World Vision in Twin Cities providing resources to children impacted by tornado damage

• Twin Cities’ Site Director coordinating with local officials, schools & churches to provide immediate resources to children & families
  
• World Vision’s tornado fundraising appeal increased this week from $3 million to $5 million for extended tornado response: Donate $10 by texting TORNADO to 20222
  
• Agency's relief teams providing ongoing relief to tornado survivors throughout U.S. (Minnesota, Missouri, Alabama, Virginia, North Carolina, etc)

TWIN CITIES, May 24, 2011—World Vision's local Twin Cities operation is focusing on children and families impacted by Sunday’s tornado that ripped through N. Minneapolis leaving hundreds of people homeless or with homes significantly damaged. The Christian aid organization is partnering with local churches, schools, and community partners throughout the Twin Cities area to provide clothing and emergency resources to the most vulnerable neighborhoods and communities impacted by the tornado.

“Our World Vision staff knows these neighborhoods well and we know someone has to focus on the kids,” said Chris Brooks, World Vision’s Twin Cities Field Site Director. “People are living without much of anything right now but we’re especially concerned about children in these communities falling through the cracks.”

World Vision’s local Twin Cities site consists of a 29,500 square foot warehouse that contains relief and recovery essentials that are prepositioned for emergency response, such as personal hygiene items and clean-up supplies. Brooks said his team will be providing resources for children and families this week in neighborhoods where World Vision has already been serving and says several local schools have already specifically requested clothing items and basic school supplies for students.

“Our Twin Cities site has enough in stock right now that we can give every child in the tornado zone a pair of new shoes,” said Brooks. “We’re also going to send school supplies to every school in the zone that needs it because we don’t want schools to have to skip a beat.”

World Vision is also continuing its tornado response in Joplin, Missouri where the organization’s national domestic disaster director just completed an initial assessment of the neighborhoods impacted in Sunday’s deadly tornado.

“The damage in Joplin is every bit as devastating as what we’ve been responding to in Tuscaloosa,” said Phyllis Freeman, also a veteran of the agency's Hurricane Katrina response. “The damage is just as widespread but it’s a smaller community which means there are fewer resources for survivors to rely on.”

Although World Vision will be relying on the organization’s Dallas warehouse to provide prepositioned supplies to Missouri, Freeman says World Vision’s response for both tornadoes will be similar and that relief teams will be providing resources like personal care kits and cleaning supplies. Over the long-term, Freeman anticipates sending bulk shipments of building supplies to help survivors in the tornado rebuilding efforts.

About World Vision’s Work in the Twin Cities:

World Vision has been serving the Twin Cities metro area since 1995, equipping and empowering distressed communities to build healthy, safe, and productive environments where vulnerable children have opportunities to thrive. Our staff responds to disasters with a focus on assisting communities caught in the cycle of poverty. In fiscal 2010, our Twin Cities site served more 230,554 individuals, more than half of them children. For more information about World Vision in the Twin Cities visit www.worldvision.org/twincities

About World Vision
World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. We serve the world's poor -- regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender. For more information on their efforts, visit WorldVision.org/press or follow them on Twitter at @WorldVisionNews