Don Williams, Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma Disaster Relief director, addresses the media at a press conference on Mon. Aug. 28.
TEXAS—Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief (DR) groups are prepared to offer help to those impacted by Hurricane Harvey in coming weeks and months as initial rescue efforts turn to relief efforts.
Oklahoma Baptists are working closely with Texas Baptists and other non-profit organizations in their relief efforts. Yesterday, Aug. 28, First Baptist Church Nicoma Park dispatched a DR shower and laundry trailer, which has private shower stalls, to Texas for volunteers and first-responders to use.
“Southern Baptists know how to do this for the long-haul. This is a marathon, not a sprint. We’re anticipating to send people down to Texas continuously for the next year to 18 months or two years, however long it takes,” Oklahoma Baptist DR Director Don Williams said.
In the near future, Oklahoma DR has plans to deploy large feeding units that have the capacity to deliver 25,000 meals in one day. Along with feeding units, mud-out crews, chainsaw teams and even childcare teams are waiting to be called on to serve.
“We are cautious of and respect the boundaries that National Guard has set in the interest of public safety,” Williams said. “Once we are allowed in, we will come down, set up incident command centers and get to work right away.”
Oklahoma Baptist DR has been on standby since the Hurricane formed. For the latest updates, or to make a tax-deductible donation to Oklahoma Baptist DR, visit www.OKDisasterHelp.org.
