The Salvation Army Provides Aid Following Historic Tornadoes
Food, Beverages, and Spiritual and Emotional Care Provided to Those In Need
Alexandria, Virginia (March 3, 2012) - The Salvation Army continues to provide aid to impacted areas of the Midwest and Southern United States following a historic day that produced more tornadoes than in all of March in past years. Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services (EDS) teams are also on standby to respond to severe weather and tornado watches and warnings that are still in effect in much of the region.
Following the most recent wave of devastating tornadoes, EDS personnel in Tennessee are actively serving residents of several counties affected by the storms, providing spiritual and emotional care to disaster survivors as well as food and beverages, and units are on standby throughout the state ready to respond as needed,. In Chattanooga, Tenn., more than 200 meals were served at the evacuee center, and The Salvation Army of Cleveland, Tenn., served as a shelter for those seeking refuge from the storms.
Salvation Army units in Decatur, Florence and Huntsville are also responding to tornado touchdowns in Limestone and Madison Counties in North Alabama. In Athens, Ala., two mobile feeding units from Decatur and Florence have responded with food and drinks, and in Meridianville, Ala., a mobile feeding unit from Huntsville has been deployed to provide food and drinks as well as spiritual and emotional care. The Salvation Army's Emergency Disaster Services Warehouse and Command Center in Jackson, Miss. is being utilized to manage the widespread response across Alabama and Mississippi, and additional units from Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi are also on standby for severe weather response across the mid-South.
In addition, Salvation Army EDS teams from New Albany, Ind., were deployed following several powerful tornadoes in the Southern Indiana region. The Salvation Army has provided food for hundreds of disaster survivors and emergency responders, and personnel are continuing to assess what is needed to provide the best support.
A team of Salvation Army social workers in Harveyville, Kan. have begun to provide aid to tornado survivors to help with immediate needs such as food, clothing, medicine, shelter, bedding and baby products. Salvation Army EDS teams have also provided meals, snacks and drinks to nearly 2,000 people in the area, and will continue to operate mass feeding operations throughout the weekend.
The Salvation Army also continues to provide needed assistance to those in the Branson, MO that were affected by Wednesday's damaging storms. Hundreds of meals have been distributed through The Salvation Army's mobile feeding unit, and emotional and spiritual counseling is available to those in need.
Monetary donations to go directly toward relief efforts 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.* For more information on The Salvation Army's continued response, please visit https://blog.salvationarmyusa.org/, www.facebook.com/salvationarmyusaor www.twitter.com/salvationarmyus.
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About The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army, an evangelical part of the universal Christian church established in London 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 The Salvation Army spends is used to support those services in 5,000 communities nationwide. For more information, go to www.salvationarmyusa.org.
* A onetime donation of $10 will be billed to your mobile phone bill. Messaging & data 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.