2008 Woodie Awards
Panhandle organizations team up for tsunami relief
Brandy Cook
Issue date: 2/4/05 Section: Issues
Steven Spielberg and Jay Leno aren't the only ones to respond. Local businesses and individuals have done their part to help those affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster that left more than 288,000 dead in late December.
A local coalition of the Amarillo Globe-News, Amarillo National Bank, United Supermarkets, Toot N' Totum, KVII-TV and KGNC radio had collected more than $30,000 as of Jan. 24, said Les Simpson, publisher of the Globe-News. Contributions to the effort are being accepted at Amarillo National Bank and United Supermarket locations across the city.
"We are glad to be a part of this program and demonstrate how charitable Amarillo can be," Simpson said.
The individual donations to the effort have ranged anywhere from a few nickels to as much as $2,000, Simpson said. The endeavor will go on indefinitely, and the money will directly fund the efforts of the Red Cross, national United Way and Samaritan's Purse, an organization headed by Franklin Graham.
The Red Cross is one of the mediums through which relief is being sent. Along with sending experts in to help treat victims and rebuild structures, provisions are being dispatched containing food, clothes, fresh water, and medical supplies.
"We expect to be helping them for years," said Vince Hernandez, executive director of the Red Cross in Amarillo.
Paramount Baptist Church is another organization aiding in the relief effort. Affiliated with the Baptist Central Convention of Disaster Relief Missionary Arm, Paramount Baptist was able to deal directly with mobile cleanup of the area, and a few of its members from Amarillo traveled to the affected area.
"Basically, we just do anything we can to help whenever we are called to do so," said Gerald Cook, the Disaster Relief Team director at Paramount Baptist.
Employing more than 100 people in the Amarillo and Canyon areas, the missionary arm has been to disaster areas all over the country and world, going to such places as Florida, Colorado and Mexico. The group also works directly with the Salvation Army and Red Cross, providing assistance whenever necessary.
A local coalition of the Amarillo Globe-News, Amarillo National Bank, United Supermarkets, Toot N' Totum, KVII-TV and KGNC radio had collected more than $30,000 as of Jan. 24, said Les Simpson, publisher of the Globe-News. Contributions to the effort are being accepted at Amarillo National Bank and United Supermarket locations across the city.
"We are glad to be a part of this program and demonstrate how charitable Amarillo can be," Simpson said.
The individual donations to the effort have ranged anywhere from a few nickels to as much as $2,000, Simpson said. The endeavor will go on indefinitely, and the money will directly fund the efforts of the Red Cross, national United Way and Samaritan's Purse, an organization headed by Franklin Graham.
The Red Cross is one of the mediums through which relief is being sent. Along with sending experts in to help treat victims and rebuild structures, provisions are being dispatched containing food, clothes, fresh water, and medical supplies.
"We expect to be helping them for years," said Vince Hernandez, executive director of the Red Cross in Amarillo.
Paramount Baptist Church is another organization aiding in the relief effort. Affiliated with the Baptist Central Convention of Disaster Relief Missionary Arm, Paramount Baptist was able to deal directly with mobile cleanup of the area, and a few of its members from Amarillo traveled to the affected area.
"Basically, we just do anything we can to help whenever we are called to do so," said Gerald Cook, the Disaster Relief Team director at Paramount Baptist.
Employing more than 100 people in the Amarillo and Canyon areas, the missionary arm has been to disaster areas all over the country and world, going to such places as Florida, Colorado and Mexico. The group also works directly with the Salvation Army and Red Cross, providing assistance whenever necessary.