Emergency Teams Support Storm Relief Efforts in Joplin, MO and Central US
Posted by Laura on Monday, May 23, 2011 · Leave a Comment
The Salvation Army is responding to tornado and storm activity that struck the central US over the weekend. More information about how you can help support relief efforts is available here.
GPS photo of The Salvation Army Tulsa's canteen serving in Joplin, MO Sunday evening.
MISSOURI
The Salvation Army is supporting relief efforts in Joplin, Missouri, which was struck by a deadly tornado Sunday.
Four mobile feeding kitchens are stationed in Joplin, each capable of serving several thousand meals. They are providing mass feedings for residents and first responders. The Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network also arrived in Joplin today to assist survivors in locating loved ones through a ham radio network.
KANSAS
Meanwhile, in hard-hit Reading, Kansas, which was nearly demolished by a tornado late Saturday night, two Salvation Army mobile feeding kitchens, one stationary and one roaming, served meals, snacks and cold drinks to more than 250 people Sunday. They will continue serving hundreds of meals each day through the rest of the week in Reading.
On Monday, more than a dozen members of a Kansas motorcycle club are volunteering for The Salvation Army from 4:30PM – 8PM to help with clean-up efforts in Reading.
MINNESOTA
Three Salvation Army mobile kitchens and crews are on the scene in St. Louis Park, Fridley and North Minneapolis to help families and emergency workers after the storms Sunday. Much of the damage caused by uprooted trees is making travel difficult in some areas. One of The Salvation Army’s transitional housing units in Fridley sustained minor damage and none of the four men living at the house were injured.
“I’ve got 24 to 36 hours of back-up volunteers ready to go,” said Drew Hasty, Salvation Army metro disaster manager. “We are prepared to assist city officials with any emerging needs as an emergency shelter is likely to be needed this evening.”
HELP STORM SURVIVORS
Your monetary donations will go a long way in supporting storm survivors and damaged communities. To support The Salvation Army’s relief efforts, you can donate:
- Online at www.salvationarmyusa.org
- Over the phone at 1-800-SAL-ARMY
- Via text. Send “JOPLIN” to 80888 to make a $10 donation. Confirm when prompted with “yes.”
- Mail a check to:
The Salvation Army
1130 Hampton Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63139-3147
Please designate the gift “Joplin Tornado.”
We are not at this time accepting in-kind donations for storm survivors. Many people have asked about wanting to donate items such as clothes or furniture, but these items are rarely needed for relief efforts. Click here to find more information about why financial donations are the best way to help.
If you’d like to register with The Salvation Army as a volunteer, please click here.
I am seeking contributions from teachers in my school. I assume I should ask them to make checks payable to Salvation Army, and we can specify donations for Joplin, right? thanks ~ Marilyn Keeshan, Raytown South High school
@Marilyn,
Thanks for gathering your coworkers’ support! You can send donations for Joplin to The Salvation Army, 3637 Broadway, Kansas City, MO 64111. Yes, make checks payable to The Salvation Army and designate them for Joplin storm relief efforts. Thanks again!
Is the Salvation Army accepting donations of supplies as well as monetary donations?
How does a person become employed by the Salvation Army to go out and be part of the disaster relief team? Or is it just a voluntary basis, and they go out and stay there until no longer needed? Thank you
We are gathering cloths in Bella Vista, AR and need to know where to send them for use in Joplin. We have the ability to drive them to Joplin if there is a drop off up there.
@Kurt, if you’re interested in being a volunteer, you can learn more and register at http://www.disaster.salvationarmyusa.org. Here is the direct link: http://disaster.salvationarmyusa.org/give/?volunteer
I live in Rogers Ar. We tried to get into joplin last night to help, but could not get in. I have items to donate and would like to help with relief efforts.
@David @Kelly @Corrine
Regarding donating items – thank you to those who have expressed a desire to donate items such as clothes, furniture, etc. We are not accepting in-kind donations, as those items I mentioned are rarely needed following a disaster. They also take a significant amount of manpower and storage space to handle, and damaged communities run the risk of receiving excessive amounts of items they may not need. That is why we encourage people to show their support with monetary donations, which allow our teams to buy the exact supplies they need, when they need them, and the amount they need. You can read more about this here: http://www.disaster.salvationarmyusa.org/media/?ID=4333b8568faf3343e69468f20e732d43 Thank you for wanting to help!
Hello,
I am traveling from Austin TX to St Louis on Friday, the 27th. While I know there is no need for in-kind donations right now we want to know if there is anything we can do to help. We have a truck and have a big trailer lined up and were going to work on gathering water and non-perishable food until I saw this article a few moments ago. Unfortunately we are unable to donate cash as our spare cash is being used for the gas to St Louis and back. Please e-mail me and let us know if / what we can do or bring up.
I am trying to find out about someone who is missing. Do you have a link?
@Glinda,
You should probably try the Red Cross website. People are able to sign up to show they’re safe, and you can search for loved ones. The direct link is here: https://safeandwell.communityos.org/cms/index.php
The Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN) also arrived in Joplin today to assist survivors in locating loved ones through a ham radio network. However, I don’t have a web link for their efforts.
I would like to donate clothing and other goods for the town. How do I go about doing that?
My family and I will be making our planned move to South East Kansas in mid June. It is about 12 miles from Rangeline. In 2002 my home was severely damaged by a tornado, so I have some first hand knowledge of the affects this can cause. I have been trained by the state of Ohio in Critical Incident Stress Management and Peer to Peer support. I am unaware of any CISM or peer to peer support teams and would like to offer my assistance in these areas. Do you know who I should contact.
I am a heavy equipment operator and can run any thing needed in the cleanup from this storm. who do I talk to to offer my skills ? Thank You !
We are looking to run some collected items to Joplin from Colorado in first week of June, anyone have any suggestions on transporting things?
@Jack @Steven
Thanks for offering your skills! You can find more information and register as Salvation Army volunteers here: http://disaster.salvationarmyusa.org/give/?volunteer
We own a tree service and landscaping company in the st.louis,mo area. We are equiped with lots of big equipment including a 40 and 60yard dump trailers and tractor with grapple, and a bucket truck for hauling and removal. We have a five man crew. We couldnt afford to come out for free. But we would bring our crew and equipment if needed.I dont know who to contact about helping. any one with info please email me at tanya@calldirecttree.com
I would like to set up something in my area for collecting donations for these people. The only issue I have is that I’m in Florida. How would I go about getting that going?
@kt
Thanks for wanting to do your part in helping survivors, but FEMA has reported that Joplin is overwhelmed at this point with unsolicited donations. Financial gifts are their greatest need. You can find more information about this here: http://blog.salvationarmyusa.org/?p=6525
And of course, prayers are always needed!
I was wanting to come down and volunteer my time as a heavy equipment operator and I called the Salvation Army and they say you have to be a Certified Volunteer or you will get turned away when you get there!
The whole point of volunteering to help, is to actually volunteer and help!!
This is typical government bullshit!! You have to be in their system otherwise your turned away.