America's North Shore Journal

Red Cross Wednesday, February 15, 2006 — NEW ORLEANS, LA – The haunting strains of “Amazing Grace” played by Red Cross volunteer Terry Cooney on his bagpipes filled the sanctuary of the Calvary Baptist Church in New Orleans as Red Cross and Southern Baptist volunteers from Kitchen 44 gathered for an emotional ceremony to close a major chapter in the Red Cross Hurricane Katrina disaster relief story. For nearly 16 weeks, volunteers at this assemblage of stoves, tents, trucks and storage pallets set up in the church parking lot had cooked meals for Hurricane Katrina survivors. On Saturday, Feb. 4, they cooked their last meal in Kitchen 44. “The Southern Baptists made a huge sheet cake emblazoned with ‘Thank You Red Cross – 850,000 meals served’ for all the assembled volunteers,” said … Read entire article »

Red Cross Food and Shelter – $227 million When hurricanes threatened the Gulf Coast, Red Cross disaster relief workers were preparing hundreds of evacuation shelters. The organization prepositioned supplies, including kitchens, prepackaged meals and emergency response vehicles (ERVs). Nearly 500,000 survivors of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma stayed in Red Cross shelters. At the height of the relief effort, the Red Cross served more than 995,000 meals in a single day. The Red Cross, in partnership with the Southern Baptist Convention, served more meals than for any previous disaster—more than 34 million. In addition, more than 30 million snacks have been served. The Red Cross has also distributed hundreds of thousands of clean-up kits and comfort kits containing personal hygiene supplies. Emergency Financial Assistance – $1.554 billion More than 1.4 million families – more than … Read entire article »