Volunteer Information

Volunteering is sharing your life!

We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. - Sir Winston Churchill

The highest reward for a person's toil is not what they get for it, but what they become by it. - John Ruskin

What does a volunteer look like?

Brown-eyed, blue-eyed; weathered skin, smooth skin; dressed in a suit, dressed in shorts.

Where does this person work?

A store, a government office, a garden, a food bank, a vehicle, MERCI

What does the work involve?

Planning, evaluating; talking, listening; learning, teaching, planting, harvesting; giving, receiving.

Who gains from the volunteer's activities?

EVERYONE!

While the answer to these questions could come from a variety of programs in almost any North Carolina community, these specific answers describe a mission trip with MERCI.

Volunteer at MERCI

A variety of skills are needed to support MERCI. Click here to review our current needs.

Volunteer Orientation Packet *

MERCI’s Volunteer Orientation Packet has the information requested for work teams. Please read it carefully. (Adobe Reader is required to read the document.)

Pages included in the packet are:

Cover Page
A Covenant for Success
Optional Insurance through UMVIM
Volunteer Information
Rebuilding Team’s Supply List
Participant Liability Release Form – Each volunteer must complete the form. Take the forms with you to your assigned destination and give them to the director.
Individual Skills Survey Sheet – Needs to be mailed to the MERCI. Office 2 months prior to departure.
Medical Information Form – Each person must complete the form. Take the forms with you to your assigned destination and give them to the director.
Liability Release Form for Youth – Each youth must fill out this form and have it signed by his/her parent or legal guardian.
Medical Release Form for Minors – This needs to be notarized.
Evaluation Sheet – Please fill this out the last evening of your workweek and give it to the director.
Checklist Two Weeks before Departure
Suggested Questions for Volunteer Group Debriefing

PLEASE NOTE: ALL YOUTH MUST BE 16 YEARS OLD OR OLDER.

Housing and Food

We are asking that all teams come prepared to pay twenty dollars ($20) per night per person for housing, whether it be in a church, home, mobile home, or other facility. This is to be paid to the regional recovery office to which the team is assigned. All teams are responsible for preparing their own food.

We ask that teams bring at least one person with carpentry skills for every five unskilled workers.

Project Expenses

Project expenses are not required. However, donations of material or money are appreciated. Checks can be made payable to: MERCI. Please mail them to: MERCI / 676 Community Drive, Goldsboro, North Carolina 27530.

Team Assignments

I will call you at least one month prior to your departure to tell you where we have assigned your team. United Methodists will be your Prayer Support, praying for you daily as you prepare your team for the tasks ahead. May God bless you all as you continue to serve Him.

Sincerely, Ann Huffman, Coordinator

* MERCI is the owner of all documents available for download from this web site. Any alterations of the files voids that document. MERCI is not responsible for any liabilities related to misuse of the documents.