MAY 27. 2013

ANNOUNCEMENT:  Faith Village will no longer accommodate volunteers after July 19, 2013


Since March 2012, Faith Village has been providing temporary housing and support for volunteer work groups engaged in long-term recovery from the September 2011 Bastrop County wildfire disaster.  The third largest “wildland urban interface home loss fire” in U.S. history,[1] the Bastrop Complex Wildfire burned over 34,000 acres and destroyed 1,691 homes.  Of those, 276 were completely uninsured, and altogether more than half were underinsured, with an average coverage gap of some $75,000.  Almost half the affected households met the HUD definition of “low income.”[2]  

Faith Village has hosted volunteer teams from church congregations, ecumenical campus ministries and secular college groups from all across the United States—from Albany, New York, to Kirkland, Washington.  Many volunteers invested as much as $1,000 and a week of their lives to come and help neighbors they had never met. 

The need for volunteer assistance has diminished to the point that we can no longer solicit teams on an overnight basis.  Therefore, Faith Village will cease operations at the end of July, and reservations will not be accepted beyond July 19, 2013.

On behalf of all the residents of Bastrop County, and our respective faith groups, we wish to express heartfelt thanks and blessings to all the volunteers who have come—and your friends, family members and congregations back home who have supported your mission.  Your impact on our community extends far beyond the value of the physical work you have done here; it has been an expression of love that has moved us all. 

We also wish to thank the people of Bastrop County, in particular the Bastrop County Long-Term Recovery Team, the City of Smithville, the Smithville Independent School District, our many helpful neighbors in Smithville, and the members of the many local congregations whose support has been vital to our success. 

Gratefully Yours,

The Board of Directors of Faith Village, a joint ministry of the Baptist General Convention of Texas; Episcopal Diocese of Texas; United Methodist Church, Southwest Texas Conference; and Presbyterian Church (USA).


[1] “Bastrop Complex Wildfire Case Study,” Texas Forest Service and Bastrop County Office of Emergency Management, May 2012

                ( http://www.co.bastrop.tx.us/bcdisaster/pdf/Bastrop_case_study_FinalVersion.pdf )


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------