ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP)–Southern Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers continue as the major supplier of hot meals to the American Red Cross for distribution to search and rescue workers and others in New York City and Washington, D.C.
Following is the latest information regarding Southern Baptists’ response as of 9 a.m., Oct. 8:
–Meals prepared: 283,086
–Volunteer days: 4,678. (A “volunteer day” is defined as one volunteer working one day.)
–Mobile kitchen operations have been consolidated at the Floyd Bennett Airport in Brooklyn. A mobile kitchen unit from a consortium of New England states (including New York) is joined by volunteers from Kentucky. New teams of volunteers from Ohio, Michigan and Virginia are expected to relieve current workers by the morning of Oct. 10. Also at the site are shower units from North Carolina.
–A childcare unit from Ohio, with a crew of 12 people, is operating at the American Red Cross’ Family Assistance Center in Jersey City, N.J. The volunteers care for children of families seeking assistance at the center, most of whom suffered property damage or lost their homes in the terrorist attacks. The center was closed the afternoon of Oct. 7 in the wake of military strikes in Afghanistan, but was scheduled to reopen Oct. 9.
–Donors from 40 states and Canada have given more than $815,500 for the disaster relief effort, much of which has come from donations online at www.namb.net. One hundred percent of those gifts will be used for disaster relief in the field, not for administration. Checks designated for Disaster Relief also may also be sent to NAMB by mail to P.O. Box 116543, Atlanta, GA 30368-6543. Phone inquiries may be directed to 1-888-440-6262.
The Southern Baptist Disaster Relief network, which includes more than 20,000 trained volunteers, is coordinated nationally by the North American Mission Board in cooperation with state Southern Baptist conventions. For more information and updates, visit www.namb.net.
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