(Photo: AP Images / LM Otero)Linda Franks carries a meal given to her by the Salvation Army after Hurricane Ike hit Galveston, Texas, Monday, Sept. 15, 2008.
(Photo: AP Images / LM Otero)Evacuees from Hurricane Gustav line up for meals from the Salvation Army outside a shelter in Lafayette, La., Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2008.
Salvation Army received a $500,000 donation gift from Shell Oil Company and Motiva Enterprises LLC on Monday to be used towards immediate and long-term disaster relief in the aftermath of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike.
The gift is part of a larger $4 million donation split between The Salvation Army, the American Red Cross, the Gulf Coast Relief Fund and other community organizations.
“We are incredibly grateful to Shell and Motiva for this generous gift,” said Salvation Army National Commander Israel L. Gaither. “Hurricane Ike in particular led to the Army’s largest disaster response operation since Hurricane Katrina – so corporate donations like this become all the more critical.”
The Shell Oil and Motiva Enterprise gift adds to the ministry’s corporate donation list, which includes: Wal-Mart’s $250,000, Lilly’s $10 million, British Petroleum’s $1 million, and Pepsi’s $100,000. Counting donations given through the internet, White Mail, and other methods, The Salvation Army has collected a total of $12,724,851.
But the Christian ministry noted that it has spent over $15 million on 2008 hurricane relief already. The Salvation Army has responded to five major storms and provided 1 million meals during the 2008 hurricane season.
In addition to the monetary donation, Shell and Motiva have also provided fuel to emergency response organizations in affected areas.
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Currently, the Army has more than 100 canteens and other disaster response vehicles deployed to offer services in Texas and elsewhere.
Southern Baptist disaster relief teams have also been serving in areas impacted by Hurricane Gustav and Ike. The ministry’s volunteers have served 3.7 million hot meals in Texas and Louisiana.
Meanwhile, Church World Service is working to assess damages, gut out homes, and clean-up the mess in Galveston, Texas, which bore the brunt of Hurricane Ike’s 110-mph winds.
Most residents of the island city of Galveston are reportedly still living elsewhere as it is being cleaned up, according to CWS.
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