Only a few days remain in a fundraising campaign that is not quite halfway to its goal of providing $50,000 for Hope Village and flood recovery efforts.
Kent Busek of Stonebridge Development Corp. challenged flood recovery supporters on Oct. 30 to raise up to $50,000, which he then would match, dollar for dollar. As of Tuesday, the "50K in 30 Days" campaign has raised about $20,800 from 103 donors in 13 states.
The dollar amounts vary from $3 in cash in an envelope from Minot and a $5 check from Vancouver, Wash., to $2,309.01 from a volunteer team from St. Peter Lutheran Church in Whitefish, Mont. Although the St. Peter congregation plans to send volunteers again to Minot in 2013, the church donated what was left after sponsoring its 2012 trips to Minot.
"All donors are told their dollars will help send volunteers to Minot, and should there be any funds left after all expenses are paid, the remaining funds will be sent to Minot to help with the rebuilding effort," read Warren Ellis' accompanying note. "Please use these funds to help match the donation of Kent Busek of Stonebridge Development."
Many of the out-of-town donations came from some of the more than 2,000 volunteers who have helped rebuild homes through Hope Village. Other out-of-state donors heard about the fund-raiser from the media or their churches.
The money raised in the campaign, which ends Friday, will be largely split between Recovery Warehouse's operations to provide rebuilding supplies and the Unmet Needs Committee. Each will receive 45 percent. The remaining 10 percent will go to Hope Village, which provides accommodations and coordination for volunteers coming from outside the Minot area.
Checks may be mailed to Hope Village, 3705 11th St. SW, Minot, N.D. 58701. Credit card contributions may be made by calling 240-1495. For information on donating online, see (www.hopevillagend.org/dollar-for-dollar).
The Federal Emergency Management Agency reports there are still 878 families and individuals living in its temporary housing units. Many of those families cannot get back into their homes without assistance, according to Hope Village.
Since its opening in April, Hope Village has had 250 volunteer teams contribute more than 83,000 hours to flood relief. The website (IndependentSector.org) values a volunteer hour at just under $17.50, making the volunteers' contributions worth more than $1.4 million.