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Released 27 August 2011
Get a pdf copy of the complete press release.
Alexandria, Virginia (August 27,
2011) – As Hurricane Irene heads for the eastern seaboard, The Salvation
Army
is moving personnel and vehicles into strategic staging locations in North
Carolina and Pennsylvania. From these locations The Salvation Army will
dispatch mobile feeding units to provide food, drinks and spiritual and
emotional care to emergency responders and those affected by the storm.
Disaster response teams are already on the ground from Florida
to Maine,
serving first responders, assisting the evacuation of low lying areas, feeding
at shelters and providing a broad range of support before Hurricane Irene makes
landfall.
“We are taking
this hurricane extremely seriously and are working closely with partner agencies
to ensure we can provide a strong response to any impacts of the storm,”
said
Major George Hood, National Community Relations Secretary for The Salvation
Army in the U.S.
“Our personnel will be working overnight and throughout the weekend to
guarantee we can meet the needs.”
In total, The
Salvation Army has 370 canteens and five mobile feeding kitchens throughout the
region. Collectively, these stations can provide several hundred
thousand meals
per day when operating at full capacity. Also,
The Salvation Army is standing up a
broad range of services, in coordination with local, state and federal
governments, including supporting shelter operations and evacuations.
The Salvation
Army has already begun to serve those impacted by Hurricane Irene in Puerto
Rico by providing support to the homeless, sick
and disabled. Several hundred thousand residents of Puerto Rico are currently
without power and Salvation Army shelters continue to be available in Puerto
Rico, St. Thomas and St.
Croix . In the Bahamas,
an emergency operations center has been established in Kingston. The Salvation
Army has begun
initial distribution of food and water supplies. There is also a plan in place
to ship Meals Ready to Eat (MREs) and bottled water to the Turks and Caicos
later this week. In addition, representatives of The Salvation Army Emergency
Disaster Service Team have been asked to partner with the Bahamas National
Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to survey and assess the damage on the
islands of Acklins and Mayaguana.
Yesterday,
Commissioner William Roberts, the National Commander of The Salvation Army,
declared Hurricane Irene a national disaster, which puts all units on alert
status throughout the United
States. All divisions of The Salvation Army stand ready to
assist by preparing
staff, equipment and supplies to support impacted areas along the East Coast.
The Salvation Army is asking residents of the entire East Coast, from the
Carolinas to New England, to be prepared with
an emergency disaster plan and heed all evacuation orders from public
officials. Critical decisions need to be made ahead of time, before the storm
makes landfall.
For more information on The Salvation
Army’s preparation and response to
Hurricane Irene, please visit http://blog.salvationarmyusa.org/ , www.facebook.com/salvation
armyusa or www.twitter.com/salvationarm
yus.
Monetary
donations:
The
most critical need right now is for monetary donations, which can be made
online at www.SalvationArmyUSA.org,
by calling 1-800-SAL-ARMY or by
texting the word “STORM” to 80888 to make a $10 donation through
your mobile phone.* Checks may be mailed to: The Salvation Army, Disaster Gift
Processing Center, P.O. Box 1959, Atlanta, GA 30301. Donations should be
designated: "2011 Hurricane Season".
*A
one-time donation of $10 will be billed to your mobile phone bill. Messaging
and date rates may apply. Donations are collected for The Salvation Army by
mobilecause.com. Reply STOP to 80888 to stop. Reply HELP to 80888 for help. For
terms, see www.igfn.org/t.
Donations of used
Household
Goods and Clothing:
Due to the high expense and time demands
associated with
delivering your gently-used household goods and clothing (gifts-in-kind), The
Salvation cannot guarantee that any individual gifts-in-kind donated now will
be sent to the disaster area. In time of disaster, our stores fill these needs
from existing, pre-sorted stock. By continuing to donate gently-used household
goods to your local Salvation Army store, you not only help your community, you
help us prepare for future disaster relief needs. To find your nearest drop-off
location, please go to www.satruck.org.
Your donations make a
real difference.
A $10
donation feeds a disaster survivor for one day.
A $30
donation provides one food box, containing staple foods for a family of four,
or one household cleanup kit, containing brooms, mops, buckets and other
cleaning supplies
A
$100 donation can serve snacks and drinks for 125 survivors and emergency
personnel at the scene of a disaster
A
$250 donation can provide one hot meal to 100 people or keep a hydration
station operational for 24 hours
A
$500 donation keeps a Salvation Army canteen (mobile feeding unit) fully
operational for one day
About The Salvation Army:
The Salvation Army, an evangelical part of the
universal Christian church established in 1865, has been supporting those in
need in His name without discrimination for more than 130 years in the United
States.
Nearly 30 million Americans receive assistance from The Salvation Army each year
through the broadest array of social services that range from providing food
for the hungry, relief for disaster victims, assistance for the disabled,
outreach to the elderly and ill, clothing and shelter to the homeless and
opportunities for underprivileged children. 82 cents of every dollar spent is
used to support those services in 5,000 communities nationwide. For more
information, go to www.salvationarmyusa.org.
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