Update: CAP partnered with the Catholic Action Center in Lexington, KY to gather disaster relief items to send to Joplin. The first truck was taken to Joplin on June 16th. Two more trucks were sent the following week carrying mostly food and drinks. CAP continues to gather supplies to send to other disaster areas. Please pray for the continued recovery for the victims of these natural disasters.

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This spring the country has suffered some of the most devastating tornadoes in our history, the most recent in Joplin, Missouri. Although Joplin is not an Appalachian city, they are in great need. Given our expertise and ability to assist in natural disasters, CAP is compelled to send this community assistance. We will be gathering donations to send to Joplin to assist the families and the community torn apart by this disaster. This is the time for our country to pull together and help. We received the call of distress from Missouri, and answered, just as we answered in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and Kentucky not a few weeks ago. Through our Operation Sharing division, CAP will be sending donated supplies that will ease the burden of those affected by this storm. We call on you to help us in delivering these much needed items. Your contribution to this effort will allow us to send more trucks of supplies to Joplin, while continuing to send supplies to the other southern states that are still in need. You have always supported our efforts, and we are asking for your help once again. We can all make a difference for these families who have now have no home, together we can send them hope. Hope in the form of much needed supplies like non-perishable foods and canned goods, water, flashlights and batteries, personal hygiene products and cleaning supplies. Thank you for donating today to make tomorrow a little brighter for those in need.

Watch news feature from WKYT27

To follow the journey in Joplin go to www.homelesssharinghope.blogspot.com

The Houston Family and Darlene are two of the most recent participants CAP has been privileged to serve in the last few months.  We encourage you to view two special video stories of the vital home repairs they recently received.

The Houston family is a family of seven—Chris and Paula and their five children, Milli, Madi, Darbi, Kiley, and Peyton.  Chris and Paula recently adopted Kiley and Peyton and space was limited in their home.  Over the three weeks of WorkFest, two additional bedrooms were built for the children.  The frame was built, windows were installed, siding was put up, and the new roof and shingles were laid.

Darlene was one of our senior participants who received home repairs.  We were able to restore her home to a more stable condition.  Volunteers built a new back porch, installed a new door and storm door, built new hand railings, and replaced windows in her mobile home.  Both the Houston’s and Darlene are very grateful for their new homes.

Your gift today will provide basic necessities for people in need.  Your gift could go towards a home addition or safer living conditions as we provided for the Houston’s and Darlene or it could help provide clothing or a meal for a family.  Please remember to watch the videos of the Houston family and Darlene and thank you for your support.

Christian Appalachian Project’s Disaster Relief Team has been in Marshall County, Alabama the past two weeks working to clear debris and repair homes from the devastating tornadoes that ripped through the state on April 27. The hours spent to quickly respond to the vast number of families in need totaled 6,764 hours over these 14 days. President Guy Adams joined the team in offering support to the tornado victims. He and the Disaster Relief Team were able to offer relief to 47 families. These 47 families are now in a better position to continue to rebuild their life after such destruction. The needs of each family were great. Each home required many hours of debris removal and often roof repair and window replacement. Several of the families did not have insurance and professional contractors were offering their services for between $30,000 to $75,000.

The destruction wasn’t just isolated to Marshall County. Our disaster crew received four other requests for help. Two additional counties in Alabama called as well as one from Ohio and one from southwestern Kentucky. Storms took quite a toll on the region. We organized donated supplies to be sent to disaster areas while our hands-on labor took place in Alabama. We put to use our entire fleet—trailers, backhoes, tractors, trucks, vans, cars, semis, and buses. And even with all this, the ruin is still great. Once the last piece of debris is cleared, the process is still not over. The residents of this region have much to rebuild—their entire lives.

The County Emergency Manager said she received numerous phone calls from people we had assisted complimenting and thanking us for all we had done. And we thank you so greatly for your support. As our President Guy Adams expressed in our disaster relief video footage, “We are blessed to have many, many supporters across this country who believe in our mission and who give sacrificially often to help us be the hands and feet of God helping folks in need in Appalachia.”

God bless you.