There is a curious domino effect at work somewhere all the time.

A disaster occurs, people are killed or injured, property destroyed or damaged and the result is work to be done.

That's when people come forward, volunteering their time and talents, sharing wealth and abundance, easing the pain, just being there.

The dominoes that topple over one after the other are soon standing again when generous volunteers take charge.

It could be the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, Catholic Charities or some other organization.

Sometimes its a lesser-known charity such as UMCOR.

This spring, it was Judy and Mike Ferguson, Betty and Warren Rice, Gene and Pat Francis, Rusty Nutting, Mabel Hjelmen and Gladys Ehlers.

The volunteers from First United Methodist and Fellowship United Methodist churches in Austin made yet another volunteer excursion for the United Methodist Committee On Relief.

UMCOR measures its efforts the old-fashioned way: pounds not people individually. During 2002, UMCOR volunteers collected and distributed 400,606 pounds of disaster aid.

Tornado victims in Midwest City, Okla., got 10 generators, flood victims in Kentucky received 911 Flood Buckets of clean-up materials, fire victims in Canyon City, Colo., received 500 health kits of emergency first aid materials and hurricane victims in Bayou Sale, La., received Flood Buckets, mops and brooms to name only a few of the recipients of UMCOR's help.

There were also natural disaster victims outside the borders of the United States.

The Austin volunteers traveled by personal vehicles April 6 through 12. They were all part of the local Volunteers In Mission organization.

VIM started planning the April trip to Louisiana a year ago and then raised the money for the items taken with the volunteers. Seven members of First United Methodist Church and two from Fellowship United Methodist Church made the trip.

"There was really 10 because God was along," Gene Francis said.

The destination was Baldwin, La., where a warehouse and distribution center operated by UMCOR was established in the aftermath of the devastating Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

Each year, more than 2,500 volunteers -- mainly from Methodist churches -- come to the Sager Brown Depot to bring relief aid and to volunteer their help.

For Gladys Ehlers and Hjelmen, going to Louisiana was an opportunity to step out from the shadows of support group work to being hands-on volunteers. Pat Francis and Hjelmen went to a local public school to provide classroom help.

Gene Francis, Warren Rice and Mike Ferguson were called upon to perform carpentry work in the community, while other members of the group remained at the Sager Brown Depot to assemble the various health, school and other kits for disaster victims.

Like all volunteers, they did it for the self-satisfaction of helping others.

"It's doing something and you're doing it for somebody else," Ehlers said.

Lee Bonorden can be reached at 434-2232 or by e-mail at :mailto:lee.bonorden@austindailyherald.com