By Brianna Stephens  

Just when communities across the state of Kentucky were settling into what was thought to be a reprieve from severe weather after February’s flash flooding, another weather system swept through the state in early April. Heavy rain, flooding, hail, straight-line winds, and tornadoes pounded communities across the state, causing historic devastation in areas of Central and Western Kentucky. When disaster strikes, Christian Appalachian Project (CAP) is there to help families recover.  

“This is the third disaster to impact our state and region since September,” said Aaron Thoms, manager of CAP’s Operation Sharing program in Paintsville. “In times like this, we all come together to support and help our neighbors in need.” 

As floodwaters began to recede in some areas of the state, Kentucky Emergency Management reached out to Operation Sharing to coordinate the transportation of essential items to hard hit communities. Over the weekend, Operation Sharing picked up 500 disaster relief buckets from Red Bird Mission in Clay County and delivered them to the Boone National Guard Center in Frankfort for distribution. The buckets contained basic items to help begin the relief process like MREs, gloves, and cleaning supplies. 

“Through our disaster relief efforts, we have worked alongside countless partners and organizations to deliver critical supplies to people in need,” Thoms said. “When disaster strikes, we see everyone come together to help our neighbors in need.” 

This week, Operation Sharing is sending two truckloads of essential items to impacted areas in Central and Western Kentucky with two more trucks scheduled to be delivered next week. The items, including food boxes, hygiene kits, diapers, air mattresses, tents, and bleach, are gift-in-kind products generously provided by CAP donors and partner agencies.   

“As we receive calls for help from organizations, we coordinate the supplies they need and send them. In the early stages after a disaster, it’s important to send supplies that help with cleaning up and meeting basic needs,” Thoms said.  

In addition to these recent efforts, Operation Sharing continues to support communities in Eastern Kentucky that were impacted by unprecedented flash flooding in February. Since that disaster, Operation Sharing has sent 55 truckloads of essential items to impacted areas. While supporting disaster relief efforts on top of the program’s day-to-day operations to support 1,500 partners across the Appalachian region with essential items, Operation Sharing received a record breaking 179 truckloads of gift-in-kind during March. 

“That’s the most of all time in a one-month period,” Thoms said. “The Lord is blessing us, our donors are blessing us, and our Operation Sharing team continues to go above and beyond, putting in countless hours of effort to support these impacted communities as well as the communities we serve each day across our region. CAP is there for the long haul.”