Pray

• Pray for healing.  While certainly praying for physical healing, also pray for emotional and mental healing.  Continue to praise God that no one lost their life, and ask Him to rest His hand of healing on those who need it.  The emotional and mental scars can last far longer than the physical ones, which leads to…
• Pray for rest.  This might sound trivial, but many of these people, particularly the children but also the adults, could well be having a hard time sleeping.  Nightmares, stress, the internal need to keep working on cleanup, and especially post traumatic stress can negatively impact sleep.  Pray for God’s peace to settle over those trying to piece their lives back together when they sleep.
• Pray for a smooth process.  Working with insurance companies, contractors, government aid agencies is a difficult and time-consuming process.  It can be its own layer of stress on top of an already stressful and traumatic event.  Pray that God would smooth out the process and that there wouldn’t be any hiccups for these folks.
• Pray for moments of normalcy:  In the midst of the aftermath of a traumatic event like this, it can feel as if “normal” is a word that will never be used again.  Pray for moments of “normal” for these families and people, That might come in a meal taken as family at a restaurant, to even the regular routine of work and school, or maybe even just going to the store to buy groceries.  A moment of “normal” can go a long way in helping the healing and recovery process.
• Set a reminder.  Put a reminder in your phone to repeat once a week, and maybe another one in a month or two, to remind you to continuing praying for their recovery.

Give

• GoFundMe: This link is  a generic search for “Madison Heights, VA fundraisers,’ however at the time of posting (4/24/18), all but one result on the first page of results were for victims of the tornado (there’s another tornado victim fundraiser on the 2nd page of the results as well).  If you would like to give aid directly to the families, this can be a good option.
• ElonStrong.com: Our friends at River Church have been actively involved in helping those affected from the first day.  Donations made through ElongStrong.com and AmherstStrong.com are primarily going to families with no insurance.
• Gleaning For The World: GFTW has been partnering with local churches to minister to those displaced by these storms, particularly in providing emergency assistance to those are are victims of the tornado.  They have been distributing food and materials directly to the families and victims.
• Through Northminster: Please put “Elon Strong” in the memo field of checks made out to Northminster, and we will direct those funds to those in need.
• Gift Cards: Purchasing gift cards to Food Lion, Walmart, Target, Lowe’s, Home Depot and various places like that are very helpful.  Many of these families have lost everything and don’t know what they need right now.  A gift card can be very helpful in allowing them to purchase what they need, when they realize they need or are ready for it.  Gift cards can be turned in to the Amherst County Chamber of Commerce & Visitor’s Center in Amherst, to the church office, or placed in the offering plate on Sunday mornings.  Gift cards given to us will be passed along to Elon Presbyterian for them to give out directly to the community impacted.
• Set A Reminder:  As with praying, set a reminder for a month or two, if not longer, from now.  There is always a large influx of donations in the immediate aftermath of disasters like this, but the needs last for months.

Volunteer