Boston, U.S. – Behind the YMCA, The Salvation Army ranks second in the Who’s Who of some of America’s most beloved and recognizable organizations. Read the full story

The Salvation Army continues to provide critical aid, including food, hydration, clean-up kits and emotional/spiritual care to North Dakota and Minnesota residents threatened by flood waters of historic proportion.

Since Friday, when volunteers first began filling sand bags and building levies to ward off the swelling Red River, The Salvation Army has provided support to hundreds of thousands of individuals. Across North Dakota and Minnesota, 344 Salvation Army staff members and volunteers have worked nearly 4,000 hours to serve more than 41,500 meals, 123,000 snacks and 102,000 drinks.
Ten mobile feeding units (canteens and vans) are roving the streets of Fargo, where three stationary feeding sites are providing nourishment to volunteers and residents as they fill an estimated 25,000 sandbags per hour. Two other mobile feeding units are stationed in Grand Forks, one in Crookston, and another is en route to Bismarck.

FARGO:
The Salvation Army has spent 2,600 hours serving more than 38,500 prepared meals, 123,000 snack, and 13,600 drinks to workers and volunteers at flood prevention sites.
“The Salvation Army’s operation is vital in supporting the people fighting to save our community,” said Captain Moore. “This is a race against time. The propensity for great property loss is more and more evident with each foot the river rises.”
Due to melting snow, flooding is projected to crest at 41 feet on Saturday—23 feet above flood level and higher than the historic Fargo flood of 1997—setting volunteers back about 40% in their sandbagging efforts. As of today, the Fargo Salvation Army will move to a 24-hour operation and will remain so for as long as needed.

BISMARCK:
Salvation Army staff and volunteers have been providing relief since 5 a.m. on Wednesday—just hours after more than 2,000 men, women, and children were evacuated from their homes due to rising flood waters. Yesterday, the team of 80 served 3,000 meals to more than 1,000 volunteers and 40 Army National Guard soldiers who were preparing sandbags to help combat the rising waters.
Shelly Sizer, Chief Warrant Officer for the Army National Guard, says, “What is being provided by The Salvation Army has been absolutely outstanding for the morale of volunteers and soldiers.”

The Salvation Army is on site at numerous other locations throughout North Dakota and Minnesota, providing critical assistance as needed by each community.

Fargo, North Dakota – Salvation Army staff and volunteers from across Minnesota and North Dakota are feeding thousands of Fargo/Moorhead area volunteers as they prepare for flood waters that could devastate the entire community. http://www.flickr.com/photos/thesalvationarmy/sets/72157615815241638/

Fargo city officials estimate as many as 10,000 volunteers are aiding in a sandbagging effort and to help build levees along the Red River. Close to 2.5 million sandbags will be used to block neighbourhoods from the river before it swells above its flood stage of 30 feet.
“When the sandbags show up to the neighbourhoods, they must be unloaded and placed immediately,” says Captain Adam Moore, administrator of The Salvation Army, Fargo. “This means there is no time for volunteers to take breaks or go to restaurants. Through The Salvation Army’s Emergency Disasters Services we can nourish these people as they perform the critical work needed to save this area from catastrophe.”

On September 13, 2008, Hurricane Ike, the third most destructive hurricane in the history of the United States, pummelled the shores of the Gulf Coast. The aftermath left thousands displaced and desperate for food. Two weeks after landfall, more than 60 Salvation Army clergy and lay personnel from Canada were deployed, in three waves, to bring aid to the distraught victims. What they witnessed was life-changing. Read the full story

GALVESTON, TEXAS – September 15, 2008 – You can’t tell where the water ends. Miles and miles of gulf water has flooded neighbourhoods and debris is everywhere. Buildings are torn apart from rooftops to door hinges.

”The devastation is heart-wrenching,” says Captain Brett Meredith of The Salvation Army. The Salvation Army has established four incident command locations (Galveston, Beaumont, Houston and Lufkin, TX) throughout the state of Texas and has served more than 51,000 meals since evacuations began mid-week last week.

Specifically, the Army is serving at many church shelters engaged by the state as well as in the hardest hit areas at fixed feeding sites in city centers. The state estimates that as many as 2.8 million people are without power and will likely be so for weeks to come.

