8,400 S. Baptists volunteer for Ala. DR

by BP Staff                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Vol. XXIV, No. 8, September 2011

The latest disaster relief statistics released by the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions show that more than 8,400 Southern Baptist volunteers from 10 states have been deployed following the tornado aftermath in the state.

More significantly, disaster relief personnel reported 38 professions of faith in Christ as a result of their interactions with residents thus far.

Among other stats released by the Alabama state convention:

-- More than 200,000 meals have been served by disaster relief volunteers, and seven mass feeding units have been deployed.

-- More than 900 chainsaw jobs have been completed, and 365 critical incident stress management chaplains have served 5,292 people, the board of missions said May 11.

-- One temporary child care unit was deployed, and 120 children had been assisted. In schools, 350 child crisis response clients had been served.

-- Twenty-two shower units have been deployed, and nearly 4,000 showers had been logged in addition to nearly 1,200 loads of laundry.

The board of missions emphasized that the numbers do not include the hundreds of spontaneous volunteers from Alabama churches and the more than 30 distribution centers across the state. They simply are official disaster relief tallies.