The Salvation Army - Emergency Disaster Services - USA

Trainers from across the Southern Territory met in Atlanta, GA to receive their First Aid and CPR Instructor certification. Participants spent two days learning and practicing skills and conducting teach-backs. Once certified, these five individuals will join a team of over 30 certified Salvation Army First Aid and CPR instructors in the territory.

Thank you, Polaris Inc., for donating five heavy-duty RANGER utility terrain vehicles (UTV) and twenty Polaris 5,000-watt power generators, valued at nearly $200,000. This crucial contribution will aid ongoing disaster relief efforts in communities recovering from the recent devastation caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. #hopeIsOnTheWay

It has been a month since #HurricaneHelene demolished many mountain communities in North Carolina. Joe is counting his blessings. He has his job and hasn’t missed a day of work despite losing his home and car. His neighbors welcomed him into their home and sheltered him, and his friends and family have rallied around him to help rebuild his life. But there was one thing Joe missed. Pizza. Enter Little Caesars Pizza Love Kitchen—a mobile pizza oven on wheels dedicated to spreading kindness and offering a taste of hope. For years, the Little Caesar Love Kitchen has partnered with The Salvation Army to fill empty stomachs and uplift spirits within the community after a disaster. Within a week of Hurricane Helene, the Love Kitchen was on the road, serving slices of pizza in the hardest-hit areas. In Black Mountain, the Love Kitchen once again partnered with The Salvation Army, providing hot slices of pizza while The Salvation Army distributed food boxes and offered spiritual and emotional care to those whose lives had been turned upside down by the storm. After the last car drove through for the final slice, the Love Kitchen had one more stop: to deliver a hot pizza and a smile to Joe.

Teams are still on the ground responding to #HurricaneHelene and #HurricaneMilton. To date, The Salvation Army has served 584,592 hot meals, 48,501 meal kits, 279,261 drinks, and 296,488 snacks in response to both storms. #HopeIsOnTheWay support hurricane relief efforts at www.helpsalvationarmy.org

Days before #HurricaneHelene hit his rural mountain town in western North Carolina, Chris watched the small creek running along the road in front of his house start to swell. By mid-morning on the day the hurricane hit, the creek had overflowed its banks. Within an hour, his entire house was surrounded by rushing water. With no way to escape, Chris and his family prayed together, preparing for whatever might come. But, by the grace of God, the storm surge began to subside. Outside, the scene was one of destruction—his yard all but washed away, and in its place, a gash in the earth 30 feet wide and 8 feet deep. Yet something caught his eye. In front of his porch stood a small Japanese maple. Part of its massive root system had been exposed by the floodwaters, but those very roots had kept the ground in front of his house from eroding, and his home from washing away. More than just the tree’s roots, it’s been the community’s roots—neighbors and volunteers from all over—that have come together to help each other recover and rebuild. Among those volunteers, The Salvation Army has played a key role. “The brotherhood and sisterhood we’ve found… no matter where they come from, we lift each other up,” Chris reflects while hugging the neck of a Salvation Army volunteer, expressing his heartfelt thanks for the overwhelming support that has helped heal not just his land, but the hearts of everyone affected.

Willie and Joanne set up their Salvation Army rapid response unit near a recently reopened hardware store in Sarasota, FL. After picking up supplies, both survivors and clean up crews would make their way to The Salvation Army canteen for free hot meals. As news of the feeding site spread, the number of people who would stop by increased. Among them was Samuel and his young son, Thomas. Children, especially little ones, aren’t a common sight at a canteen. Yet, Willie and Joanne were prepared. After serving several meals to Samuel for his family, Joanne asked him, “Would you mind if we gave Thomas a toy?” Samuel began telling the crew how difficult it had been for his son to adjust after the storm, explaining they had lost everything; a situation no one, let alone a child, should ever have to experience. Willie went on to say, “A lot of people forget about the kids. You see them, and they’re totally confused, wondering ‘why aren’t we going back home?’” Emotional and Spiritual care can be as simple as a small toy, a token of familiarity when everything has changed. Children deserve to play, to be seen, and to be heard. In times of disaster, we remember the children, in prayer and in deed. #HopeIsOnTheWay

Within a day of #HurricaneMilton's landfall, a fleet of Salvation Army canteens arrived in Sarasota, FL to establish emergency feeding operations and provide survivors with hot meals. With many community members seeking assistance at their location after the storm, the #Walmart in Osprey, FL set up shower and laundry trailers in their parking lot, offering survivors access to clean clothes and warm showers and worked with The Salvation Army to serve hot meals outside their store. The aid offered by Walmart and The Salvation Army helped to restore a sense of normalcy many had lost during the storm. As the Salvation Army delivered hope, Walmart followed through on its commitment to ensuring people could “live better,” even during challenging times.

After a disaster, our staff and volunteers provide a light and a beacon of hope to survivors navigating through intense and difficult circumstances. Today, we take this moment to honor and pray for them. Let them be encouraged so that they may be encouraging. Let their cups be refilled so they may continue to fill others. #DisasterVolunteers #HopeIsOnTheWay #hurricaneHelene #HurricaneMilton

In response to #HurricaneHelene, The Salvation Army has served 422,744 Hot Meals, 38,519 Meal Kits, 203,964 Drinks and 206,420 Snacks from 26 active mobile feeding units in six states. #hopeIsOnTheWay Support hurricane relief efforts: www.helpsalvationarmy.org

In the aftermath of #HurricaneMilton and #HurricaneHelene, The Salvation Army's relief efforts have been greatly amplified by the swift and generous support of our dedicated and compassionate corporate supporters. These heroes stepped forward, offering essential financial resources, in-kind assistance, and direct aid that have sustained and energized our humanitarian efforts. The Salvation Army is grateful to all our Heroes of Hope who have contributed to this vital mission. https://loom.ly/S3JsMZ0