EDWARD — A local disaster relief organization held a house blessing Wednesday, celebrating the finalization of a project and the three-year anniversary of Hurricane Irene.

The United Methodist Disaster Recovery staff met Edward resident Diane Clark, friends and family to bless her new house, rebuilt from damages by Hurricane Irene, said United Methodist Church Disaster Response Superintendent Rev. Cliff Harvell. At the blessing, Clark was presented a cross made by a Pennsylvanian volunteer, and the cross was hung using the last nail to be put into the house. She was also presented with a quilt made by a volunteer church from Michigan, Harvell said.

Harvell said the house blessings, which are conducted after the rebuild of a new home, are a way to welcome disaster victims to their new home, and typically, friends and family are invited to join the celebration.

“Our house blessings are a time when we thank God for our ability to pull a plan together,” Harvell said. “The last nail that goes into the house, hangs the cross. It’s truly a day of celebration. You can imagine how Ms. Diane feels. It’s an unbelievable blessing.”

Clark’s home is the 10^th new home since Hurricane Irene hit eastern North Carolina on Aug. 27, 2011, Harvell said. Since Irene, the organization has done around 640 home projects in Beaufort, Hyde, Crave, Pamlico and Dare counties, with 10 of those being complete rebuilds. Currently, there are eight to 10 projects left in Craven County and another 25 left in Beaufort and Hyde counties, all from damage sustained from Hurricane Irene, Harvell said.

Harvell said the UMDR planned to have Hurricane Irene projects completed, but due to other disasters it may not finish up with Irene victims for another year to a year and a half. To date, the organization is simultaneously conducting projects from four different disasters, including Irene, Hurricane Arthur, the April 7 tornadoes and the April 25 tornadoes.

The projects are possible through monies the victims receive from insurance, but other funding is pulled from donations from private citizens, churches and businesses, Harvell said. Harvell also writes grants to organizations like Ruritan and Rotary clubs. The mission of the organization remains to aid disaster victims who are uninsured or underinsured, Harvell said.

Though funding for the projects is vital to keeping the ministry going, one component has proved invaluable — volunteer manpower, Harvell said. The UMDR has partnered with various faith-based organizations like the NC Baptist Men and the NC Friends of Disaster Service, who frame up most of the projects. However, volunteer teams from all over the nation keep construction going. So far, teams from 40 states in the nation and four provinces in Canada have come to eastern North Carolina to aid in recovery. The organization has arranged short-term and long-term accommodations for different projects underway, giving teams a place to sleep, cook, shower and fellowship — valuable features of the recovery effort that keep the teams coming, Harvell said.

“We welcome anybody that wants to come aside us and do the work God has called us to do, and that’s to help the people that have been affected by disasters,” Harvell said. “All we have to do is put a plea out across the nation and volunteers will keep coming.”

If you would like to volunteer or donate, call the volunteer coordinator at 1-888-440-9167 or 919-610-8018, email at disasterresponse@nccumc.org or write to North Carolina Conference of United Methodist Church Disaster Response Committee at 120 Satchwell Rd, Grimesland, N.C. 27837.