Norcross, GA (September 16, 2011) – The Salvation Army Georgia Division has assembled a team of approximately 40 people who are preparing to board planes tomorrow for Pennsylvania to provide continued assistance to the city of Wilkes-Barre. It is an area that has been under water due to flooding since Tropical Storm Lee hit the Northeast corner of Pennsylvania. Georgia’s Emergency & Disaster Services (EDS) Team will serve a two-week deployment starting September 17 and will end September 30. Thus far The Salvation Army of Wilkes-Barre has served nearly 10,000 meals to residents who have been affected by the floods.
Major Jim Smith, Director of The Salvation Army Emergency & Disaster Services in Georgia said, “Our colleagues and friends in Pennsylvania have been responding to survivors’ needs for a long time and we wanted to provide relief by sending our own personnel to take over some of the responsibility of sharing God’s love through feeding and hydration services.”
Salvation Army officers and staff will come from the all around the state including the Metro Atlanta Area Command, Central Georgia, Southern Georgia and the Northern area of the state. Relief efforts will extend throughout the impacted region of Northeast Pennsylvania. In the aftermath of the storm, Salvation Army officers and staff will continue to focus on immediate needs providing food, hydration, and emotional and spiritual care to impacted individuals and families.
Major Jim Smith prays that sharing in this relief effort will bring renewal to the Wilkes-Barre community and those who serve them. He says, “We ask that everyone pray that our team’s work is blessed and for their safe travel and return as they leave behind family, friends, and their jobs to serve this noble cause.”
The best way to help survivors and relief workers is to make a financial contribution. Monetary donations allow disaster responders to immediately meet the specific needs of disaster survivors.
The Salvation Army asks people who want to help those affected by Tropical Storm Lee to visit www.salvationarmyusa.orgor call 1-800-SAL-ARMY (1-800-725-2769). Donors may also contribute $10 via their phone bill by text messaging the word STORM to 80888, and confirming the donation with the word, “Yes.” Checks may be mailed to Disaster Gift Processing Center, PO BOX 1959 Atlanta, GA 30301. Please designate 2011 Hurricane Season on all checks.
At this point, in-kind donations are not being accepted. Used clothing and used furniture are seldom required during an incident. However, these gifts are vitally important in supporting the day-to-day work of your local Salvation Army. Please consider giving these items to your local Salvation Army Family Store or dial 1-800-SA-TRUCK (1-800-728-7825).
For the latest emergency disaster services news, please visit www.disaster.salvationarmyusa.org and follow the EDS team on Twitter @SalArmyEDS. Interested parties may also visit www.salvationarmygeorgia.org, www.facebook.com/thesalvationarmygeorgia, and follow us on Twitter@tsageorgia.
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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.salvationarmygeorgia.org.
About The Salvation Army