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Released 15 September 2008
The Salvation Army Goes into Galveston with Strike Team,
Feeds Thousands
Devastation
Surprises Volunteers, Staff
Galveston, Texas (September 14, 2008) – You can’t tell where the water
ends. Miles and miles of Gulf water has come into neighborhoods. Boats are
scattered like tinker toys along I-45, the only thoroughfare that connects Houston to Galveston. Hurricane debris is strewn along the
highways, giving the impression of sand dunes.
“The devastation
is heart-wrenching,” said Captain Brett Meredith, The Salvation Army
officer assigned to Texas Military Forces (Strike Team). Captain Meredith along
with two Salvation Army canteens (mobile kitchens) drove into Galveston with Texas Military Forces Saturday
afternoon. The canteens were stationed at the state command center and Ball High
School and fed more than 1,200 first responders and
evacuees Saturday evening. In Galveston, The Salvation Army expected to feed more than
3,000 people on Sunday.
Additional Salvation
Army resources were deployed Sunday morning to Houston and Galveston. The Salvation Army is
expecting a fleet of more than 70 canteens, field kitchens and other disaster
equipment to come into Texas within the next few
days.
A staging area set up at Port San Antonio, the former Kelly Air Force
Base, was moved to the Houston area on Sunday, Sept 14. In the short-term
aftermath of the storm, Salvation Army officers and staff will focus primarily
on the immediate needs of disaster survivors and first-responders, providing
food, hydration, shelter, and comfort for impacted individuals and
families.
The
Salvation Army asks people who want to help those affected by the recent
tropical cyclones to visit www.salvationarmyusa.org or call
1-800-SAL-ARMY. Monetary donations are needed to meet survivors’ most
immediate needs. A $100 donation will feed a family of four
for two days and will provide two cases of drinking water and one household
cleanup kit (containing brooms, mops, buckets and cleaning
supplies).
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