WHEN HEROES ARE NEEDED

I am donationg 100% of the profits of THE LEGEND OF VICTOR STANDISH and UNDER A VOODOO MOON

for the months of September, October, November, and December to the New Orleans sector of The Salvation Army

Why?

The two urban fantasies take place in New Orleans right before and during Hurricane Katrina. The times I was there to witness first hand the horrors that descended on that city.

I saw then that The Salvation Army does more than ring bells.

A Piggly Wiggly grocery store hardly seemed like the ideal location for a disaster response headquarters.

But when Salvation Army Captain Joe Burton walked through its doors in Long Beach, Mississippi,

two days after Hurricane Katrina barreled through the town in 2005,

it was the best he could find.

Amid the mess of groceries and food strewn about by 120-mph winds,

Captain Burton immediately began to set up one small corner of what would turn out to be The Salvation Army’s largest disaster response operation in its 143-year history.

The Salvation Army is one of the largest nonprofit organizations in the world,

founded in 1865 as part of the universal Christian church in London’s East End by former Methodist Minister William Booth.

The Mission of the Army—both then and now—is to share the gospel and serve suffering humanity around the world without discrimination.

Its massive response to Hurricane Katrina was hardly the first time the organization had mobilized after a weather-related event.

The Salvation Army was on the ground in Galveston, Texas, in 1900, when a hurricane killed tens of thousands of people.

Six years later, the Army was in San Francisco when the Great Earthquake hit and the city burned to the ground.

When heroes are needed ... The Salvation Army is there.

As it was in Katrina.

Nearly $400 million dollars was raised for the Katrina relief effort, and those funds are still being put to use to help rebuild and renovate homes, provide job training, build community capacity, and perform other operations.

Three years later, the hurricane is still affecting the local population, as well as evacuees who left the region for good, and The Salvation Army is still serving.

Major New of The Salvation Army says,

"The Salvation Army doesn’t have to wait for something to be declared a disaster or wait to be asked to come in. We’re already there,” referring to the Army’s continual presence in almost every community in the country.

At the peak of the Katrina relief effort,

The Salvation Army had 178 canteens and 3 53-foot field kitchens deployed.

The relief vehicles came from as far away as the Dakotas and New Mexico, and the disaster workers hailed from all 50 U.S. states and countries including Canada, Bermuda, and Mexico.

After Katrina, the Army provided thousands of short-term financial grants to individuals and families who were unable to purchase food, clothing, shelter, and other essentials.

A network of trained Salvation Army caseworkers assessed claims and worked with each individual or family.

Because so many homes were damaged or completely destroyed during Katrina, The Salvation Army allocated more than $90 million of the $382 million it collected in public and corporate donations toward construction,

including significant money to support Habitat for Humanity’s reconstruction efforts. Notably,

in May 2008, the Army gave $7.4 million to Habitat during the 25th Annual Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project, which erected 400 homes in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

Katrina still haunts New Orleans with its still struggling victims. But in those grim shadows, when heroes are needed ...

you will still find The Salvation Army.
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VOODOO MOON on piano :