Chattanooga, TN (April 27, 2012) – One year after deadly tornados swept through the Tennessee Valley, The Salvation Army is still on the front lines serving the unmet needs of storm survivors. Today begins a weekend long remembrance, as The Salvation Army partners with events in Dade and Catoosa Counties in GA and Hamilton and Bradley counties in Tennessee.
The Salvation Army began serving survivors immediately after the first tornados swept through and continues to serve today! The Salvation Army fed nearly 20,000 meals to families affected by the storm as well as emergency workers in the first days of clean up and provided over 50,000 beverages from seven different mobile kitchen vehicles. Still meeting the needs of our neighbors, The Salvation Army has served 475 households so far.
“No one household is the same in their needs,” states Sandy Leveall, Director of Social Services of The Salvation Army. “One family may need furniture or appliances while another needs a new roof that insurance did not cover. One family actually needed dental work as a result of their brick home crumbling around them and bricks flying into their faces and cracking their teeth.”
“The Salvation Army of Greater Chattanooga has never been this stretched with resources,” says Major Algerome Newsome, Area Commander. “With two major storm systems hitting within one year and with the struggling economy, we have never seen need so great and a budget so stretched.”
To donate to ongoing assistance please visit www.csarmy.org, call 1-800-Sal-Army, or mail in a monetary donation to 822 McCallie Ave, Chattanooga, TN 37403. For more information please contact Kimberly George, Director of Marketing, at 423-503-1801.
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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 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 carry out those services in 5,000 communities nationwide. For more information, go to www.salvationarmyusa.org.