• Mark Jones

As Tornadoes Interrupt Christmas, Salvation Army Rolls With The Punches

Feeding Units Active in Alabama and Mississippi

Jackson, Miss. (December 26, 2012) – After serving Christmas dinner to over one thousand residents of Mobile on Tuesday, no one could blame The Salvation Army for wanting to pack it in for the night. But Mother Nature had other plans for the Christian Mission located along live oak lined streets in the Mobile’s Historic Dauphin neighborhood. Less than a mile away, rain, lightning and a tornado tore through neighborhoods and a medical district leaving in its path toppled trees, snapped power lines and property damage.

In Mississippi, a small tornado interrupted Christmas celebrations in Monticello while in Troy, Alabama residents felt the rumble of tornadic activity just in time for Christmas dinner.

As morning dawned in Mobile, Alabama residents emerged from their refuge to begin evaluating the damage left behind from the Christmas Day tornado. Besides being greeted by blustery cold conditions, they were also met with coffee, biscuits and donuts from The Salvation Army.

The scene was similar across portions of south Mississippi and south Alabama. Volunteers and staff from Troy, Alabama and McComb, Mississippi began responding to tornado impacted areas with compassion, comfort and hot meals/coffee.

Feeding units will continue to work throughout the day in Mobile, Troy and Monticello, Mississippi providing physical and emotional support, as well as spiritual comfort.

“Christmas is a time of celebrating the Prince of Peace and Wonderful Counselor, but these storms interrupted that peace,” stated Bill Feist of The Salvation Army. “Our desire is to provide a ministry of presence to impacted areas and hopefully the peace and counsel that The Salvation Army cares.”

Donations are always needed to offset the costs of services to storm victims. Please visit www.disaster.salvationarmyusa.org or call 1-800-SAL-ARMY to donate. All donations for disaster services will be used for the designated purpose.  For additional updates please follow us at www.twitter.com/salarmyalm.

#  #  #

About The Salvation Army:
The Salvation Army, an evangelical part of the universal Christian church, has been supporting those in need in His name without discrimination since 1865. Nearly 33 million Americans receive assistance from The Salvation Army each year. The Salvation Army provides food for the hungry, relief for disaster victims, assistance for the disabled, and outreach to the elderly and ill, clothing, shelter and opportunities for underprivileged children. About 83 cents of every dollar raised is used to support those services in nearly 9,000 communities nationwide. For more information go to http://www.salvationarmyusa.org, call 1-800-SAL-ARMY, or send a check to your local Salvation Army earmarked for disaster relief.