Recovery coordinator becomes volunteer as money dwindles

After two and a half years on the job, Donny R. Jones became a volunteer April 1.
Jones, hired as the Southwest Texas Conference disaster recovery coordinator in October 2002, said he planned to continue working unpaid on relief efforts across the conference.
Money from the Conference Disaster Response Fund (Advance 2050) had paid Jones’ salary and expenses. Contributions to that fund totaled only $5,042 during 2003—despite ongoing disaster-recovery operations in at least three districts. Consequently, the conference could no longer afford to pay him.
During his time on the job, Jones worked with interfaith disaster recovery groups in at least 18 Southwest Texas communities.
The retired U.S. Air Force logistics officer helped organize many of these interfaith groups. He trained volunteers to handle recovery casework, delivered cleanup supplies to disaster scenes and recommended United Methodist grants for local recovery efforts.
The Texas emergency management agency asked him to brief county officials about what volunteer agencies could do following disasters. He regularly took part in state-run disaster-response exercises and worked with disaster-response representatives from other faith groups.
Representatives of the United Methodist Committee on Relief, Church World Service, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the state response agency have all commended Jones’ expertise and dedication to serving those in need following disasters.