Additionally, there are still concerns over drinkable water and much of the sewage systems in Galveston and Houston are assumed compromised. It is possible that there will be hundreds of thousands of people displaced for weeks to come, which will require longer-term emergency assistance from The Salvation Army

ALEXANDRIA, VA., – September 12, 2008 – The Salvation Army today is supporting the evacuation and shelter operations ordered by the State of Texas prior to the anticipated landfall of Hurricane Ike late Friday. In anticipation of the growing storm, The Army has deployed a fleet of more than 60 mobile canteen units, along with satellite communications equipment and other materials and is preparing a disaster response operation that could rival the one it mounted for Hurricane Katrina, its largest ever. As Ike heads toward major population centers around Houston, Tex., the Army’s primary mission will be to meet the immediate needs of those affected by the storm, including emergency responders.

“A storm of this size and intensity threatening a metropolitan area presents an enormous danger,” said Major James Taylor, Texas Divisional Secretary for The Salvation Army. “Hurricane-force winds and wide-spread flooding could not only cause loss of life and property, but could displace thousands of people for an indefinite period of time. We’ll need public support to ensure a viable long-term response effort for the many people we expect will be in need.”

As part of its operation, The Salvation Army began staging personnel and resources in San Antonio and Tyler, Tex., earlier this week with everything in place by nightfall today. This positioning will allow incident response teams to attack the storm from two sides immediately after it passes. Many of the resources have been held over from the recent evacuation and response to Hurricane Gustav which struck the Gulf Coast last month. More than 100 additional canteens are on standby from surrounding states as far away as Florida and North Carolina.

On Friday in San Antonio, The Salvation Army will continue to serve meals from a large mobile kitchen and two canteens stationed at Kelly Air Force Base. The Army is serving about 600 meals at a time, including a breakfast and midnight supper. Several smaller mobile canteens units will deploy to San Antonio for staging once the storm clears the coast.

In Tyler, The Salvation Army began feeding on Thursday at the evacuee registration center. Approximately 50 bus loads of people have already arrived and more are expected today. Additional canteens from the Gustav response will be staging there, along with five Southern Baptist kitchens and a satellite communications trailer, among other materials and equipment.

As part of its disaster response operation, The Salvation Army also is pre-positioning personnel and inventories to provide those affected by the storm with:
• Clean-up kits containing brooms, mops, buckets and cleaning supplies
• Hygiene kits
• Drinking water
• Shower units
• First-aid supplies
• Missing persons support through The Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (www.satern.org) and
• Emotional/spiritual care

The Salvation Army asks people who want to help those affected by the recent tropical cyclones to visit www.SalvationArmy.ca 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).

August 19, 2008 – FLORIDA – Salvation Army personnel throughout Florida are mobilizing to respond to Tropical Storm Fay, which forecasters are predicting could hit western Florida.

The Salvation Army has stationed 30 canteens (or mobile kitchens) in the southern, western and central parts of Florida that can be mobilized when the storm passes, if needed. The Salvation Army has also made contact with staff outside the state and additional resources are on standby, if needed.
One of the largest mobile kitchens is located in Fort Myers. The canteen is equipped to feed up to 2,500 meals in a day. A secondary, smaller, canteen can also been used in Hendry and Lee Counties.

In Naples, Salvation Army personnel are also preparing its canteen – loading food and gathering personnel.

In Port Charlotte – where Hurricane Charley hit just four years ago – The Salvation Army is halting construction on its new chapel and administration center. Construction on that project should be completed in two months, said Major Caleb Prieto, corps officer in Port Charlotte.
“We’ve secured all the buildings and the canteen is stocked for three days,” he said. “I think people have learned a lesson and everyone is preparing for the storm.” Major Ken Morris, divisional secretary for The Salvation Army’s Florida division who oversees disaster operations for the organization, said residents have learned lessons from previous Florida storms.

“People are remembering previous storms that have come through Florida and it brings back bad memories,” he said. “But it also reminds us of the seriousness of it all – that we need to take precautions.”

Along with setting up mobile kitchens in affected communities, The Salvation Army is also prepared to mobilize two field kitchens, which can feed up to 20,000 meals a day. The Salvation Army can also set up comfort stations equipped with ice, restrooms and water.

Relief efforts will extend throughout the impacted region. 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 and shelter for impacted individuals and families.

