Many coastal residents and tourists are evacuating inland as Hurricane Earl approaches the Outerbanks.

Emergency management officials in North Carolina have requested The Salvation Army provide feeding services today for evacuee shelters in Beaufort, Carteret and Pamlico Counties.

The Salvation Army is able to provide evacuee feeding services through our mobile kitchen units that are setting up at county-designated shelter locations in preparation for Earl.  These mobile kitchen units are fully equipped kitchens and can provide immediate, ongoing mass feedings from one location or while roaming throughout an impacted area.

The Salvation Army will also be providing feeding and hydration services to first responders and emergency personnel.

“Each day The Salvation Army responds in service to crisis situations.  And not every crisis is as sensational as a Hurricane, as many are personal, individual and of the heart.  Our team is mobilized and fully prepared for response and service as need arises and for as long as the need last”, said Major Willis Howell, Divisional Commander for The Salvation Army North & South Carolina Division.

Stay tune to The Salvation Army’s Hurricane Earl updates as they become available through our Facebook and Twitter pages.

The Washington Post reports that Washington, DC sports teams and athletes are increasingly focusing on charitable giving.

Staff writer Susan Kinzie says, “For reasons idealistic, self-serving or practical, athletes and teams are putting a greater emphasis on donating money, volunteering and helping local communities — with more commitment to providing real impact rather than just photo ops.”

As a DC resident, it’s nice to hear that my teams are giving back.  Between the baseball, hockey, basketball and football teams, DC athletes are helping revitalize local neighborhoods, investing in cancer prevention, fighting hunger, supporting children’s education programs and addressing a load of other issues. With the unique voice and wide supporter base that comes with the territory, athletes have a great platform to get the message out on deserving causes and make lasting, positive impacts on communities and individuals.

I’ll admit though,  sometimes I’m skeptical when I hear about big names pushing a cause. I wonder, do they really care about or have a genuine commitment to this issue they’re attaching themselves to? For me, sincerity is important.

What’s your take on athletes being active in philanthropy? Do you have a favorite athlete who’s an outspoken advocate for a charity or a cause? Does a sports/charity partnership make you more likely to support the members involved?

Felix Jones spends time coaching kids at The Salvation Army's North Mabee Center in Tulsa.

Since becoming a Salvation Army employee, I’m happy to say my skepticism has tempered after seeing athletes and teams from around the country give and serve generously through our organization in ways that have invaluably inspired and assisted those in need. Their collaboration with us has ranged from extended partnerships to isolated volunteer efforts. Some athletes have never been involved with the Army before, while others have actually been clients in our programs.

Maybe you root for some of the teams and players who have worked with us:

• Felix Jones, Dallas Cowboys – He tutors students in ACT prep at The Salvation Army’s North Mabee Boys & Girls Club in Tulsa, OK and has served as a role model in other programs. He’s also pledged $25,000 to the North Mabee Center. Why? He played football at North Mabee as a kid and personally knows what a great impact it has on the local community.

• Robert Meacham, New Orleans Saints – Young aspiring football players received personal tips on playing the game from this Super Bowl Champion during a summer sports camp at The Salvation Army’s North Mabee Center in Tulsa. Yep, Meacham also grew up playing ball at the center with Jones.

• Julius Erving, NBA Hall of Famer – The b-ball legend is an advocate for exercise and sportsmanship for youth in Atlanta, where he hit the courts as a kid at The Salvation Army.  One way he gives back is through his annual “Dr. J” Biddy Ball tournament hosted this year at The Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center, with the help of other players including Cory Blackwell, Vincent Askew and Duane Causwell.

• Omaha Nighthawks (UFL) – These players not only helped establish two mentoring programs through a $25,000 donation to the Omaha Salvation Army Kroc Center, the Nighthawks also serve as mentors themselves! And they’re holding their training camp at the Kroc Center where kids and the community will have the opportunity to see their role models in action.

