Frequently Asked Questions
Where should I send or take the items I wish to donate to Orphan Grain Train?
Please deliver or ship them to the Orphan Grain Train regional division nearest you, at your expense. Orphan Grain Train volunteers will receive your in-kind or cash donation at any one of our regional divisions. If you are bringing the items in person please contact them in advance to determine which hours they will be available. If you are unable to bring or ship your items, please find a friend who will do this for you. Orphan Grain Train does not send trucks to collect donations.
Do you take old “Portals of Prayer” devotional booklets, Sunday School or Bible study materials, or old hymnals in English?
No. We do not have enough requests for English language materials to collect them at this time. However we are always collecting new and good used Bibles (with Both Old and New Testaments) in English and Spanish. We request that covers and pages be intact.
What is the preferred contribution method?
Personal check or on-line by credit card.
Personal checks (Mail to: Orphan Grain Train, PO Box 1466, Norfolk, NE 68702-1466) or the Regional Division of your choice.
Online donations are made through our secure donation page.
In-kind donations must be taken or shipped to one of the warehouses or work-centers of Orphan Grain Train’s regional divisions.
Why is there no Orphan Grain Train Regional Division in my state?
Orphan Grain Train regional divisions are established by groups of Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod volunteers who represent at least four Lutheran congregations in the same area and who are committed to making this ministry possible in their area. When a local group is authorized by the Orphan Grain Train, Inc., at Norfolk, Nebraska, to organize, those volunteers donate from their own resources, and raise other donations from friends, churches, Bible Classes, fellowship groups, service clubs, and local, zone, and district meetings of the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League and the Lutheran Laymen’s League. For detailed steps of how to start a regional division of Orphan Grain Train in your part of the USA, please contact Clayton Andrews at (877) 371-7393, ext. 100.
How can I schedule a Wisconsin Style Fish Feed or other special event to benefit Orphan Grain Train at my church or service group?
Please contact the Orphan Grain Train regional division nearest you for information. The following Orphan Grain Train divisions have Fish Feed volunteer teams:
Colorado West
Kansas
Lincoln, Neb.
Minnesota South
Wisconsin
Norfolk, Neb.
What is our money used for when we make a gift in support of the Hurricane Katrina Relief effort?
1. For shipping costs to take requested supplies to where most needed
2. To purchase bulk supplies of food and water for the volunteer and relief camps here in America
3. To purchase 40-ft.-long storage containers and convert them to bedroom, shower, restroom, kitchen units, and other facilities as requested by our Gulf Coast relief partners.
A group of us want to volunteer in the hurricane-affected area. How do we find a location to help?
Please contact one of the following volunteer camps to learn more and/or schedule your volunteer group: Camp Restore in New Orleans at (504) 242-2636 http://www.camprestore.org. For general information about volunteering on the Gulf Coast in response to the hurricanes of 2005 and 2008, and the work left to be done, you may consult RAI Ministries at http://www.raiministries.org. RAI Ministries is the parent organization for Camp Restore.
I am going to give a presentation about OGT to my group. Where can I get materials to hand out?
We can provide an Orphan Grain Train DVD with choice of nine videos ranging in length from six to 23 minutes. (You may preview our videos at: http://www.ogt.org/index.php/video/index.) We can also provide general brochures and copies of our annual shipments poster. Click “Contact Us” at the bottom of this page, or call us toll-free at (877) 371-7393, ext. 111. Please list your full name, shipping address, phone number, and the estimated number of people that will be at your event or presentation.
Click here for a two-page FACT SHEET and WISH LIST in .pdf format.
Is Orphan Grain Train non-denominational; does it work with all churches?
Orphan Grain Train is a recognized service organization (RSO) of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). This means Orphan Grain Train works primarily with the congregations, ministries, and auxiliaries of the LCMS here in America and around the world wherever possible. Orphan Grain Train’s outreach is interdenominational in that we also partner with other Christian churches involved in disaster relief efforts here in the United States and other countries whenever it is practical to do so. Orphan Grain Train volunteers are members of Lutheran churches and other Christian denominations.