Hope In A White Bucket.
Learn more about our work with Emergency & Disaster.
It may not seem like much. A white, square bucket. A rounded, square shape. Emblazoned with a red shield. No, a Salvation Army Clean-Up Kit is about as unassuming as you can get. Until, that is, it arrives a home in desperate need of cleaning.
More 50 of these same buckets have already arrived in areas of northwestern Missouri stricken by recent floods from the snow-melt swollen Missouri River. Each one holding the basic necessities a family would need to start cleaning up their homes.
A mop head, broom heads, collapsible polls, gloves, even a bottle of bleach. Every item brand new. From the respirator mask to wear to the trash bags soon to be filled with debris, each one cleverly packaged to maximize the storage space in the five-gallon bucket. Itself a useful tool during clean up.
“These kits are critically important to people who have potentially lost everything in a flood,” John Callahan, the Emergency Disaster Services Director, said. “The reality is; they won’t have any idea what may have survived until they finally manage to walk back in the door.”
Complicating matters in any clean-up situation, community businesses may be shuttered from the flood waters as well, meaning there’s no place to buy the desperately needed supplies nearby. That’s why each bucket plays a part in helping start the clean-up process.
At only $25 each, the bucket is a sign of a better tomorrow. Made possible thanks to the generous donations from Salvation Army supporters.
“A bucket can mean the world to someone, when they may not be sure where help will come from, they know it’s there thanks to The Salvation Army,” Callahan said.
As with any disaster situation, The Salvation Army lives by the motto, “First in, last out.” Our crews and volunteers have been on the scene in northwestern Missouri since before the first reports of flooding, as residents were being evacuated. We’ll still be there as they return home and start to re-build.
To support the on-going efforts of The Salvation Army’s teams in northwest Missouri, you can donate by clicking here.
To give a five-gallon white bucket, brimming over with hope.