Encourage churches to develop and communicate the evacuation plan for these areas.

     •   Encourage churches to provide transportation to shelters.

 

3. Developed and distributed literature of important relief information for clients and area churches.

 

4. Coordinated plans and partnered with towns, cities, counties, and other relief agencies such as the American Red Cross, FEMA and the Salvation Army.

 

ECCO is dedicated to assisting our neighbors out of situational and generational poverty. It’s services include adult education, employment services, emergency food, clothing, emergency financial assistance for rent and utilities.  It also offers free counseling a medical clinic, a dental clinic and a prescription assistance program.  All services are provided at no cost to the client.

 

For more information on the Advancing the Mission campaign or about ECCO, contact Jack Little at 849-9220 ext. 14