Extraordinary Partnerships: The American Red Cross and the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Kitchens | Update from the Field: East Georgia Red Cross on the front lines

Extraordinary Partnerships:
The American Red Cross and the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Kitchens
September 9, 2011

At 2:30 AM an additional partnership between Albany, NY and Binghamton, NY was from the American Red Cross and the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Kitchen. This is not a new partnership for anyone related to Disaster Relief, but a 2 AM wakeup call, followed by the outdoor kitchens at the Arlington Baptist Church outside of Albany being fired up at 2:30 AM, for a most extraordinary Disaster Relief
Operation.

The Binghamton, NY American Red Cross Disaster Relief Operation escalated in response to 8 plus
inches of rain and an historic flood level of the Susquehanna River. The sudden and urgent need to shelter thousands of residents evacuated from their homes and in need of food, created a feeding need that had to be met. Over the next 6 hours, the Southern Baptists prepared 5,000 boxed lunches and an additional 5,000 hot meals, to be transported by the American Red Cross Emergency, to those in greatest need.

I arrived at the outdoor kitchen at 8:30 AM and found a flurry of activity as the final preparations were
made to transport the 10,000 meals. When asked why the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Kitchen
partners with the Red Cross, Kitchen Manager, Karen Warren stated, “When we come into an area where people are hopeless, and they see then they see people out there who love them, they gain hope because someone cares. Nothing is better than knowing you have done some good.”

American Red Cross Kitchen Manager, Bobby Roberts, runs a tight ship but with a great southern humor. Bobby comes to the Hurricane Irene American Red Cross relief operation in Northeast New York from Columbia, SC. Bobby has been serving through the Red Cross for many years and gains satisfaction in knowing that the most important basic needs of people, devastated by disaster, are being met through the Red Cross and our partners.


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Update from the Field: East Georgia Red Cross on the front lines of Hurricane Irene Disaster Relief




Jeff Taylor, Executive Director of East Georgia Chapter of the American Red Cross is currently on the front lines of the Hurricane Irene aftermath in upstate New York. For daily updates from the field, follow Jeff on Facebook at Red Cross East Georgia and on Twitter @RedCrossEastGA or @taylorjeff7.

Thank you to our volunteers and donors--you are the lifeline of our organization.