Tornado Status — How to Help

Retired Coach Gene Stallings cooking for relief workers

How to Volunteer

There’s plenty of work to do, and there will be for a very long time. However, there are no available hotels. Even police from out of town are sleeping on the floors of churches and junior colleges. Don’t come without first being sure you have a place to stay.

The University Church of Christ is letting church groups spend the night there, and we have showers and a washer and dryer on site. But call first (205-503-3001). We have limited capacity, but that should get better as coordination gets better among the churches and agencies.

Phil Campbell is a small town just south of Russellville that was hit hard. I would guess that the North Highlands Church of Christ in Russellville (which is where I grew up) would be a good place to call if you want to volunteer in that area.

Hackleburg and Jasper are other small towns hit very hard.

Pratt City is small, poor town northwest of Birmingham that was very nearly destroyed. Birmingham lost power and had some damage, but still has hotels, etc. within easy driving distance. I’m not aware of a Church of Christ nearby, but a phone call or two to the Homewood or Palisaides Churches of Christ in Birmingham would likely get you in the right direction.

Cullman had multiple tornado strikes, and is the home of Childhaven Orphans Home, long-supported by many Churches of Christ. I don’t know how well it survived in the disaster. There are several Churches of Christ in town.

In Tuscaloosa, the biggest volunteer needs are —

* Food and drink. People who can bring their own cooking equipment and food supply will find plenty of hungry people at the shelters and among the relief workers. There are no functioning restaurants in the disaster area, and many of the relief workers are there as volunteers.

* Clean up. People need help removing fallen trees, putting tarps on roofs, and digging through the rubble to recover valuables.

* Shelters. The shelters need people to help with food, sorting donations, and making distributions.

Donations

* Money. Money to buy food and water and such is the greatest need. Checks and other donations may be sent to:

University Church of Christ
1200 Julia Tutwiler Drive
Tuscaloosa, AL 35404

Mark checks “Disaster relief.” If you want to earmark the donation for Central Church of Christ, so indicate on the check.

I’m going to try to set up an electronic transfer system to make it easy. We’ll see if my limited HTML skills will let that happen.

* Bottled water. A truckload of bottled water would be a blessing.

* Personal hygiene products: feminine hygiene products, underwear, socks, that sort of thing. Think what you’d need if you’d lost everything and were stuck in an old gym with 500 of your closest friends.

* Baby supplies:  formula that doesn’t need refrigeration, diapers, pull ups, baby food, everything you’d pack for a child if you were away from home.

* Non-perishable food. Imagine what you’d use to feed a crowd of 500 having no idea what they like — simple food that’s easy to prepare and appeals to most appetites. But don’t send anything that needs refrigeration.

* Groceries (non-perishable). Many people are in their homes and have power but have lost their jobs because their employer was destroyed. The University Church has provided groceries to the needy for many, many years. The demand is about to go through the roof.

* Clothes. All kinds. Just remember, it’s getting hot here in Tuscaloosa. Shorts, T-shirts, sandals, tennis shoes, and that sort of thing would work well. PLEASE be sure the clothes are in good condition, labeled as to size, and sorted. Volunteers have limited time to sort and size.