Uploaded December 2022 | Updated September 2026, 52 minutes ago
The December 2022 Edition of Brethren Voices” featured John Kinsel and his experiences with Children’s Disaster Services. Since 1980, when disaster strikes, Children’s Disaster Services has responded to meet the needs of children, by setting up childcare centers in shelter and disaster assistance centers, established by FEMA or the Red Cross.
“Brethren Voices” meets with John Kinsel, a 40-year volunteer with CDS and member of the Beavercreek Church of the Brethren, located in Southern Ohio. In this second program with John, he shares the “Kit of Comfort” which is a “box of supplies,” (toys, games, art supplies, etc.) stuffed in a suitcase, made for easy travel by car or plane, to the disaster site.
Upon arrival, and the opening of the childcare center, the “Kit of Comfort,” is, according to John Kinsel, an “instant child carecenter, in a box and you don’t even have to add water.” The kits are made by individuals or churches, for placement in locations across the country, where disasters historically occur. The kits are used in many different types of settings, ranging from an auditorium, gym, Sunday School classroom, below a set of stairs or in a parking lot.
Kinsel states, “CDS establishes the child care centers, to create a space for children, as they are. Our volunteers are not there to teach children, act as counselors, or analyze children. We create a safe space for the children, offering an accepting relationship where the healing can begin to take place. This allows parents to begin planning and time to do preparations and planning, following the disaster, which has traumatized all family members.”
TAGS: Disaster Childcare, Child Development, Kit of Comfort, Traumatized Children, Red Cross Support, Disaster Assistance, Volunteer Training, Brethren Service,
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The December 2022 Edition of Brethren Voices” featured John Kinsel and his experiences with Children’s Disaster Services. Since 1980, when disaster strikes, Children’s Disaster Services has responded to meet the needs of children, by setting up childcare centers in shelter and disaster assistance centers, established by FEMA or the Red Cross.
“Brethren Voices” meets with John Kinsel, a 40-year volunteer with CDS and member of the Beavercreek Church of the Brethren, located in Southern Ohio. In this second program with John, he shares the “Kit of Comfort” which is a “box of supplies,” (toys, games, art supplies, etc.) stuffed in a suitcase, made for easy travel by car or plane, to the disaster site.
Upon arrival, and the opening of the childcare center, the “Kit of Comfort,” is, according to John Kinsel, an “instant child carecenter, in a box and you don’t even have to add water.” The kits are made by individuals or churches, for placement in locations across the country, where disasters historically occur. The kits are used in many different types of settings, ranging from an auditorium, gym, Sunday School classroom, below a set of stairs or in a parking lot.
Kinsel states, “CDS establishes the child care centers, to create a space for children, as they are. Our volunteers are not there to teach children, act as counselors, or analyze children. We create a safe space for the children, offering an accepting relationship where the healing can begin to take place. This allows parents to begin planning and time to do preparations and planning, following the disaster, which has traumatized all family members.”
TAGS: Disaster Childcare, Child Development, Kit of Comfort, Traumatized Children, Red Cross Support, Disaster Assistance, Volunteer Training, Brethren Service,
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