USA – The Salvation Army immediately responded yesterday after a gunman entered a lecture hall on the Northern Illinois University campus in DeKalb , Ill. , and opened fire killing six people and injuring at least 15 others before turning the gun on himself. Salvation Army emergency disaster services personnel worked with university police to provide support and emotional and spiritual care to law enforcement officials and students.

Meals, beverages and refreshments have been served from a Salvation Army canteen that was deployed to the scene. In addition, Salvation Army officers (pastors) trained in critical incident stress management were on the scene to provide comfort to law enforcement officials and students devastated by the tragedy.

Captains Alex and Aimee Norton, who oversee The Salvation Army’s work in DeKalb , Ill. , have a vital ministry on the NIU campus and were a comfort to many students dealing with the horrors that occurred on their campus. A prayer service was held last night at The Salvation Army’s DeKalb Corps and Community Center (center for worship and service) and prayer rooms were made available to students throughout the night.

Feb 8th – 2008 – USA – After 57 tornadoes and storms ripped through the Central United States on Tuesday, at least 55 people have been killed and hundreds more injured.

It is the nation’s deadliest string of tornadoes since 1985.

The Salvation Army site coordinator for Lawrence County, Alabama, Valerie Coan, describes the scene: “Houses have been wiped out, vehicles demolished and the debris is massive. I even saw the wall of a house stuck in the top of a tree.”

In this region, with a population of 40,000, the tornado, 18.7 miles long and ¼ mile wide, flattened 40 homes and more than 100 are not fit to live in. “But the most horrifying loss has been the loss of life,” continues Valerie. “The twister took the lives of a 46-year-old mom, 39-year-old dad and their 19-year-old son. The whole county is grieving.”

From The Salvation Army mobile canteen, Valerie and her team are providing nutrition and hydration, and emotional and spiritual support to the victims and relief workers at the scene. “Supplies go right from our coolers into the hands of the victims.”

Another emergency responder, Mark Jones, Salvation Army information officer for Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, found houses and trailers had been picked up by the twister and dropped several hundred feet away. Roofs had been ripped off homes and walls lay collapsed.

“I met a lady searching through the rubble of what was her brick house,” says Mark. “She had taken refuge in the bathroom as her house collapsed around her. I listened, prayed with her and offered her immediate care.”

In Mississippi, The Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services have established a feeding site at the Lafayette County Central Fire Station. And in Tennessee, where at least 31 died, more than 14 Salvation Army Emergency Disaster teams are bringing comfort and hope to first responders and residents.

“We’ll continue to assess the needs and we’ll be for there for the victims as long as they need us,” says Mark. “This is what we do.”

Feb 7th, 2008 – USA – The Salvation Army quickly responded after the deadliest wave of tornadoes to hit the southern states in a decade killed at least 55 people. Salvation Army emergency disaster service vehicles (canteens) were deployed in Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee to provide assistance and relief to emergency responders as well as hundreds of residents, many who lost everything in the storms.

“We are prepared to offer hydration, snacks, warm meals, and emotional and spiritual care to residents and first responders affected by these storms for as long as the need exists,” said Bill Feist, who oversees The Salvation Army’s emergency disaster services efforts in the southern states.

In Arkansas, five canteens were deployed to provide assistance in Adkins, Clinton and the Gasville/Cotter communities. The Salvation Army continues to assess damages throughout the state in order to meet needs.
In Mississippi, The Salvation Army has established a feeding site at the Lafayette County Central Fire Station near County Roads 291 and 204. Moments after the storm struck, The Salvation Army was providing comfort to over 200 people by serving meals, providing hydration and offering emotional and spiritual support.

In Alabama, Salvation Army personnel have been providing snacks, hydration, and emotional and spiritual care to Lawrence County residents in response to the horrific storms that killed four people in the state. In addition to the canteen, a Salvation Army feeding site has been opened at the Tractor Supply in Moulton, Ala., on Highway 57.

Salvation Army emergency disaster services (EDS) personnel also are responding in Tennessee which is thought to be the hardest-hit by the storms. At least 31 died in Tennessee as a result of the tornadoes. More than 14 Salvation Army EDS teams are bringing comfort and hope to first responders and residents in communities throughout the state including Jackson, Tenn., which sustained significant damage.