Tenn. Volunteers Pack Boxes of Hope for Hurricane Harvey Survivors
Volunteers from Churches of Christ Disaster Relief Effort continue to send aid to survivors of Hurricane Harvey.
Since the storm tore through Texas, dumping feet of rain and flooding much of Houston, the Nashville-based organization has sent several trailers full of supplies to the area.
“Plastic plates, plastic cups, utensils, all different food items from canned meat, canned vegetables, canned fruit, things you can just, in fact, we have seen people walk over to the curb with this box open it and start eating,” said Mike Lewis, Executive Director of Churches of Christ Disaster Relief Effort, Inc.
PHOTOS: Hurricane Harvey
About 250 volunteers packed Boxes of Hope to help 1,500 families get basic things like toiletries and T-shirts. The items are considered a luxury after losing everything in Hurricane Harvey.
Churches of Christ Disaster Relief Effort has been helping people devastated by natural disasters for more than 20 years and has hundreds of volunteers on standby to help when it’s needed.
“We send out cleaning supplies, we send out personal hygiene [items] and these are all, they’re not just boxes or loose things, they’re prepacked, ready to be handed out to someone,” explained Lewis. “We’ve been organizing what we do for 26 years, so we have it figured out to what works best.”
Thursday volunteers packed boxes with enough food to feed a family of four for a week. They packed enough boxes to fill 5 truckloads.
“That’s what this is all about. Our Heavenly Father told us to take care of those in need and that’s what we’re trying to do,” explained Lewis.
Lewis told News 2 they’re primarily focused on helping survivors of Hurricane Harvey, but they’re already getting prepared to respond to Hurricane Irma.
“Our goal is to always stand ready for the next disaster before it happens, so we’re not being reactive, we are trying to be proactive,” said Lewis.
Click here to learn how to help Churches of Christ Disaster Relief Effort.
Click here for complete coverage of Hurricane Harvey.
Courtesy of Nashville’s WKRN News 2 – Morgan Hightower – Tenn. volunteers pack boxes of hope for Hurricane Harvey survivors
