• Philip Burn

McLane Family Donation Helps Southeast Texas Residents Get Back on Their Feet

Beaumont, Texas (September 4, 2020) – As power is steadily being restored to cities in Southeast Texas affected by Hurricane Laura, families are cleaning their homes and refrigerators and looking to replace food that has spoiled over the last week. The McLane family has generously donated 3,000 food boxes that will help families get back on their feet.

“Over the last few days, several of our Salvation Army feeding locations have begun to see a decrease in the number of people requesting hot meals,” said Alvin Migues, Incident Commander for The Salvation Army response efforts in Texas. “That’s an encouraging sign as electricity is being restored to homes in the area. Moving forwards, we understand that it will be costly for families to replace food that has been sitting in freezers and refrigerators and this donation of non-perishable food from the McLane family will be a huge help. We greatly appreciate the ongoing support of the McLane family and the McLane Group who are valued long-time partners of The Salvation Army in Texas.”

The food boxes arrived in Beaumont on Wednesday afternoon and will be distributed early next week. “Our friends and neighbors in Southeast Texas and Louisiana have been devastated by Hurricane Laura,” said Drayton McLane Jr. “Our family is honored to team up with The Salvation Army who are working so hard in the Beaumont area to provide food to families affected by this disaster. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone who found themselves in the path of this devastating storm.”

The McLane family has supported The Salvation Army for many years, particularly in Bell County where The Salvation Army McLane Center of Hope provides shelter to individuals, families and veterans, food to those who are hungry, and long-term case management. McLane said, “We believe strongly in the mission and ministry of The Salvation Army and their creed from their founder William Booth, 'You cannot warm the hearts of people with God's love if they have an empty stomach and cold feet.’” In addition to supporting local programs and projects the McLane family have a great compassion for people in need and are quick to step forward with support. In response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic they distributed 2,000 food boxes to the four areas in Texas where they have a business presence, 1,000 boxes to help with response to Hurricane Hanna in McAllen, and most recently 250 food boxes in Bell County.

Since Friday, August 28, The Salvation Army of Texas has served 81,680 meals, 55,595 drinks, 27,582 snacks in affected communities. Trained staff and Emotional and Spiritual Care volunteers have prayed with 989 storm survivors.

The Salvation Army is serving food in the following fixed locations on Friday:

• Bridge City – Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 945 W. Roundbunch Rd, Bridge City, TX
• Port Arthur – Sam Houston Elementary: 3245 36th Port Arthur, TX
• Orange Corps – 1950 MLK Drive Orange, TX
• Vidor – 115 W. Bolivar St, Vidor, TX
• Newton – Newton Church/Food Bank: 501 Main Street, Newton, TX
• Deweyville High School – 171 TX-12, Deweyville, TX (TX-12 & HWY 87)
• Mauriceville – Market Basket, 11916 Hwy 62-N, Mauriceville

The best way to support the disaster work of The Salvation Army by making a financial donation at www.helpsalvationarmy.org or by calling 1-800-SAL-ARMY. For the latest information please go to www.disaster.salvationarmyusa.org and watch for regular updates on our social media pages at www.facebook.com/salvationarmytexas/ and www.twitter.com/salarmytx.