Going Forward

Over the last several days, members of Central have joined together with others in our community and worked diligently to help those whose homes were destroyed or damaged by the tornado.  Teams with work gloves and chainsaws have gone out to clear trees from homes and salvage possession for the families living in them.  Our ladies have toiled daily over the stoves at the church building to provide meals for work crews and people who lost the ability to cook for themselves.  We want to thank everyone for their truly extraordinary efforts during these last few days. 

Now, we are in a period of transition.  FEMA is expected to come in with heavy equipment to clean up the remaining debris and clear away un-salvageable homes.  With rain expected over the next several days, there will not be many more opportunities to go out and work in the community as we did this weekend.  Therefore our focus will be on distributing supplies at the church building.  A truck from the 2nd Street Church of Christ in Pulaski, TN arrived this afternoon with more supplies (they also made a delivery yesterday) and there is the possibility that the Church of Christ Disaster Relief will bring another supply truck on Thursday.  The supplies have been sorted and are on tables in the gym.  The church building will be opened from 9am-4pm this week for individuals or families who need the following supplies:

• food
• bottled water
• towels
• dish cloths 
• batteries
• laundry detergent 
• personal hygiene items  (deodorant, toothpaste, feminine products, etc)
• baby food
• diapers
• cleaning supplies
• paper plates, towels, cups

If anyone is unable to get to the church building, they should call the office at 256-232-2014 and we will arrange transportation for them.  Church members wishing to bring any of these supplies may do so any time between 9am-4pm.  While we have a variety of items, we need quantity, so please stop by the store and pick up a few things to bring if you can.  We are not accepting clothing donations.

There very well may be other needs that arise during the week.  If you would like to volunteer to help, you have two options.  You can sign up to come assist people during the day who come to get supplies or you can ask to be put on the "call if needed" list for those unanticipated needs.  We will likely have two shipments coming in Thursday afternoon (furniture and supplies), and will need folks to help unload.  I will post specific times as soon as they are available.  If you want to volunteer in any of these areas, please call Will Grice at 256-278-0884 to let him know when to expect you.  Check back soon for more information.