06/29/2026
From the Yadkin Valley District Superintendent Rev. Dr. Mark Conforti concerning the earthquakes in Venezuela:
Dear Yadkin Valley District,
I am inviting you and your local church to join the people of Hillsdale UMC, including Hillsdale en Español, to support the people of Venezuela. As you likely saw in the news recently, two massive earthquakes have devastated that country. Search and rescue teams are still seeking for survivors, and families are desperately waiting for news. Meanwhile, Hillsdale en Español is led by Pastor Loana Diaz and her husband, Manny; both are from Venezuela. And most of the people they lead in ministry are from Venezuela, too.
Having held a prayer vigil on Friday, Hillsdale en Español ask for our prayers. Hillsdale UMC is receiving donated items to be sent soon; see below for details. You can also offer a financial donation through UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief). Click HERE (https://umcmission.org/work/humanitarian-relief) to give online. 100% of your gift will go toward disaster relief. I’m told by one of their staff workers that UMCOR currently does not have partners with the capacity to respond at this time, but they are exploring possibilities. The rescue effort is the immediate need. UMCOR is committed to finding a way to provide for relief needs in the aftermath of these earthquakes.
In the meantime, to contribute items, we are requesting a limited list of goods:
Personal hygiene products (example: toothpaste, soap, deodorant)
Canned or pouched protein foods (example: canned or pouched chicken, tuna, sardines)
Infant baby formula
Dried beans
Drop off your items from this list at Hillsdale UMC (5018 US Highway 158, Advance, NC 27006). If no one is available to receive your donation, goods can be dropped in the church’s PRAYER ROOM at the front of the facility. This room is climate-controlled and always open. Here is the distribution plan for these donations:
Hillsdale UMC will be the local receiving point for items to be shipped to Venezuela for the rescue and relief efforts.
“Citizens of the World” (based in Charlotte) is the agency we will be using as the first collection point to box and transport these collected goods.
“Global Empowerment Mission (GEM)” (based in Florida) will be the second collection point for our goods to be transported from the Charlotte-based agency.
“We Love Foundation” (based in Venezuela) is the collection point in connection with the GEM agency to receive our goods quickly and efficiently in the hardest hit area. They have already received the very first relief efforts from the US in this network.
Thank you to Rev. Loana Diaz, Rev. Jerry Webb, and the Outreach team at Hillsdale UMC for coordinating this important effort.
As you consider what you can give, let us all join in solidarity with our Venezuelan sisters and brothers. Let us pray for lives to be recovered, communities to be restored, and for God’s loving presence to bring renewed hope to an overwhelmed people.
Grace and peace,
Mark
Rev. Dr. Mark Conforti
District Superintendent
Yadkin Valley District
