NEW YORK—As millions in the eastern United States hard-hit by Superstorm Sandy are still without power, World Vision relief workers and volunteers are cleaning up damaged supplies in a South Bronx warehouse and opening a new facility to receive urgently needed relief supplies arriving from across the nation.
World Vision, an international Christian relief and development organization, is also sending out assessment teams today to other regions hard-hit by the storm with hygiene kits and food kits.
Monday, the South Bronx World Vision Storehouse was heavily damaged when the nearby East River flooded its banks, destroying relief supplies. That site will be closed until repairs are completed. Today, relief supplies trucked in from World Vision’s domestic disaster headquarters in North Texas and international distribution centers in Denver and Dallas are arriving at a second, newly-opened New York warehouse location. “We’re mobilizing hundreds of partners to reach thousands of people immediately,” says Rich Miltimore, World Vision’s national director of resources and relief. “We lost about one-third of our relief supplies when Sandy hit.”
World Vision U.S. assessment teams from West Virginia are also providing immediate assistance in areas hard-hit by heavy snows. In Appalachia, where power is still out, the World Vision storehouse in Philippi, W.Va., is closed because of a power outage. This is the third day that facility has been shut down.
World Vision U.S. is now using its existing pre-positioned supplies to help as it restocks shelves.
“In the last three days, I’ve bought blankets, tarps and cleanup kits,” Miltimore says. “Money is critical to replenish our supplies.”
World Vision U.S. is setting up a long-term distribution center in New York to distribute family fundamentals (clothing, cleaning supplies and household goods). “We’re going to help restore this community,” Miltimore says.
To help: WorldVision.org/americanfamilies
