In the early hours of Tuesday, March 3rd, Middle Tennessee, including our own Wilson County, was hit hard with deadly tornadoes. The one that came through Wilson County stayed on the ground for over 60 miles.  Davidson, Wilson, Smith and Putnam Counties were devasted. Countless homes and businesses were damaged and many were completely leveled. Lives were lost, and many others were injured. It was horrific. 

Even though we were without power at our facilities, we immediately began coordinating with the Operation Blessing disaster response team to get an emergency tractor trailor full of food and supplies to meet the need. The truck and our power both came Wednesday afternoon, allowing us to start distributions early Thursday morning. We opened our doors for those who were able to come, and we sent food and supplies to other areas including Putnam County and Mt. Juliet. We worked through other local ministries with boots on the ground to distribute to those who were unable to come pickup for themselves.  We have continued to work with other agencies and organizations to receive and distribute emergency assistance.

We were still providing disaster relief from the tornadoes when the newest disaster came on the scene: Covid-19.  The coronavirus provides its own unique challenges. We have all had to change our way of life- some of us more drastically than others.  During both of these disasters, we as a ministry, and we as a community, have come together to help our fellow man.  We are asking for everyone to continue to do so.  While some people are hoarding necessities at the expense of others who may be in need, we see the best in humanity as you reach out to ask what can you do, what can you give, to help the cause. 

We expect more people than ever to need food, toiletries, diapers, and hygiene products during this unprecedented time in our history.  For those of you who can afford to do so, we still need financial contributions to cover the costs of overhead. It takes $$ to pay the large electric bills that keep the big walk-in freezers and coolers going, and to pay for freight for the big trucks or maintenance and fuel for our own old trucks, as well as the numerous other expenses to keep us going.  For others, donations of extra food or supplies you may have is always a blessing.  For the young and healthy, we still need volunteers to help with the food giveaway so that we can keep our elderly and disabled volunteers safe.  You may call us at 615-453-5777 or email us at loaejs@gmail.com for more information. Follow us on Facebook for continuous updated information. 

Just to remind everyone of the changes this month, I am reposting this here as well.

DUE TO COVID-19 CONCERNS, THE FOLLOWING CHANGES WILL BE IMPLEMENTED DURING THE MARCH 26th & 28th GIVEAWAYS:

We will NOT be opening the building up to the public.

We ask everyone to REMAIN IN YOUR CARS. You will be lined up in order of arrival.

Please have your JOSEPH'S STOREHOUSE CARD on your dash or in hand so that it is visible to our volunteers. You will be directed through the pickup line from there for volunteers to load your food.

Please make sure your car TRUNK IS EMPTY so that volunteers will be able to easily load them.

If you normally receive adult or baby DIAPERS,  please have your need, including size, written on a slip of paper. We will try to accommodate those needs as well, but we cannot guarantee as these supplies are low due to the recent tornadoes.

WE ASK FOR YOUR PATIENCE AS THIS IS NEW TO US ALL.

VOLUNTEERS, please arrive between 8-8:30AM for assignments. Prayer room volunteers will be reassigned to other areas. We will try to have gloves available, but if you have your own, please bring a pair.

ABOVE ALL:

If you have (or anyone near you has) been sick or exhibited symptoms associated with the flu or Covid-19 virus, PLEASE STAY HOME.