by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Mission Harvest Ministries Inc. has run out of room and City Council member Reggie Fullwood is coming to the rescue of an organization that assists those affected by natural disasters, famine and war.
Ten years ago, Dr. Dewey Painter formed Mission Harvest, an organization dedicated to helping people in need all over the world. Fullwood plans to spend $300,000 of Excise Tax Revenue money to help the organization find an 8,000 to 10,000 square foot warehouse within his district.
“We are an international human needs organization,” said Painter. “We have sent 33 million pounds of goods to people in 58 countries.”
As the need for help seems to increase exponentially each year, Mission Harvest has grown, too. However, they are currently sharing space with Duval Container Company on Myrtle Avenue and have run of room to sort through and package donated goods.
“We are using borrowed space. It takes a lot of time and space to do the processing and we need a new building,” said Painter, adding that he has looked at several locations in the area. “We needed the space two years ago.”
“The company is really growing,” said Fullwood. “When I met Dr. Painter and heard the story, I thought it was so compelling. They also send care packages to our troops in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan.”
City Council auditor Richard Wallace said the funding Fullwood is using is from a series of 2004 bonds that were given to 14 of the 19 Council members.
“Each district Council member was given $1 million,” said Wallace. “They still have to go through the proper processes to use the money.”
Fullwood said Mission Harvest may be able to buy the necessary space with the funding, but may have to also seek some private funding depending on the cost of the building space they find.
“They are affiliated with Veterans Affairs and they don’t get any City money,” said Fullwood. “They do get some money from other not-for-profits.”
The care packages that Mission Harvest sends to U.S. troops abroad usually include such things as toiletries, reading materials, cassettes, CDs, DVDs, snacks and greeting cards written and illustrated by local school kids reminding them that they have support back home. The packages do not include cash.
Mission Harvest may be best known for its decade-long commitment to helping with disaster relief. Since the beginning of the year, they have sent three shipments of food, medicine and clothing to the areas in Southeast Asia that were ravaged by last December’s tsunami. Among those shipments have been 1,500 water purification systems that can convert five gallons of contaminated water into drinkable water every 90 minutes.
Plans are to send at least two more shipments to that area which will include 3,000 more water purification systems.
Mission Harvest doesn’t have any employees and relies solely on volunteers (many of whom are retired military veterans) to help receive, sort through and package the relief shipments.
However, Painter said he will not send everything that gets donated.
“We will not ship any oil-based products,” said Painter. “And, we have high standards. If I get a brand new shirt donated and that shirt is somehow dirty, I will not send it. We represent America when we send things.”