• Chris Johnson

Clean Up Collaborations Strong in Arkansas & Oklahoma Division

Oklahoma City, OK (June 24, 2015) - Partnerships with local and statewide agencies are often the fastest and most efficient way for The Salvation Army to provide care and services during times of disaster, and the Emergency Disaster Services Department of the Arkansas & Oklahoma Division have found strong partnerships with the American Red Cross, Baptist Disaster Relief of the Arkansas and Oklahoma State Conventions, and Catholic Charities of Oklahoma.

With recent flooding in the region, one of the most practical needs that The Salvation Army is able to meet are supplies and tools to help survivors clean up their homes. These items are prepackaged in a plastic bucket referred to as a "clean up kit", and include mops, brooms, gloves and other essential supplies to help a family clean their residence. These kits are often found on the back of a Salvation Army canteen, but when delivered to partners like the Arkansas and Oklahoma Baptist Conventions, these kits are able to be distributed over a larger range within the affected areas in a shorter amount of time, allowing locations that might not have as many trained Salvation Army personnel on hand to be able to provide their services effectively.

During the May 2015 flooding incident, The Salvation Army was able to provide the Oklahoma Baptist Convention with 768 clean up kits in the counties of Cleveland, Leflore, Bryan, Comanche, and Oklahoma. These kits were then distributed out to survivor's homes within the flooded region of the state by volunteers and staff with the Oklahoma Baptist Convention. Additionally, The Salvation Army provided 480 clean up kits to the Arkansas Baptist Convention for flooding that occurred along the Arkansas River.

"The Salvation Army clean up kit buckets have been a huge blessing to the 2015 Oklahoma flood recovery. The kits have exactly what is needed to clean out a flooded home," said Sam Porter, State Director of Disaster Relief, Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma.

In addition to the service provided by the Baptist Disaster Relief, The Salvation Army has also delivered 1,012 clean up kits to the American Red Cross and Catholic Charities to be distributed to residents in need in the flood stricken areas across Oklahoma.

The Salvation Army would like to extend its heartfelt thanks and gratitude to the Arkansas and Oklahoma Baptist Convention Disaster Relief teams, The American Red Cross and Catholic Charities of Oklahoma for their longstanding partnership and service during times of disaster.