Disaster Relief Returns to Burlington
In June, Convoy of Hope distributed 600,000 pounds of relief product to flood victims in the Midwest. Relief items such as water, food, cleaning supplies, PowerAde and other items were distributed in over 25 communities in four states. One of the hardest hit areas was Southeast Iowa, where communities up and down the Mississippi River experienced record levels of flooding, some homes flooded to the rafters.
Recently, Convoy of Hope returned to Burlington, Iowa, to continue helping those who are rebuilding their lives following the devastating flooding that occurred in June. Convoy of Hope will distributed another 80,000 lbs. of cleaning supplies, nonperishable foods and personal hygiene items. This is in addition to the more than 600,000 lbs. of relief items that Convoy of Hope previously provided to the area.
“The impact went beyond the people who lost houses,” says Kary Kingsland, director of Convoy of Hope’s U.S. Disaster Response. “Now there are people who have lost time from work, or lost their jobs, and they are being impacted financially, even if they didn’t have water in their homes. We want to continue to reach out to those who have been hit hard by this disaster, both directly and indirectly.”
As the organization did during its previous response, Convoy of Hope used Burlington as a staging area and distribution point to reach several nearby communities. The distribution took place Saturday July 26, from the parking lot of the Burlington Bees Stadium. Volunteers from two local churches in Burlington also went door-to-door, distributing bags of product to hard-to-access areas.
For more information on how your church or group can volunteer in one of these events, please contact the US Disaster Response team. You can also help through your cash donations. Click here to give to help with this and other Disaster Response initiatives.