United Methodist Committee on Relief assemble kits for Haitians

SALT LAKE CITY — On Saturday, a group of about 30 volunteers gathered in a supply-filled warehouse on the city's west side.

For several hours, the group stuffed boxes full of towels, soap and bandages intended for Haitians affected by Tuesday's earthquakes.

Their efforts became much more personal when they learned that the national leader of their group, the United Methodist Committee on Relief, had died before being rescued from the ruins of Hotel Montana in Port-au-Prince.

Dixon was in Haiti with two other UMCOR representatives, Clint Rabb, head of mission volunteers, and James Gulley, an UMCOR consultant. The group was trying to improve medical services in the country. Rabb and Gulley were safely rescued.

"It's a roller coaster ride for us because we thought he was safe, and now we're devastated at the loss of our leader," said Brian Diggs, director of the Salt Lake UMCOR office, of Sam Dixon. "He's not just a leader, but a real friend."

More than 100 volunteers gathered Friday and Saturday to assemble health kits to be shipped to Haiti at the UMCOR warehouse in Salt Lake City.

An assembly line was formed, comprising of volunteers from various backgrounds, to verify each kit included a hand towel, washcloth, comb, fingernail clippers, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste and bandages.

Diggs, who has been the director since UMCOR opened its Salt Lake office on June 1, 2009, said they had approximately 80 volunteers on Friday and 30 on Saturday. Word spread quickly when Linda Hilton, volunteer coordinator at Crossroads Urban Center, forwarded an e-mail to 250 faith communities in the area including churches, synagogues and mosques.

Diggs is prepared to send out 23,000 to 24,000 health kits on Thursday to their main office in Baldwin, La., which will then be transported to Haiti. UMCOR currently has a team trying to get into Haiti to aid in distributing the health kits. They work closely with other organizations such as LDS Humanitarian Services and the American Red Cross.

Because of donations that arrived in December from North and South Dakota, volunteers at UMCOR in Salt Lake City were able to immediately begin assembling kits with the supplies they had already received.

"Once we start getting word about what's needed in Haiti, we're ready to go," Diggs said. "If you start from scratch after a disaster, it's almost over."