Wintergarden Presbyterian Church
April 26, 2024
Host Site Coordinator: Wendy E. Rainey
Contact: 941-743-5335
Email: disasterrelief@wintergardenpres.org
Website: https://www.wintergardenpres.org/
Facebook: https.//www.facebook.com/wintergardenpres/
Address: 18305 Wintergarden Ave, Port Charlotte, FL 33948
Presbytery: Peace River Presbytery
Disaster: Hurricane Ian
Cost: $10 per person per night
Sleeping Accommodations: We are proud to be partnering with Mission on Wheels in our disaster recovery mission. They are providing us with 2 bunkhouse trailers that sleep a total of 32 people. The bunk trailers are heated and air conditioned for everyone’s comfort. These are bunk beds so at least half of the volunteers will have to be able to climb onto the top bunk. Upon request, we can sometimes host slightly larger groups with overflow into the building. (We have some cots and blow up mattresses for this purpose.) Please let us know as early as possible if you need additional or special accommodations and we will do our best to accommodate your group’s needs.
Bedding and Linens: Volunteers will need to provide their own bedding and bath linens (twin XL), including towels and washcloths, pillows, and season-appropriate sheets and blankets or sleeping bags. (Sleeping bags avoid the quandary of what size sheets to bring.) We do have a limited number of back-up linens for guests who forget them, but not enough to accommodate full groups.
Shower: Work has begun on new inside showers, with an estimated completion in mid-June, 2024. But until they are ready, we have a shower trailer available for our guests.
Kitchen: The church kitchen is available for volunteers to prepare meals. As a part of our storm recovery, we rebuilt and expanded our kitchen. Volunteers can now prepare their own meals with industrial equipment and an ice maker.
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Other Amenities:
- Grill
- Labyrinth: avaliable in the sanctuary
- Lounge and Coffee Bar: There is alounge designed specifically for volunteer work teams too relax and recover. It has a smart TV and WiFi.
- Outdoor Spaces: park within walking distance, gardens with a fountain onsite, and we have a nearby pond that you can walk around for exercize.
- Weather: The weather in Southwest Florida is warm most of the year
About the church: God is doing amazing work through Wintergarden Presbyterian Church (Wintergarden), enabling us to be a small but mighty church made up of loving, welcoming, and devoted people. Every week, we gather in creative ways for Bible study, worship, prayer, fellowship, and serving our neighbors. We have a weekly food pantry which, post- Hurricane Ian, serves about 500 families each week!
Additionally, our Garden of Eatin’ offers community and sensory gardens to help supply food and peace to our neighbors. After hurricane Ian, we answered God's call to help our community in new ways and began working in disaster recovery. We have achieved this new mission with the help of partners who provide us with a bunkhouse trailer, construction coordinators, and other assistance. As we continue this journey of faith, we are excited to see how God will work in and through us to share God’s love
with everyone we meet. We will continue to embody being “a church of hope, love, and friendship.” We welcome all to join us on this journey.
About the disaster: On September 28, 2022, our community was greatly impacted by the devastation of Hurricane Ian. Words do no
t describe the devastation. Our property sustained winds of over 190 mph for many hours. Although considered a category 4,
we experienced the winds of nearly a category 5 hurricane. Moreover, the size of the storm impacted most of the state, making this a
historically devastating storm. Here at Wintergarden, the storm blew off part of our roof and as a result the rain poured into our sanctuary for 15 hours making our sanctuary uninhabitable. Because of the damage to the sanctuary we worshiped outside under a tent for 10 months and yet we continued to feed people in our community and to host work teams coming to help rebuild. Ian also decimated our food forest and did significant damage to our gardens and food pantry. All buildings are now fully restored and improved in the process, but the gardens and food forest are still work in progress. Our new sanctuary is lovely and even has a labyrinth! The kitchen is larger now with industrial equipment, including an ice machine - vital for working in the hot Florida sun. Throughout the rebuilding we have remained determined to serve our community. We are told it will take 5 years or more for Port Charlotte to be made whole again. We remain called to do whatever we can for our neighbors.
To learn more about our PDA Host Site or to schedule a time to volunteer, contact Wendy E. Rainey at disasterrelief@wintergardenpres.org or 941-743-5335.
List of Volunteer Host Sites