• Indianapolis Colts – From hosting Christmas toy drives to a $25,000 donation equally shared by The Salvation Army and 4 other non-profits, the Colts are community-focused. On top of that, their Senior VP Tom Zupancic just joined our Advisory Board!

• Philadelphia Eagles – When disaster struck Haiti, the team wanted to help.  Eagles guard and Haiti native Max Jean-Gilles, Eagles linebacker Akeem Jordan and Eagles employees volunteered to help The Salvation Army and Numana pack nutritious meals for earthquake survivors.

• Dallas Cowboys – For 13, going on 14, years the Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving Day game halftime show marks the official launch of our Red Kettle Christmas Campaign. The annual campaign has raised more than $1 billion since the partnership began in 1997 and has helped the Army to serve 30 million people each year nationwide. Plus, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and his wife, Gene, opened the Gene and Jerry Jones Family Center for Children – a Salvation Army child care center for low-income families in Irving, TX.  Mr. Jones is now an Emeritus member of The Salvation Army’s National Advisory Board and his daughter and wife are active board members.

Infrared Image of Hurricane Earl, taken by The Weather Channel

Hurricane Earl continues its path towards the US eastern coast with winds reaching 125mph as of this morning, making the storm a Category 3. (Update: As of Thursday, it’s been upgraded to a Category 4 with 145 mp winds.) It’s expected to reach the coast of North Carolina Thursday evening or Friday morning, casting a dark cloud over Labor Day holiday plans.

All Salvation Army units have been notified of the potential impacts from Hurricane Earl.  Personnel in coastal North Carolina and the Eastern Shore of Maryland are working with county and state emergency management officials as well as reviewing local response plans and procedures in case their assistance is needed.

“Our focus at this time is to be prepared locally with a plan, personnel and resources so that our local Salvation Army Corps can provide assistance as required or requested in coordination with county and state emergency management officials”, said Mike Patterson, Emergency Disaster Services Director for the North & South Carolina Division.

While you may are making plans for the holiday weekend, don’t forget to stay alert. We encourage everyone who may be in Earl’s path to prepare an emergency supply kit, make an evacuation plan and stay on top of all storm warnings. For help developing a preparedness plan, coastal residents can visit www.readync.org and www.mema.state.md.us.

Anyone who wants to help those affected by Hurricane Earl can visit www.salvationarmyusa.org or call 1-800-SAL-ARMY. Monetary donations will be used to meet immediate needs. We are currently not accepting donations of clothing and furniture for storm victims; however, please continue supporting your local Salvation Army thrift store and the much needed programs your in-kind gifts support.

Stay tune to The Salvation Army’s Hurricane Earl updates as they become available through our Facebook and Twitter pages.

New Orleans' famous shrimp po' boy. Yum.

This morning I was reading a few articles about President Obama’s commemoration of the 5^th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. The first family traveled to New Orleans where the President addressed Xavier University yesterday.

As the articles discussed the President’s official business in ‘The Big Easy,’ I found it interesting that most of them made it a point to mention the President’s lunch. His speech, visit to a local housing development and even meetings with hurricane survivors did not overshadow his sumptuous shrimp po’boy at Parkway Bakery & Tavern.

Why was the seafood sub such a big deal?

A few thoughts:

1.The strength of small businesses gives a fair read on the pulse of the economy, and a mom & pop restaurant sure looks hopeful and healthy when you have the President as a patron.  Plus, it’s exciting for locals!

2. Food = comfort, especially during hard times.

3. Identity is often linked to food. What better way to affirm a recovering community than to chow down on a traditional meal that represents what New Orleans is about?

In fact, The Times-Picayune recently ran an article about how Hurricane Katrina affected the New Orleans food culture.

Item #3 on the list: Locals’ Appreciation for Food Deepened.

The article quotes a director of a New Orleans non-profit as saying, “In a very intense, concentrated space of time, people found out what really mattered to them. Food became the most important rituals of our lives.”

