Austell, Ga. (September 30, 2009.) On Wednesday, September 30, more than 60 members of the Cobb County community including nonprofit leaders, government and local schools, and churches assembled at South Cobb High School for the second meeting of agencies to address the needs of Cobb County flood victims. The meeting, also attended by Representative Alisha Thomas-Morgan, District 39, was scheduled to discuss the plans to ensure the immediate and long-term needs of flood victims are met.
Sweetwater Valley C.A.M.P. located at 6289 Veterans Memorial Highway in Austell has been designated as a central location for flood assistance. Starting Monday, October 5, flood victims can be seen Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Case managers from Sweetwater Valley C.A.M.P. and local agencies including The Center for Family Resources, MUST Ministries, and The Salvation Army will be present to provide resources including financial assistance, temporary housing assistance, food, clothing, diapers, hygiene items, school supplies and water.
Contact Sweetwater Valley C.A.M.P at 770.819.0662 or www.svcamp.org.
“Case managers will work one-on-one with families to identify unmet needs, intermediate and long-term needs, said Darlene Duke, executive director of Sweetwater Valley C.A.M.P. We have to be there for the long haul. We are very grateful to all the agencies supporting us and rallying behind us to make this happen.”
Donations items are needed to support the relief effort including cash donations; basic food staples; gift cards to Walmart, Kmart, Target, etc; hygiene items, diapers and cleaning supplies. Donations of furniture should be given to the Atlanta Furniture Bank. They can be reached via the web at www.AtlantaFurnitureBank.org. You can also call David DiCaprio at 404.355.8530, ext. 222.
Cash donations clearly marked with ‘FLOOD’ can be made to community partners: Sweetwater Valley C.A.M.P., Cobb Disaster Recovery, The Center for Family Resources, MUST Ministries and the United Way of Cobb County.
“I am proud to see so many local community organizations, government and churches coming together to support our community, share resources and connect with one another, said Representative Alisha Thomas-Morgan, District 39. We appreciate the outpouring of support and want people to continue to make donations and realize the support is needed on a long-term basis.”
Current volunteer needs include sorting clothes and food, crowd control, administrative tasks, mudding and construction repair. Non-construction volunteers should contact Jenaila Hawkins at MUST Ministries at jhawkins@mustministries.org or (770) 790-3873. Skilled volunteers looking to provide construction, plumbing, or carpentry expertise should contact Gene DeWulf, Cobb Disaster Recovery at gdewulf@uwma.org or (404) 589-9438.
“CFR is proud to be a part of this effort and to support Sweetwater Valley C.A.M.P as this community comes together in support of one another, Jeri Barr, CFR CEO said. The cooperative and collaborative effort of these organizations and the generosity of this community will help to ensure as many residents as possible receive the assistance they need.”
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