03/28/2024
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The Elizabethtown Rotary Club met on Wednesday at Cape Fear Vineyard and Winery and learned about the Bladen Baptist Men’s Disaster Relief from Rev. Kincy Barrow.

Barrow serves as the Bladen Baptist Association’s Men’s Ministry Coordinator as well as Bladen County Team Leader for disaster relief. He told those gathered that, by far, the state of North Carolina has the largest response when it involves disaster relief efforts.

“We answer more call outs than any other state including Texas,” said Barrow.

He said that the Baptist Men’s Relief has been on deployments to Texas, Louisiana, Florida South Carolina, Virginia, New York and New Jersey  to name a few places and NC Baptist Men’s Disaster Relief teams have been sent to assist with wildfires in Rockies, as well. Barrow said there is also an international element as well with deployments to places such as Sri Lanka.

“We’re very large when look at it nationally. Nationally, we are the third largest responder in the nation,” said Barrow. He said that the top two disaster relief responders are Red Cross at number one and the Salvation Army at number two.

Barrow said that the numbers of volunteers fluctuates but North Carolina remains the state with  the largest disaster response followed closely by Texas. Barrow said that the Nc Baptist Men’s Disaster Response offers certification programs in such areas as disaster kitchens, communications programs and chaplaincy. Other types of training they offer include OSHA certified forklift training, administration nd assessment training.

Barrow said that teams can be disaster relief teams can be dispatched almost anywhere in the United States. For example, Barrow said when there was rioting in Baltimore, MD the Baptist Men sent a laundry unit and disaster response teams were dispatched and did laundry for national guard soldiers who were on duty.

During the unrest in Charlotte, the NC Baptist Men’s Disaster Response was asked to provide an emergency feeding unit to feed the police and national guard members who were trying to restore order, said Barrow. 

Barrow said that mass feeding is what the Baptist Men’s Disaster Response is best known for but they also offer such things as medical response, emergency child care teams and recovery team that can go into areas and assist with clean up. He said other ways the response teams assist is with mud removal, roof repairs, etc.

Barrow said one does not have to be certified to respond to a disaster. They simply have to have the willingness to serve. For more information on NC Baptist Men’s Disaster Response, you can contact the Bladen Baptist Association at 910-862-3496.

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