Item #8 on the list: New Orleanians began cooking all over the country.

This point was most interesting to me since NPR just ran a segment that featured a displaced New Orleanian. Patrick Wooten and his family were air lifted to shelter when their neighborhood of Algiers flooded during the hurricane. They’ve permanently relocated to Plymouth, MA where Patrick now works as a chef at The Salvation Army. Though the setting is a lot different than New Orleans, Patrick keeps in touch with his Cajun roots by serving up home cooking at The Salvation Army kitchen. If he can’t be in New Orleans, what a great way serve others and bring New Orleans to them!

What's for dinner tonight? Try this dirty rice recipe from our own Salvation Army chef.

Lucky for us, Patrick shared with NPR his Dirty Rice recipe that he made on Sunday to remember the 5^th anniversary of Katrina. I’m including it below for anyone who’d like a New Orleans culinary lesson:

RECIPE: PATRICK WOOTEN’S DIRTY RICE (Serves six)

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
1/2 pound Andouille sausage
1/2 pound ham steak, cubed
2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
1 bell pepper, diced
2 celery stalks, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
Worcestershire sauce
Uncle Ben’s white rice

Instructions:

• Brown the meat until beef is no longer pink.
• Add Worcestershire sauce.
• Remove meat from pan and saute vegetables in the leftover oil.
• Add cooked rice and more Worcestershire sauce to taste.
• While it cooks down, “sit and wait like a pit bull.”

Read how The Salvation Army has been providing relief to the Gulf Coast in our report “Hurricane Katrina: 5 Years On.”

It’s difficult to imagine how hard it must have been for Gulf Coast residents to lose their homes and be displaced for months, sometimes years, after Hurricane Katrina. But to be diagnosed with  a terminal disease on top of that? It seems it’d be too much for a person to handle.

In today’s video, Sheriff Bryan White shares the story of his dear friend Frank and how The Salvation Army helped fulfill his dying wish.

Read more in our report “Hurricane Katrina: 5 Years On” about how The Salvation Army has provided relief to the Gulf Coast and helps it to continue to move forward.

In addition, I’m including a few recent headlines about Katrina’s anniversary and the Gulf Coast:

• The Times-Picayune: Visit NOLA.com for stories, events, photos and all things New Orleans
• New York Daily News: Obama Admin Awards $25M in Katrina Funds
• Huffington Post: New Gulf Business Coalition Aims to Revitalize Beleaguered Coastal Economy
• USA Today: New Orleans’ Progress Mixed with Pain
  

Almost two years following Hurricane Katrina, Mississippi resident Kathlene Meier says she was still trying to rebuild her home pay check by pay check with only the help of her family, a process she expected would take many more years.

Imagine her relief when a knock on her door one day from a surprise visitor from The Salvation Army led to them receiving  all the supplies they needed to complete their house. Kathlene shares the details of her story in the video above.

Kathlene is one of many people who found help rebuilding her home through The  Salvation Army. We opened 84,000 cases helping 350,000 people with repair, rebuilding, furnishings and supplies.

And don’t forget, today is The Resiliency Summit in New Orleans sponsored by The Salvation Army and FedEx. Follow the action on Twitter @salarmyalm and @salarmyeds!

Read more in our report “Hurricane Katrina: 5 Years On” about how The Salvation Army has provided relief to the Gulf Coast and helps it to continue to move forward.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

As we remember the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, today’s video features Wanda and Emmett Pillault who share their personal account of finding help through The Salvation Army when their home was severely damaged after the storm.

Since The Salvation Army began disastery recovery efforts following Hurricane Katrina, we have assisted more than 2.6 million affected people.

The Salvation Army used a multi-pronged plan for community recovery.

More than 106,100 families were able to get free donated items like furniture and large appliances at several major distribution centers along the Gulf Coast.

Caseworkers were on hand at Disaster Assistance Centers registering those in need of Salvation Army services.  They opened 265,100 cases representing over 828,000 individuals.

