American Red Cross

Two American Red Cross shelters remain open for residents evacuated from their homes due to the Kilauea lava threat at the following locations:

• Pahoa Community Center (15-3022 Kauhale Street, Pāhoa, HI 96778)
• Keaau Community Center (16-186 Pili Mua St, Keaau, HI 96749)

A team of Oahu Red Cross volunteers is deploying to the Big Island today to assist with sheltering, operations, and health services. As of midnight, there were nearly 200 people at the Pahoa Community Center and 15 people at the Keaau Community Center shelter. About 50 Red Cross volunteers have been working tirelessly to assist all evacuees with their immediate emergency needs. As of today, nearly 100 comfort relief kits have been distributed and 140 health and mental health contacts have been made.

In light of the recent 6.9 magnitude earthquake, here are some Red Cross safety tips:

BEFORE AN EARTHQUAKE:

Protecting your family

• Talk about earthquakes with your family so that everyone knows what to do in case of an earthquake. Discussing ahead of time helps reduce fear, particularly for younger children.
• Check at your workplace and your children’s schools and day care centers to learn about their earthquake emergency plans.
• Pick safe places in each room of your home, workplace and/or school. A safe place could be under a piece of furniture or against an interior wall away from windows, bookcases or tall furniture that could fall on you.
• Practice DROP, COVER and HOLD ON in each safe place.
• Make sure you have access to NOAA radio broadcasts:
• Find an online NOAA radio station
• Search for a NOAA radio app in the Apple Store >> or Google Play>>
• Purchase a battery-powered or hand-crank NOAA radio in the Red Cross Store
• Keep a flashlight and any low-heeled shoes by each person’s bed.

Salvation Army

Need continues for large volume meal donations from restaurants and certified kitchens for meal service at shelters starting Wednesday, May 9

Emergency Disaster Services [EDS] personnel and volunteers from The Salvation Army are responding to the current lava flow in Leilani Estates. The need continues for large volume meal donations from local restaurants and certified kitchens [due to health safety food preparation standards] for meal service at shelters starting Wednesday, May, 9 [meal service is already covered until this date]. To donate large volume meals, local restaurants and certified kitchens may contact The Salvation Army at (808) 756-0306. Please note, smaller, home-prepared foods and meals, cannot be accepted for meal service at shelters due to health safety food preparation standards.

“The Salvation Army’s EDS team in East Hawaii continues to provide assistance as needed with meal service, hydration, and emotional and spiritual care at the shelters in Pahoa,” said Lt. Micheal Stack, Divisional Youth & Mens Ministry Secretary and Emergency Disaster Services Coordinator for The Salvation Army – Hawaiian & Pacific Islands Division. “We’re also grateful to Hilo Walmart for donating a wireless phone with a local Hilo prefix that is being used as a one-number information line related to donations.”

Additional corporate partners have stepped up to support The Salvation Army’s EDS efforts and offer a variety of ways the public can participate:

• First Hawaiian Bank – Aloha for Hawaii Fund to support relief efforts for the Kilauea Volcano Eruption on the Big Island and recovery efforts for flooding on Kauai and in East Oahu. Donations can now be made at any of First Hawaiian Bank’s 61 branches located in Hawaii, Guam and Saipan.
• Foodland – “Aloha for Puna & Pahoa” Disaster Relief (The Salvation Army). Customers will be able to make monetary donations at all Foodland and Sack N Save stores in Hawaii in $5, $10 or $20 amounts beginning May 9. Donations will go towards The Salvation Army’s EDS efforts.
• HiLife – Kokua Collection – A percentage of the proceeds from various HiLife clothing items in their Kokua Collection will be donated to Salvation Army Hawaiian and Pacific Islands division to assist with their relief efforts to victims of recent devastating floods on O’ahu and Kauai as well as erupting volcano on Hawaii island. For details, visit https://hilifehawaii.com/collections/kokua

During emergencies, the best way the public can help is to provide monetary donations which allows the delivery of the exact relief supplies a community needs. Plus, The Salvation Army uses one-hundred percent of all donations designated ‘disaster relief’ in support of disaster operations.”

Those wishing to donate food and bottled water should contact Food Basket, Hawaii Island’s Food Bank. They are located at 40 Holomua St. in Hilo and 73-4161 Uluwini Pl. in Kailua-Kona or call (808) 933-6030.

The public is encouraged to support the emergency disaster services efforts via monetary donations at www.hawaii.salvationarmy.org or by calling The Salvation Army – Hawaiian & Pacific Islands Divisional Headquarters at 808-988-2136. One-hundred percent of the donated funds will support The Salvation Army’s emergency disaster services in Hawaii.

Kona Petco taking donations

Kona Petco is taking pet food and supplies donations. Come in, drop it off. We’ll make sure some furry critters are fed!