Volunteers Continue To Help Neighbors In Need

Monday, January 22nd 2007, 9:48 am

By: News On 6

Hundreds of volunteers continue to help our â€˜Neighbors In Needâ€™ throughout Green Country. Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief and the American Red Cross have set up a relief center in Muskogee, where they are handing out bottled water and hot meals.

News on 6 reporter Chris Wright has the latest on their efforts.

Relief workers believe they are making some headway, and while the situation is slowly getting better, they say there is still a lot of work to do.

More than a week after the ice storm, cars still lined up at the Muskogee Fairgrounds and waited their turn for bottled water. Inside, members of Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief continued to prepare meals. Their skillet can make 500 of them at a time, and volunteers expected to hand out 6,000 meals on Monday alone.

Oklahoma Baptist members say the demand for food has actually gone up since the storm hit.

"We're feeding more people every day as they find out we're doing this. We get more calls for more food, it's increasing every day," said Dan Fuller with the Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief.

Of course, not everyone can make it to Muskogee for a hot meal. That's where the American Red Cross Comes in, its members have been delivering food all over Green Country. After being prepared in Muskogee, thousands of meals are taken throughout the area, to places like nursing homes, where they are unloaded and taken inside to those who need them.

"When we show up, that smile on their face, it's what we do it for, you know, we're here to help," American Red Cross volunteer Freddy Martinez said.

Those picking up meals included Checotah resident Dana Gamblin, who says the storm has left her without power and money.

"I'm without food until I can get my next paycheck in, which will be next week," said Dana Gamblin.

Freddy Martinez says helping out storm victims like Dana is what motivated him to volunteer. He's logged some long hours over the past week, but doesn't plan on taking a day off anytime soon.

"It's been six days since I've been here, and I don't want to go home yet, gotten attached to you all here," Martinez said.

In addition to preparing all those meals, about 250 members of Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief are still hard at work clearing yards of tree limbs.

The News on 6 has teamed up with BOK to help our â€˜Neighbors In Need.â€™ Anyone wishing to donate can make a check out to Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief, and drop it off at any BOK location.