A SPECIAL LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - Austin Disaster Relief Network
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A SPECIAL LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
S P R I N G 2 0 2 1
Moving
Forward
After the
Storm Dear ADRN Family,
Welcome to a Special Edition of our Spring Director’s Letter! I have a
lot of important news to share with you including an update on ADRN’s
response to one of the most destructive storms in U.S. history, Winter Storm Uri,
what God has done through His Church, and ADRN’s future. I pray the Lord will
touch your heart as your read about the impact our network of churches has had on
thousands of survivors, and how you can become a partner in the exciting future before us.
A UNITED NETWORK OF EQUIPPED CHURCHES RESPONDS TO WINTER STORM URI
On that first day of snow and freezing weather in February, ADRN realized a huge and very real
need—elderly residents needed rescue from water-soaked, freezing homes while emergency workers,
first responders, and medical workers needed help getting to their jobs. Within hours, ADRN leadership
launched a dispatch system and deployed volunteers with 4x4 vehicles to drive individuals and families to
warming shelters, emergency workers to work, and all sorts of necessities including food, water, baby needs,
and disaster supplies to homes and warming center sites while ice and snow covered the streets. Within two
weeks, volunteers made nearly 600 drop-offs and deliveries through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ through
His Church! What a bright light the Church became during these tough first few weeks!
Other highlights of ADRN’s Winter Storm Uri response include:
• Launching the “Crisis Cleanup” Hotline, a toll-free number for residents to call for help with fallen trees and
debris, mucking out flooded homes, and plumbing issues; 41 churches and a handful of ministries completed
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over 950 of the 1,257 work orders with a goal of completing the remaining work orders by the end of April or sooner.
• 263 homeowners received FREE plumbing repair through ADRN’s partnership with Water Mission;
• Deploying four shower and laundry units at church locations around the city to provide immediate access
to survivors who lost water because of power outages or burst pipes;
• Hosting multiple Survivor Intake Centers to provide emotional and spiritual support along with
emergency financial assistance for more than 230 families; and
• Providing free clothing and goods in partnership with the large international clothing company
Uniqlo and Global Empowerment/Be Strong. The Hope Family Thrift Store has also served 96
families impacted by the winter storm, providing more than $9,000 worth of clothing and shoes.
WINTER STORM URI RESPONSE: MOVING FORWARD
With the cold weather behind us, ADRN and local ministries move forward to the long-term
recovery process for hundreds of families impacted by the winter storm. We have three main
areas of focus:
1. Immediate Needs: ADRN’s casework team and trained volunteers began right away
meeting short-term needs including rental assistance, emergency housing (hotels),
emergency finances (gift cards), replacement vehicles, plumbing repairs, furniture
replacement, and insurance deductibles for low-income families,
as well as meeting emotional and spiritual needs. Many of these
families also lost a week of pay, and some lost their entire
refrigerator of food. Our skilled workers and volunteers
continue to meet these needs as they come in through our 1,165 CASES
OF WATER DELIVERED
Disaster Survivor Hotline. (Continued next page)
598 TRIPSTAKEN
5,940 MEALS DELIVERED
DISPATCH TEAMS
204 DRIVERS
850 951
DISPATCHED
HOUSEHOLD
H ELP
WORK
REQUESTS ORDERS
COMPLETED
263 PLUMBING
ISSUES RESOLVED
CLEANUP TEAMS
4 CHURCHES
HOSTING SHOWER &
8 CHURCHES
LAUNDRY TRAILERS
SERVING
AS WARMING SHELTERS
512 SHOWERS
41CHURCHES
TAKEN
Clothing and Supply Distribution MOBILIZED TO CHURCH TEAMS
Friday, March 12 CLEAN UP HOMES
447 LOADS OF LAUNDRY
Thanks to the generosity of clothing company
Uniqlo and the Global Empowerment/Be
Strong organization, ADRN distributed more
than 1,300 bags of clothing and 540 Care Kits
to 270+ families in need in the wake of Winter
3,391 CALLS
TO THE SURVIVOR HOTLINE
Storm Uri. Each bag of clothing contained 3
complete outfits in new or like-new condition,
30 SUPPORT TEAMS 232 FAMILIES
RECEIVING
and the Care Kits were filled with food,
EMOTIONAL, SPIRITUAL
& FINANCIAL SUPPORT
CORPORATE
hygiene, PPE, and hydration supplies. PRAYER
GATHERINGS
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good
works and glorify your Father in heaven.” — Matthew 5:16 NKJV
2. Shepherding Families: Nearly 200 families have asked for Disaster Relief Shepherd (DRS)
sponsorship. ADRN’s Shepherding Program connects survivors with trained volunteers from the
local church to walk with survivors until they are back on their feet into safe and clean homes.
