• Rich Draeger

Salvation Army�s Washington, Illinois Tornado Relief Operation Grows

(Washington, Illinois (November 22, 2013)—The Salvation Army has been hard at work aiding victims in the aftermath of tornadoes of November 17. While work has been taking place throughout the state in areas such as Pekin, East Peoria, Washington, Dana and Gifford, Illinois, the biggest area of concentration has been in Pekin and Washington, two of the hardest hit areas. “Pekin will be concluding its mobile canteen service and segueing into case management and other social services from the Corps Community Center beginning today,” said Major Evie Diaz, Divisional Commander for The Salvation Army. “Our work at Crossroads United Methodist Church will continue,” said Diaz.

Through mid-day Friday, service to first responders and residents in the affected areas across the Heartland Division (Central Illinois and Eastern Iowa) included:

• 8,797 Meals
• 14,191 Drinks
• 5,637 Snacks
• 138 people have received emotional and spiritual care

Expanding Service
Beginning today, The Salvation Army is expanding its feeding operations with 6 mobile canteens in the Washington area. The Salvation Army has also begun emergency case management at Crossroads Church where:

• More than $6300 in gift cards and financial aid has been given to 262 individuals.
• Three thousand plus items of clothing have been given out,
• 3,400 food orders—this number does not include prepared meals—have been distributed

Doing the work
To date, 225 staff, volunteers and officers have provided 1,397 hours of service with more volunteer opportunities expected as the clean-up grows. To find out more about volunteering, visit www.saheartland.org and click on the volunteer logo.

How to Help
The best way to help The Salvation Army serve those affected by this storm is make a monetary contribution.

Online:
Give online at http://donate.salvationarmyusa.org/usc/2013-storms

By Phone:
Call 1-800-SAL-ARMY [1-800-725-2769]

By Mail:
To donate via mail, please send your check, designated "November Tornadoes" to:
ATTN: NOVEMBER TORNADOES
THE SALVATION ARMY
10 W ALGONQUIN ROAD
DES PLAINES, IL 60016-6000

Text to give:
Text STORM to 80888 and reply YES to confirm your donation*.

Terms and conditions:
*A one-time donation of $10 will be added to your mobile phone bill or deducted from your prepaid balance. Message and Data Rates May Apply. All charges are billed by and payable to your mobile service provider. Service is available on Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile. All purchases must be authorized by account holder. By participating you certify that you are 18 yrs or older and/or have parental permission. Donations are collected for the benefit of The Salvation Army by Innogive Foundation and subject to the terms found at igfn.org/t. Privacy policy: igfn.org/p. Text STOP to 80888 to stop; Text HELP to specify 80888 for help.

Donations of Household Good and Clothing:
Due to the emergency situation, The Salvation Army cannot guarantee that any individual donations of household goods or clothing (gifts-in-kind) will be sent to the disaster area. In times of disaster, our stores fill these needs from existing, pre-sorted stock. PLEASE continue to donate gently-used household goods to your local Salvation Army store. You will help your community and help us prepare for future disaster relief needs. To find your nearest drop-off location, please go to www.satruck.org.

NEW CONTACT INFORMATION: Companies who wish to donate emergency supplies in bulk:
Please contact Cheri Muller at The Salvation Army’s Heartland Divisional HQ in Peoria at (309) 655-7220 or cheri_muller@usc.salvationarmy.org.  Cheri will work with you to determine suitability of donation, our capacity to use it, and where it should be delivered.

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.

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