September 17, 2008:
Salvation Army helps Fay flooding victims
get back into housing
(Fort Myers, FL) Over 100 families still staying at the Estero Community Center after being evacuated from their homes due to flooding from Tropical Storm Fay rains have been assigned case managers through a cooperative partnership of County's Long Term Disaster Recovery Committee, The Salvation Army, The United Way, The Bonita Springs Assistance Office and St. Leo's Church. The Salvation Army is now overseeing the recovery effort for over 30 families; working to get them back into housing as quickly as possible.
"It is our number one priority to work with these families to get them back into homes of their own" says Major Art Penhale, Corps Officer of The Salvation Army of Lee and Hendry Counties. "Our bilingual case managers will work with each family to get them back on their feet again."
Flood waters from Tropical Storm Fay forced over 580 people to flee their homes and seek refuge in the temporary shelter set up by The Red Cross as the Estero Community Center on August 23rd.
Final assessments by the County, FEMA and the Red Cross have been completed and nearly 100 families have sustained major damage to their residences and are in need of continued assistance. Each family has been assigned a case manager who will work to get them back into housing. The process will be to either place families back in their previous housing if the residences are deemed safe by the County or into another residence. If families cannot go back to their homes, case managers will work through a County organized database to show available, affordable housing in the area and work with families for placement. Additionally, funds have been pledged from The Salvation Army and other entities to assist families as they replace damaged items from their homes or in furnishing new housing.
"Through the generosity of the community, we will be able to help these families have a place to call home once again," says Major Art Penhale of The Salvation Army of Lee and Hendry Counties.
"This will be a long process and we are asking the community to continue to be mindful of these families and continue to support recovery efforts."
Monetary donations for Bonita Flooding relief can be sent to:
P.O. Box 60087
Fort Myers, FL 33906
August 28, 2008:
Salvation Army thanks the Community
Thousands of items given to Bonita Flood victims
(Fort Myers, FL) Lee County citizens have responded with tremendous generosity to needs of the Bonita flood victims. Thousands of items have been distributed to those staying in the emergency shelter located off Corkscrew Blvd in Estero through The Salvation Army's donation distribution center outside the facility.
"Through the goodness of the community, we have been able to distribute thousands of pieces of clothing, blankets, towels and diapers to families who left their homes with little more than the clothes on their back," says Major Art Penhale, Corps Officer of The Salvation Army of Lee and Hendry Counties. "It is such a privilege to be able to serve these families."
Monetary donations for disaster relief can be sent to:
The Salvation Army
P.O. Box 60087
Fort Myers, FL 33906
Or call 1-800-SAL-ARMY
August 25, 2008:
The Salvation Army Serves
Bonita Springs Flood Victims
FORT MYERS - The Salvation Army of Lee and Hendry Counties, in conjunction with Emergency Operations Center (EOC), United Way, American Red Cross, St. Leo's Church, Lee County Department of Human Services Long Term Disaster Recovery Team and other local relief agencies are providing assistance to Bonita Springs residents who were displaced from their homes in the Manna Christian and Saldivar Mobile Home Parks.
At this time, the disaster recovery partners are seeking donations from the community to meet the immediate needs the flood victims. These items include: clothing, diapers and soft blankets . Additionally, The Army is asking the community to provide new shoes for the 80 plus school age children who were evacuated and unable to bring their back to school items with them. The sizes needed for these children range from boys and girls sizes 6 to 13.
Anyone interested in assisting with disaster recovery for these families can call The United Way's 211 hotline or 239-433-3900. Additionally, donations can be dropped off directly at The Army's donation truck which will be parked in front of the Estero Community Center at 9200 Corkscrew Palms Blvd. Salvation Army staff and volunteers are planning to man the site from 9am to 7:30pm. The truck will be in place Monday afternoon.
"Our hearts goes out to these victims," says Major Art Penhale, Corp Officer of The Salvation Army of Lee & Hendry Counties. "We are asking for support from the community to assist these families in their time of need" said Penhale.
Donations of clothing, diapers, soft blankets and new shoes are also being accepted at Salvation Army locations listed below:
South Fort Myers Family Store ~ 15418 S. Tamiami Trail, Fort Myers
Fowler Family Store ~ 3065 Fowler St., Fort Myers
Cape Family Store ~ 4506 Del Prado Blvd., Cape Coral
Social Service Campus ~ 2400 Edison Ave., Fort Myers
Administration Offices and Corps Community Center ~ 10291 McGregor Blvd., Fort Myers
Estero Community Center ~ 9200 Corkscrew Palms Blvd., Estero
Monetary donations for disaster relief can be sent to:
The Salvation Army
P.O. Box 60087
Fort Myers, FL 33906
Or call 1-800-SAL-ARMY
August 8, 2008:
The Salvation Army
"Food Pantry is out of food"
FORT MYERS - The Salvation Army reported a 70% increase in the first six months of 2008 of families seeking emergency assistance with food and basic needs. Major Art Penhale, Corp Officer for Lee and Hendry Counties states that yesterday we saw nearly double the amount of people coming to us with request for food assistance. Major Penhale stated that, "Traditionally, we had seen 10 to 20 families per day coming to us seeking assistance with food bags and basic needs, currently we are seeing 70 to 80 families per day. With this drastic increase, comes the depletion of our food pantry. Looking at the pantry today, there is one word to describe it - dire."
The Salvation Army provides a variety of comprehensive services and programs to individuals and families in need in the community. "We are now helping families who have never had to ask for assistance before. In fact, these are the very families who used to help us help others by donating their time and resources," states Major Penhale.
In 2007 alone, The Salvation Army assisted over 9,000 people with emergency assistance such as food bags, clothing and household items in addition to referrals to other agencies. The agency reports that number will easily be matched and exceeded by year's end, as demonstrated by the spike in services in the first portion of this year. "The increase in the cost of basic commodities, gas, food and utilities are compounded by the fact that so many of our neighbors are experiencing job layoffs and reduction in their hours and benefits," states Major Penhale.
The Salvation Army is asking the community to help them help others by dropping off non-perishable goods; items such as canned meat, tuna fish, canned vegetables, peanut butter, rice, beans and pastas to the local Salvation Army Social Services Campus at 2400 Edison Avenue in Fort Myers. Donations can be dropped off at this location seven days a week, 24 hrs a day. Other drop off locations are:
Fowler Family Store ~ 3065 Fowler St., Fort Myers
Cape Family Store ~ 4506 Del Prado Blvd., Cape Coral
Administration Offices and Corps Community Center ~ 10291 McGregor Blvd., Fort Myers
Major Penhale added, "We strive to serve our neighbors in need and make sure families in our communities have enough to eat, have roofs over their heads and know there is a community to support them in their efforts. Unfortunately, we are now reaching a point where our resources are being spread so thin, we may have to think about cutting back on some of our services. The demand is so great; our resources simply are not able to keep up."
