Convoy of Care goes to tornado-ravaged south Georgia with donations

ALBANY, Ga. — The Convoy of Care has arrived in south Georgia to help storm victims recovering from last month's tornado outbreak.

Nonprofit Caring For Others, Inc. partnered with Channel 2 WSB-TV, law enforcement agencies throughout the state, the Georgia Motor Trucking Association and the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency (GEMA) to help raise funds for South Georgia residents who survived the outbreak.

If you would like to donate, you can do so by visiting the Caring For Others website and click the link "Click here to support South Georgia Disaster Relief" at the top of the page.

"The communities in South Georgia need money to be able to fund specific needs of each individual resident, whether it's to cut down trees or to restore homes," said Tim McVay, WSB-TV vice president and general manager. "That's why we are urging our viewers to make cash donations now."

“The Georgia State Patrol deployed men and women from throughout the state to the affected area, so this gives us one more opportunity to provide supplies as we escort them for this endeavor along with volunteers,” GSP Capt. Nikki Renfroe said.

The Convoy of Care loaded supplies to south Georgia on Sunday at Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia. Volunteers from Caring for Others and the law firm Stewart, Seay and Felton loaded the tractor trailer truck donated by Holland, Inc., which was part of the first Convoy of Care that saw five tractor-trailers go to flood-ravaged Baton Rouge,Louisiana, in August last year.

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"We are honored to be part of a joint operation of care once again," said Caring For Others President & CEO Eslene Richmond-Shockley. "When people are in need so close to home, we feel privileged to be able to lend a hand in restoring their dignity."

Law enforcement organizations including the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police, the Georgia Sheriffs' Association, along with state agencies Georgia State Board of Pardons & Paroles, Georgia State Patrol and Georgia Bureau of Investigation, have pledged to use their network to raise the awareness of the Convoy of Care online fundraising effort.

"We're all one Georgia, and we want to continue to demonstrate how law enforcement serves the very communities we are sworn to protect," said Clarence Cox, National Vice President of NOBLE.

Funds being collected through Caring for Others will be disbursed directly to long-term recovery committees being established in the Berrien, Cook, Crisp, Dougherty, Thomas, Turner, Wilcox and Worth counties in coordination with G.E.M.A.

Checks may be mailed to Caring for Others, Inc., 3537 Browns Mill Road, SE, Atlanta, Georgia 30354. Please indicate that you are donating to South Georgia Tornado Relief.