Local Salvation Army Volunteer Shares Experience Helping Hurricane Victims in Florida

It’s been more than a week since Hurricane Ian made landfall as a category 4 storm in Southwest Florida.  Ian brought destruction throughout much of the state, even into the Carolinas killing at least a hundred people and causing billions of dollars in damage.

Organizations from all over the country have mobilized to provide hurricane relief for the victims including volunteers from two Northeast Georgia Service Centers of The Salvation Army.  Trudy Kannenberg is with the Toccoa Service Center.  She was been with PJo Phelps and Joe Johnson from the Elberton Service Center of The Salvation Army along with nine other Georgia volunteers.  They have been providing relief effort in Sarasota County, Florida, since Sunday, October 2.  Kannenberg has only been a volunteer with the Salvation Army since June, and this is her first mobilization.

Kannenberg talked about her experiences on Sunday’s Community Forum program.  She says the devastation is widespread.

“Pretty horrible devastation.  Yesterday and today, I’ve been serving a trailer park that was very severely hit.  They don’t have power, power poles are still leaning.  There’s aluminum from the trailer sidings and from the carports that’s literally tangled around the telephone poles, the transformers, and the wires.  So plus leaning power poles and downed lines, and many homes just totally flattened.”

Kannenberg and the others have already met hundreds of people providing food, supplies, comfort, and of course prayers.

One of her experiences helping the victims involves a meeting a quadriplegic man and his family.  She says while he could only communicate through facial expressions, he was profoundly grateful for the help he received.

“So when we left there, I went back and talked to the gentleman in the wheelchair.  I just got down on eye-level and let him know that we care. We noticed.  And that we were there and cared.  He got real teary-eyed and puckered up and blew me a kiss.”

Kannenberg says she and some of the other volunteers will remain in Florida until this Sunday.  At that point, a new team of volunteers will be deployed to take her place.

If you would like to become a Salvation Army Volunteer or make a tax-deducible donation, go to salvationarmyusa.org.