Bath, ME Salvation Army Sends Volunteer to Puerto Rico
The Salvation Army of NNE has sent Libby Farmer, a trained emergency disaster volunteer from the Bath Salvation Army to Puerto Rico. Libby will relieve Salvation Army emergency workers to assist those affected by Hurricane Fiona. (Video above).
Libby is trained in emergency disaster care that includes incident management, mobile unit operations, food service, emotional and spiritual care, as well as basic first aid and CPR training. This is Libby's second deployment. Last year, Libby relieved Salvation Army mobile feeding canteen workers during Hurricane Ida in New Jersey.
The Salvation Army is meeting the needs of Hurricane Fiona survivors and first responders in Puerto Rico by providing mass feeding, sheltering, electronics charging, clean-up support, personal hygiene kits, emotional and spiritual care, and other services.
- As of September 22, The Salvation Army has served 8,786 individuals and distributed the following items at its community centers in San Juan, Puerta de Tierra, Caguas, Centro, Bayamon, Mayaguez, Arecibo, and Loiza:
- 9,159 prepared meals, food boxes/meal kits, and snacks
- 11,309 drinks and bottles of water
- 1,875 packs of diapers
- 661 personal hygiene kits
- 415 ice bags
- 107 blankets
- Additional services and items provided at some of the Salvation Army community centers include:
- Showers
- Charging stations for people to charge personal devices like mobile phones, laptops and portable medical equipment, etc.
- Emotional and spiritual counseling and support
- Children's and adult clothing
- Furniture
- For comparative purposes, in the four years following Hurricane Maria, which struck Puerto Rico in September 2017, The Salvation Army spent about $40 million on disaster relief and assisted over 48,000 individuals. During that period, we provided the following services and items:
- 1,190,321 prepared meals, food boxes, and snacks
- 100,940 bottles of water
- 66,852 items of furniture
- 58,381 items of clothing and shoes for adults
- 34,992 personal hygiene kits
To continue our mission of "Doing the Most Good," The Salvation Army relies on the generous support of the public to help us serve the most vulnerable during this turbulent time. People can support our Hurricane Fiona relief efforts by donating through the following channels:
- Visit https://give.helpsalvationarmy.org
Call 1-800-SAL-ARMY (1-800-725-2769)
Mail in donations should be made to the following:
The Salvation Army
Gift Processing Center
PO Box 3095
Harlan, IA 51593-0159
"Hurricane Fiona Relief"
*While we are not accepting in-kind donations for our Hurricane Fiona relief efforts (because of the logistical challenges of shipping items to Puerto Rico) your local Salvation Army Thrift Store depends on such donations to fund its rehabilitation centers.