Shepherds work directly with our Shepherding Department to quickly meet each family’s physical,
emotional and spiritual needs. To find out more about how you can become a Shepherd, go to
adrn.org/shepherd-a-family.
3. Rebuild and Repair Homes: ADRN anticipates funding the rebuild or repair of 100-150 homes over the
next few years. Burst water pipes caused much of the damage, and in some cases devastated homes entirely.
ADRN will partner with volunteers and ministries for the repair of these homes.
ADRN’S FUTURE AND THE LAUNCH OF THE NATIONAL DISASTER RELIEF NETWORK!
Natural disasters like the winter storm continue to increase in size and impact, and every man, woman, and child
in the Greater Austin area felt the blows from two catastrophic events over the last twelve months. The need to
decentralize our network has never been more evident, and we know God has truly been directing our hands!
We continue our plans to decentralize by March 31, 2024, and set the following goals for this year:
• Raise up 6-8 Sector Leaders and Core Teams;
• Deconstruct, reconstruct, or retool our internal structure;
• Equip churches with on-demand training tools, bringing training into each
church on the network and providing immediate equipping opportunities;
• Raise up volunteer leaders within each church and sector to
mobilize volunteers city-wide in the event of catastrophic disasters;
• Identify 12 churches to become FDA-approved sites for mass food distribution; and
• Identify and prepare 12 Point Of Distribution Sites (PODS) for disaster supplies and goods.
ADRN will launch the National Disaster Relief Network (NDRN) in late June, raising up new church networks
by equipping and training them in cities across our nation to operate in the ADRN model. NDRN will deploy
where disaster strikes across the nation to plant new church networks and shine the light of Christ in those
communities. Church networks across America will also learn and grow from one another through an NDRN
annual conference. To learn more about this exciting new network, go to adrn.org/nationaltrainingacademy.
ADRN CANCELS THE “LIGHT OF HOPE” FELLOWSHIP DINNER FOR THE FIRST TIME
This is BIG news! Due to the overwhelming nature of the Winter Storm disaster response, for the first time in
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our 12-year history, ADRN will cancel our annual Light of Hope (LOH) Fellowship Dinner. This year, ADRN staff
will focus on assisting families impacted by the winter storm rather than organizing the fundraising event.
Unfortunately, this annual fundraiser typically supported a third of ADRN’s yearly operational costs. Will you
partner with ADRN by investing into the exciting future God has planned and help us raise the $550,000 needed
to support our operational costs in 2021? A handful of very generous donors are paving the way with a dollar-
for-dollar match for your donation for the first $100,000.
Here are four ways you can help ADRN meet our financial needs:
• Give Monthly: Every monthly donation helps us plan for the future with the
assurance of incoming funds. We need to increase regular giving by $7,000 per
NDRN needs a motorhome
month in 2021. to use when responding to
disasters across our nation.
• Make a Special Donation: Whether you invest $5, $500, or $50,000, you help Our deployment teams will
ADRN pay for ongoing efforts including volunteer training, equipping and need an office and sleeping
preparing churches for disaster response, leadership development to prepare quarters when deploying to
for deployments, and much more. a disaster zone to help launch
a new church network.
• Make a Pledge: Sometimes you want to give but the timing isn’t right.
No problem. You can pledge an amount to give over the next 90-to-365 days
and help ADRN prepare for the future.
• Make a Special Donation or Pledge: Double your blessing to ADRN! Give monthly and make a one-time
special gift or a future pledge. Dual gifts are an amazing way to maximize your impact through ADRN.
We’ve included a Giving and Pledge card with this letter for your convenience. You can also donate today at
donate.adrn.org/moving forward.
Thank you for equipping us to move forward with God and shine the light of hope into crisis for our community.
May God bless you and your family.
TRY ME!
Sincerely, Scan the QR code with your phone’s camera to watch
a brand new video on our Winter Storm response along
with other exciting survivor testimonies!
Daniel Geraci
Executive Director and Founder
“ADRN gave me hope...They assured me that I’m not alone. They have given
me resources and accommodations that can make this an easier course to
go on. I still have a lot of challenges ahead of me, but with them, it’s going
to be a little bit easier.” - Winter Storm survivor Sophia Marshall
For more information, visit us at ADRN.org. © 2021, Austin Disaster Relief Network, ADRN.org. All Rights Reserved.
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