'Epic Burger Battle' Raises $10,000 for Harvey Response

When a group of young people at Timothy Christian School in Chicago got behind a project, amazing things happened.

On Sept. 7, 2017, students at the school hosted an Epic Burger Battle to raise funds for Hurricane Harvey response in Texas through World Renew’s Disaster Response Services (DRS).

Although the meal and preceding soccer game were threatened by rain, the food sale resulted in donations totaling $6,000.

To make the project a success, parents, local businesses, and the community got behind the event. Volunteers served up four kinds of burgers prepared by an executive chef, and attendees voted for the best of the bunch—with a crab cake slider taking first place.

In addition, parents and other patrons donated directly to the cause through the school, collecting another $5,000.

A World Renew donor then matched Timothy’s $11,000, resulting in $22,000 in total donations for World Renew DRS to help Hurricane Harvey survivors get back home in the days ahead.

“We give God the Glory,” said the school’s director of development, Bob Venhousen, “We are thankful that our students and our community could help Hurricane Harvey victims in a tangible way.”

The funds raised are helping World Renew DRS respond to Hurricane Harvey in Port Arthur, Texas, where 85 percent of homes were damaged or destroyed by the Category 3 storm in late August and early September. The overall costs for rebuilding in Texas after Harvey totals close to $200 billion, making it one of the most destructive storms in U.S. history.

To address the massive amount of rebuilding needed, World Renew DRS has assigned two sets of volunteer managers to begin to coordinate World Renew DRS’s part in a Texas-sized response to Harvey.

“World Renew is assisting homeowners in Port Arthur with clean up and tearing out waterlogged walls and flooring,” said managers Mark and Carol Martin. “We are waterproofing, fixing pipes and electrical lines, and repairing heating and cooling units so that people can return to their homes quickly and safely.”

The support raised by Timothy Christian School and others helps World Renew DRS fund these activities and work that will be donated by volunteers and groups in the weeks and months to come. The work can includes activities like assessing homeowner’s needs, coordinating with local and national organizations, estimating repair costs, housing reconstruction and repair, and placing both short- and long-term volunteers.

 A ministry of compassion and care for those enduring difficult circumstances, the heart of World Renew is the love of Jesus Christ meeting people at the point of their greatest need—a value that Timothy Christian School’s Epic Burger Battle embraced.

“We are so grateful for the generous hearts of the attendees as we were able to raise over $10,000 which will go to World Renew for Hurricane Harvey response,” Venhousen said. “Also, huge kudos to the TC dads who organized the entire event, Servicemaster, and all of the volunteers who gave of their time. It was an epic night, all the way around!”