Chaplain Marcia McMullen DeRush has opened her heart and the doors of her office with special individuals in mind. McMullen House of Heroes is a safe haven where the chaplain offers a multitude of things other than guidance. Veterans, active military, first responders and their families are invited to stop by the little chapel on MaMac Road for not only their spiritual health, but also for their physical and mental well-being.
In addition to looking out for veterans and first responders, she also focuses on disaster relief for the community. She is currently seeking donations to help fulfill the needs of those less fortunate. DeRush has tried holding fundraisers to help raise the money to purchase these items, but they have not been successful.
Her list includes bar soap, hand towels, hygiene products, feminine products, diapers, wipes, paper towels, cleaning products, large buckets, all sizes of Ziploc bags, mosquito spray, tarps, canned meals, canned soups, powdered milk, peanut butter and jelly, MREs, and bottled water.
DeRush is CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) trained and certified, and she is currently the president of the Columbus County Disaster Response. She is also CISM (individual and group crisis response) certified, does grief counseling at her church, and is active in the Call for Backup organization for suicide prevention and awareness. She takes on pastoral counseling including pre-marital counseling, and is well versed in first aid, CPR and other first responder training.
If you would like to help with some of the donations or if you would like to take advantage of the services McMullen House of Heroes has to offer, you can contact the chaplain by calling 910.317.0233. It can be found at 136 MaMac Road in Whiteville.
