The Salvation Army is preparing for Hurricane Sandy as it makes its way up the eastern seaboard with potentially devastating impacts to millions of people.

·        Salvation Army assets are on standby from the Carolinas to Maine, ready to deploy as needed and requested by Emergency Management personnel.
·        The Salvation Army maintains a fleet of disaster vehicles and supply warehouses across the United States to enable speedy mobilization.
·        There are more than 300 emergency response vehicles in the eastern and southern United States alone and more than 600 units nationwide.
·        These units are able to serve thousands of meals and drinks per day when operating at full capacity.
·        In addition to food, hydration, and emotional and spiritual care, The Salvation Army is also prepared to provide:
o        Clean-up kits containing brooms, mops, buckets and cleaning supplies
o        Hygiene kits
o        Shower units
o        First-aid supplies
o        Communications support


Specific Salvation Army mobilization activities to date include:
·        Throughout Maryland:
o        In response to a request from the Wicomico County Emergency Management, The Salvation Army of Salisbury served lunch for more than 200 persons at the shelter on Sunday.
o        The Salvation Army is assisting with sheltering activities at Salisbury Bennett High School in a community where residents have been asked to evacuate.
o        In Annapolis, The Salvation Army is serving meals at Annapolis High School, where an emergency shelter opened Saturday evening and will continue to do so until that shelter closes.
o        The Salvation Army in Baltimore is in close contact with the Baltimore City & County Emergency Operations Centers and has been asked to feed neighborhoods that lose power should the need arise.   

·        In Virginia and the District of Columbia:
o        All Salvation Army units across the Commonwealth and District are on stand-by status.  Mobile feeding kitchens are stocked, and Salvation Army officers and volunteers are ready to deploy as needed and requested by Emergency Management personnel.
o        On Saturday evening, The Salvation Army Men’s Hope Center Shelter in Norfolk, VA sheltered 60 people.  In coordination with the Office to End Homelessness, the Men’s Hope Center is prepared to transport to area city shelters if asked to evacuate due to potential flooding.

·        In New Jersey:

o        The New Jersey Division currently has its full fleet of emergency response vehicles ready to deploy if needed. This includes 10 fully-stocked canteens, two service vehicles, and one mobile command unit.

o        Atlantic County has requested The Salvation Army provide feeding at its operating shelters.

o        The Salvation Army Red Bank Corps will receive evacuated nursing home patients on Sunday and Monday.

·        The Salvation Army is calling on all residents of the potential impact zones to be prepared with an emergency disaster plan. Critical decisions need to be made ahead of time, before the storm makes landfall.

Monetary donations are the most critical need as supplies and personnel are mobilized.
·        Donors are encouraged to give online at www.SalvationArmyUSA.org or by calling 1-800-SAL-ARMY (1-800-725-2769).
·        You can also text the word “STORM” to 80888 to make a $10 donation through your mobile phone; to confirm your gift, respond with the word “Yes.”*
·        Those interested in volunteering should register at www.disaster.salvationarmyusa.org. Please note that disaster service training is a prerequisite for volunteering in a disaster zone and not all registered volunteers will be called on to serve.
·        At this point, in-kind donations, such as used clothing and used furniture, are not being accepted for hurricane relief. However, these items are vital to supporting the day-to-day work of your local Salvation Army. Please consider giving these items to your local Salvation Army Family Store or dial 1-800-SA-TRUCK (1-800-728-7825).


Your donations make a real difference.
·        A $10 donation feeds a disaster survivor for one day.
·        A $30 donation provides one food box, containing staple foods for a family of four, or one household cleanup kit, containing brooms, mops, buckets and other cleaning supplies
·        A $100 donation can serve snacks and drinks for 125 survivors and emergency personnel at the scene of a disaster
·        A $250 donation can provide one hot meal to 100 people or keep a hydration station operational for 24 hours
·        A $500 donation keeps a Salvation Army canteen (mobile feeding unit) fully operational for one day


The Salvation Army is one of the nation’s largest providers of disaster service and responds to hundreds of disasters across the country each year.
·        Hurricane Katrina (August 2005): The Salvation Army provided more than 5.6 million meals to survivors and first