• Ken Cavallero

The Salvation Army Canteens Continue to Provide Support to Evacuees

Colorado Springs, CO (June 28, 2012) – Since the early start of the 2012 Wildfire season, roughly 600 homes have been lost just in Colorado. Salvation Army canteens are on site and serving first responders and evacuees at the following sites in response to the Waldo Canyon Fire:

-YMCA Southeast Family Center, 2190 Jetwing Drive, Colorado Springs, CO – meal services for shelter guests

-Cheyenne Mountain High School shelter,  1200 Cresta Road, Colorado Springs, CO – meal services for shelter guests

-Firehouse 9, near Garden of the Gods – meal services Thursday night at 6PM for 1,000 firefighters and a late dinner at 12AM for 200 firefighters

A disaster services canteen – a mobile kitchen, about the size of a parcel delivery truck - is supporting first responders and evacuees of the High Park Fire through meals, snacks, and cold beverages. The canteens are currently being manned by volunteers from across Colorado, including Grand Junction, Wyoming, and Montana. The Salvation Army’s units are providing for survivors’ immediate needs, such as food, water, and comfort.

Additional support teams will be arriving from Salvation Army commands across the Western United States within the next few days. The Salvation Army is prepared to provide support for as long as we are needed.

If members of the community would like to volunteer to help with Waldo Canyon Fire relief efforts, they must register online at www.tsacs.org/registertoring.

An appeal is being made for financial assistance to fund the relief work across Colorado.  Those who wish to support The Salvation Army’s disaster response may do so by sending a check earmarked “Disaster Relief” or “Wild Fires” to their local Salvation Army office, by donating online at www.imsalvationarmy.org, or by making a credit card donation at 1-800-SAL-ARMY.

Gifts in-kind for relief of this disaster are being collected by Care and Share. Please call (719) 528 – 1247 for more information.  Although The Salvation Army is not requesting in-kind goods donations at this time, gifts of gently-used household goods, clothing, etc., are always needed by Salvation Army Family Stores to support their work in the local community. Find out more at www.satruck.com.