VERO BEACH — Fourteen Salvation Army pastors and staff from throughout Florida are traveling to Oklahoma to help those in need in Moore and the surrounding area.
Five Salvation Army emotional and spiritual care providers were expected to leave Wednesday. They will be on the ground providing direct comfort to those impacted by the tornado. The officers will join 20 other Salvation Army Emotional and Spiritual Care personnel already in Moore, OK.
Those Salvation Army officers who left Tuesday are:
Capt. Kelly Durant, Miami
Major Marion Durham, Bradenton
Major Ron Mott, St. Augustine
Capt. Chris Farrell, Lake Worth
Lt. Michael Missey, Naples
The emotional and spiritual care officers’ duties will be to comfort survivors and first responders who may need someone to sit and talk with.
Nine members of Florida’s Incident Command team were deploying Monday. These members will relieve the command team that is currently on the ground in Moore. Members of this team include:
Major Tom Louden, Fort Myers
Major Holly Patterson, Ocala
Jennifer Dodd, Tampa
Julie Showers, Bradenton
Lt. Scott Hoover, Stuart
Lance Rocks, Florida Divisional Headquarters
Capt. Jim Spencer, Sarasota
Kathy Clark, Florida Divisional Headquarters
Standard deployment is 14 days. Salvation Army staff and officers deployed to a disaster site may be asked to help serve food off a canteen, provide leadership, or act as a liaison between The Salvation Army and other partner agencies.
Since the tornado struck, The Salvation Army has been in Moore helping residents with food, hydration, and other basic needs. The Salvation Army in Oklahoma and Arkansas is working with its partner agencies like the Southern Baptist Association and the American Red Cross to prepare and distribute meals and snacks to those affected by the tornado.
As of May 22, The Salvation Army in Oklahoma has provided more than 4,400 meals, 5,800 drinks, 2,500 snacks, and has seven canteens in the area helping to serve those in need.
In addition to feeding, The Salvation Army is prepared to provide:
· Clean-up kits containing brooms, mops, buckets, and cleaning supplies
· Hygiene kits
· Drinking water
· Shower units
· First-aid supplies
· Emotional/spiritual care
The Salvation Army asks people who want to help those affected by this disaster to visit www.SalvationArmyUSA.org or 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 made out to The Salvation Army Disaster Relief.
At this point, in-kind donations are not being accepted. Used clothing and 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 call 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.
In the short-term aftermath of a storm, Salvation Army officers and staff will focus primarily on the immediate needs of disaster survivors and first-responders, providing food and hydration for impacted individuals and families.