In addition, more than 2,200 homeownership partner grants were distributed among Louisiana and Mississippi, and we provided resources to help 5,000 people who became unemployed as a result of the hurricanes to receive job training and re-employment services.

Read more in our report “Hurricane Katrina: 5 Years On” about how The Salvation Army has provided relief to the Gulf Coast and helps it to continue to move forward.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Major Dennis Gensler, The Salvation Army’s Secretary for Business in the Pakistan Territory, was interviewed today on the current flooding in Pakistan.  He spoke with The Path, a Christian radio station of Cedarville University in Ohio. If you weren’t able to catch it live, visit the station’s website here and click on the ‘News’ section where the segment will be uploaded soon.

You may have already read about the state of Pakistan as seen through Major Gensler’s eyes from a blog post we featured last week. He also has his own blog which he updates pretty often with details about his interactions with flooded communities, along with plenty of pictures. You can follow his efforts at http://majorgensler.blogspot.com/. It provides a more personal view than what you’ll read in most news stories.

Since our last update The Salvation Army conducted its third major Pakistan flood relief distribution of quilts, pillows, mattresses and kitchen utensils to 77 families on Saturday. This took place in Nowshera, which is on the bank of the River Kabul and has been badly affected by the floods.

These seemingly simple supplies are critically needed by drenched communities still wading through standing water and ubiquitous mud. Staying dry is important to combating threats that survivors face in the aftermath such as epidemic illnesses and water-borne diseases.  As a Pakistani flood survivor suggests in a BBC report, aid in the form of dry bedding and clothes may be as important as food.

With so many still in need, The Salvation Army continues to consider how we can best provide help to Pakistan.

If you would like to support The Salvation Army’s flood relief efforts, you can donate by clicking here.

As we approach the 5^th year anniversary of Katrina, the nation is reflecting this week on tragedy that befell the Gulf Coast so many years ago and how the area has pressed on since. As an integral part of the community, The Salvation Army was there before the storm, and we were there after working to provide support and help rebuild.

The Salvation Army’s Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi Division posted an album on their Facebook page that looks back at their efforts to help those in need during the immediate aftermath. From serving food to providing medical support, The Salvation Army was a shining light during a very dark time.

Five years later, we are still dedicated to serving and restoring these communities.

As a part of continuing recovery efforts, The Salvation Army is investing in projects, communities and individual lives in order to help the area become even stronger than before. Five New Orleans neighborhoods are being revived with affordable, green housing thanks to EnviRenew, a project of The Salvation Army New Orleans. Emerge is encouraging youth with positive incentives to learn. A new Salvation Army Kroc Community Center is under construction that will provide the residents of Biloxi, Mississippi with educational opportunities, exercise facilities, services for the community, and many other resources. And these are just a few of numerous ways The Salvation Army is helping the Gulf achieve a brighter future.

The above video “When the Winds Died Down” gives a personal look at how members of the Gulf Coast community found support and hope from The Salvation Army following Hurrican Katrina. We’ll continue to post a new video each day this week that delves further into each individual’s personal story and how The Salvation Army helped them rebuild.

You’ve probably seen actor Bill Pullman in popular films such as Wyatt Earp, Independence Day, Spaceballs, Brokedown Palace or one of the many others in which he’s starred.

But most recently he’s been seen at The Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club in Oklahoma City.

While in town filming his next movie “Bringing Up Bobbie,” Pullman happened to meet the club’s program director and was excited to receive an invitation to visit the boys and girls. Soon after, Pullman was standing in a Salvation Army gymnasium being peppered with questions about his acting career and other stars he knows.

It was an awesome time for the kids, but it seems like  Pullman was just as eager to meet them!

Check out the video aobe shot by local  media outlet NewsOK to see a Pullman interact with The Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club and talk about his latest acting venture.

For more information on The Salvation Army Oklahoma City, visit their website at www.salvationarmyokcac.org or follow them on Facebook.