Salvation Army Aids Students in Panama City After Hurricane Michael

Panama City, FL – Yesterday, a trio of Salvation Army disaster vehicles delivered food boxes, hygiene kits and prepackaged meals to A. Crawford Mosley High School in Panama City, FL for distribution to students impacted by Hurricane Michael.  As recovery from the October hurricane continues, The Salvation Army has been operating distribution sites across the Gulf coast region to distribute emergency supplies ranging from food and water to cleaning supplies.

“We received a call from the faculty of the school,” said Bobbi Geery, The Salvation Army’s Logistics Chief.  “Many students -- who are just returning to school -- are still living in storm-damaged houses.  Many are still without power, water or permanent housing.  The school asked if there was anything The Salvation Army could do to help.”

Help arrived as members of The Salvation Army’s Incident Management Team brought a delivery of 80 food boxes, 50 cases of hygiene kits, and 96 cases of meals-ready-to-eat.  The supplies were quickly unloaded with the help of students from the school, including the members of Mosley’s ROTC program.  The assistance brought tears to the eyes of some faculty members.  “This will be Thanksgiving for some of these students,” one teacher remarked.  The emergency supplies will be distributed by school faculty to students needing assistance.

In addition to delivering supplies to the school, The Salvation Army is continuing to staff other distribution points through Monday, November 19, including a site at FEMA’s Disaster Recovery Center at 898 West 11th Street, Panama City.  To date, The Salvation Army has distributed more 20,087 food boxes, 6,156 clean-up kits, and 20,446 personal hygiene kits across communities impacted by Hurricane Michael.

“Michael devastated Bay County and, for as large as our operation is, it’s impossible for The Salvation Army to reach everyone,” Geery continued.  “But there’s a whole network out there of schools, community organizations and local churches who are also in touch with the hurricane’s survivors.  By sharing our resources with these partners, we can reach many, many more people.”

How You Can Help

Response and recovery operations for Hurricane Michael are expected to be costly and continue for months to come. The best way to help after a disaster is to make a financial donation.  Please support Salvation Army disaster relief efforts by donating:

• By phone at 1-800-SAL-ARMY (1-800-725-2769)
• Online at www.HelpSalvationArmy.org
• Donate by mail at The Salvation Army, PO Box 1959, Atlanta, GA.Please designate ‘2018 Hurricanes – Michael’ on all checks.