Shortly after the storm we acquired use of the flooded local elementary school gym to use as a warehouse for collecting and staging contributions and building materials for our ongoing projects and very active distribution center. The gym gave us about 8,000 square feet of storage space and we usually have it packed to capacity with goods coming in and out. We can’t thank enough the school board and the county supervisors who made these facilities possible for the good of the community. Literally thousands of people received aid and resources because we were able to utilize the building.
The school board recently informed us that we need to vacate the premises for a June 1 schedule demolition to make way for the school’s reconstruction.. This news sent us scrambling for alternative storage options. Providentially, a local resident offered a parcel of land for our use, and we have begun making a transition. We plan to replace the gym with three smaller shelters, a stick built structure, a metal Quonset hut, and a big tent.
Stick Built Warehouse:
Our friends from Trinity Lutheran Church in Japa Maryland planned and collected materials for a 30X60 building on the donated property. (See artist rendering above.) This 1,800 square feet of storage space will tremendously help with our warehouse needs. The Maryland team will construct the building on their June 11th trip.
Metal Quonset Warehouse:
Last year a generous man in Georgia donated a 30X40 metal Quonset hut, similar to the one we use as our church facilities. We plan to erect this building adjacent to the stick built warehouse to provide an additional 1,200 square feet of space. We need to pour a slab for this building. We estimate about $2,500 for the foundation. Please contact us if you would like to contribute toward this project.
Big Tent Warehouse:
Some of our good friends from Virginia donated a 40X60 tent to the relief, recovery, and rebuilding efforts in Lakeshore.. We plan to incorporate the tent into the warehouse complex to give us another 2,400 square feet under roof. Not ideal for long term use, this tent will give us breathing room while we make plans for a more permanent solution. We need to pour an asphalt pad for the tent to sit on and keep the stuff off of the wet soggy ground. If you would like to help with the asphalt for this project, please contact us.
Forklift needed
When we loose the gymnasium, we will also loose the forklift used to unload trucks and move pallets. We need a replacement. We think an all terrain forklift would work best. We would love for someone to donate or indefinitely lend some equipment for this purpose.
Bigger Warehouse plans
The three planned structures, the stick built warehouse, the metal Quonset hut, and the big tent, will give us approximately 5,400 square feet to replace the 8,000 we will loose when the gymnasium comes down. Since we look to have the ongoing relief, recovery, and rebuilding in Lakeshore continue for several more years, we find ourselves praying toward a much larger building that can serve as a warehouse for the foreseeable future to meet our long term needs. The generous family providing the land for those three buildings has graciously offered enough space to rebuild a gym sized structure as well. A building that size would pose a considerable investment. Please join us as we seek god’s will in this matter.
5 Comments
Our group is so excited about being able to help out the Church. This is the 4th group coming down and we are so happy to build this building.
God’s Peace,
Mike Hinman
Trinity Lutheran Church
[…] A couple of weeks ago I detailed our warehouse replacement plans. One component involved the erection of a big event tent. We could not find an asphalt company willing to pour a pad for at least another three months, so instead of placing the tent on the newly required off-site property, we put the tent up here on the church grounds on what we affectionately call the “New Tent City.” this temporary storage area will give us room while we seek more permanent options. […]
[…] As part of our warehouse replacement plan, volunteers this week have been removing items from the gym and moving them to the big tent and other storage locations. The team from Maryland has been making great progress in erecting the 30X60 building. It should be complete by the end of the week and ready to move in. As one of the ladies on their team said, the builders have been “sweating like piggies and working like dogs.” We praise God for all the hard work put in this week. […]
It was such a satisfying experience to be a part of this wonderful project. I know that GOD is alive in the people of Lakeshore because the tragedy that devestated this town is not eveident in the them. Even after two years many are still without a home and living in a FEMA trailer. Yet, everyone that I met along the way was just so polite and friendly. It was a respect for each other that I do not see very often in my hometown. I am so blessed that Trinity Lutheran Church provided me the opportunity to be help the families of Lakeshore. I now feel I have an extended family and will always keep them in my prayers. I can’t wait to go back again.
[…] Posted by Pastor Don A. Elbourne Jr. People often ask us to publish our most pressing needs. Since the storm destroyed all our buildings, the most urgent need has always been storage space for contributions, building materials, and other things to fuel the ongoing relief effort. Now that we have a new warehouse, and a forklift, we could use pallet racks to make best use of the vertical space. The 12 foot ceilings will allow us to stack pallet several high and double or almost triple the usable storage in the 30X60 building. We think that three 30′ rows would serve to ideally expand the maximum capacity. If you would like to adopt this need, please contact us. […]