The Central Oklahoma Area Command of The Salvation Army will be busy serving those affected by the effects of Hurricane Harvey. Kenny Kelly, Emergency Disasters Services Coordinator for the Central Oklahoma Area Command, will deploy to the Incident Command Center in Corpus Christi, Texas to serve as the Canteen Coordinator for The Salvation Army’s ongoing disaster response operations in Corpus Christi, TX and immediately surrounding areas. The Salvation Army canteen is a mobile feeding unit, and as Canteen Coordinator, Mr. Kelly will be managing the overall operation and services provided by The Salvation Army’s Canteen fleet meeting the needs of victims and first responders in the Corpus Christi area.
From the Salvation Army Arkansas-Oklahoma Divisional headquarters in Oklahoma City, Cindy Fuller, Divisional Communications Director and Laurie Fried, Divisional Disaster and Recovery Coordinator, will also be deployed to the Incident Command Center in Corpus Christi. Cindy Fuller will serve as the Public Information Officer and Laurie Fried as the Liaison Officer, responsible for representing The Salvation Army’s Incident Command with other disaster relief organizations and government agencies.
The Arkansas-Oklahoma Division is also deploying Officers from Conway, Fayetteville, Fort Smith, Jonesboro, Pine Bluff and Springdale, Arkansas as well as Ardmore, Oklahoma City and Shawnee, Oklahoma as part of the Incident Command Center to help those affected by Hurricane Harvey.
Resources are staged and ready to serve.
A total of 42 mobile kitchens – each with the capacity to serve am average pf 1.500 meals per day – are headed to forward staging areas in Dallas and San Antonio in preparation for deployment. Eight of those units are from The Salvation Army in Arkansas and Oklahoma. Disaster response leadership teams will be positioned in San Antonio, Galveston/Texas City, Houston and Corpus Christi to coordinate the ongoing disaster response.
The Salvation Army is already at work in many communities that have found themselves in the path of the storm. Water, cleanup kits, food and shelter supplies have been staged and are ready to be sent to the affected areas. Mobile feeding units and crews have been deployed from the following Arkansas and Oklahoma locations:
- Central Oklahoma Area Command, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma is deploying a crew and two feeding units.
- Muskogee, Oklahoma is deploying a crew and feeding unit.
- Fort Smith, Arkansas is deploying a crew and feeding unit.
- Ardmore, Oklahoma is deploying a crew and feeding unit.
- Tulsa, Oklahoma is deploying a crew and feeding unit.
- Jonesboro, Arkansas is deploying a crew and feeding unit.
- Stillwater, Oklahoma is deploying a crew and feeding unit.
- Enid, Oklahoma is deploying a crew to serve.
- Rogers, Arkansas is deploying crew members to serve.
How People Can Help
The best way to help after a disaster is to make a financial donation to the charity of your choice. Cash is flexible, can be used immediately in response to a crisis, and allows disaster relief organizations to purchase exactly what is needed, when it’s needed. Cash gives relief organizations the means to procure supplies near the affected area, which cuts down on transportation time and cost. Monetary contributions also support local economies and ensure that businesses can operate when relief supplies diminish.
It’s easy to support The Salvation Army’s disaster relief program:
- Donate Online: www.helpsalvationarmy.org
- Donate by Mail: The Salvation Army PO BOX 1959, Atlanta, GA 30301
Please designate ‘Hurricane Harvey’ on all checks. - Donate by Phone: 1-800-SAL-ARMY (1-800-725-2769)
- Donate by Text: Text STORM to 51555 to receive a donation link for easy mobile giving
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I grew up with first-hand knowledge of the Salvation Army after being taken, along with my siblings, by the state and placed in our grandmother’s home. My grandmother was a supporter of The Salvation Army and had to rely upon its services to help clothe and feed us.