Fundraisers

May 10

· The Georgia Rehabilitation Association Highlands Chapter is hosting a blood drive at the Department of Labor Tuesday, May 10, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Appointments are encouraged, but the Blood Assurance bus can take walk-ins if time is available. This blood drive is being held in an effort to assist those injured in the recent tornadoes and storms in our immediate area. All blood types are needed. To schedule an appointment or for more information, call 706- 638-5536.

May 14

· Vaughn's Hotrods in Ringgold off of Holcomb Road is hosting a benefit yard sale May 14 and May 15, starting at 7 a.m. All the proceeds go to help Ringgold. Donations will be taken up that day as well. For more information, call 423-802-6927 or email vaughnshotrods@hotmail.com.

May 20

· SingAkadamie, the tri-state region’s first private/elite show choir, presents its “God and Country” Concert May 20 at First Baptist Church in Lafayette at 7 p.m. The concert will feature guest artist and Los Angeles producer, Eddie Reasoner. It will benefit disaster relief efforts. Tickets for the concert are $7 for adults and $5 for children. For more information, visit www.singakadamie.com.

May 21

· WRCB Channel 3 as well as radio partners US-101, 103.7 KISS-FM, My 98.1, and Rock 105 will host a relief concert to raise money for local Red Cross relief efforts. Called Coming Together After The Storm, the event will air May 21 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., live from the Tennessee Aquarium in downtown Chattanooga.

May 22

· Oakwood Baptist Church will present An Evening Of Hope Sunday, May 22, at 6:30 p.m. at the Northwest Georgia Bank Amphitheatre. An Evening Of Hope is designed to help the community heal from the trauma of tornado and storm damage at the end of April. There will be a message as well as music.

Donations & volunteers

· If you would like to foster displaced pets, call 706-937-2287 or email Catoosa County Animal Care at catoosaanimal@gmail.com.

· People wishing to continue to add their name to the list of volunteers for Catoosa County relief efforts may call a new number housed at the volunteer coordination office at the Ringgold United Methodist Church at 706-935-2109.

· Ringgold Telephone Company is taking donations for tornado victims.

· Rossville softball and baseball teams are collecting canned goods, health and beauty aids, diapers, bottles and more for those who were hit by the storm. Boxes will be at the entrance to the park. For more information, contact Sheila Wheat at 423-596-5351.

· Noble Baptist Fellowship Church, located at 5994 Hwy 27 North, is collecting nonperishable food, bottled water and/or household items for tornado victims. Items can be dropped off at the church office during normal business hours or brought to church services on Sunday. For more information, call the church at 706-764-2917.

· Volunteers are needed at Ringgold United Methodist Church May 9-12 for meal shifts – breakfast, 7:45 a.m. to 10 a.m.; lunch, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; supper, 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Contact the church for more information.

· The Walker County Chamber of Commerce has passed disaster relief efforts to Chattanooga Valley Baptist Church or Oakwood Baptist Church. While donations are still being accepted at the Walker County Civic Center, donations to the churches are encouraged.

· Chattanooga Times-Free Press has established a Neediest Cases Fund: Southern Storms. It channels contributions to local Red Cross chapters for area tornado relief efforts. Your gift is tax deductible as permitted by law.

· Local contractors should register with FEMA at The Colonnade.

· Jesus is the Way Baptist Ministry has a tornado relief center set up at Bryman Plaza North in Dalton. They will be accepting donations of nonperishable food, hygiene products, water, clothing and any monetary donations. It will be delivered to Catooa County.

· Donations for disaster relief can be made at any Northwest Georgia Bank branch, including the main office and the Nashville St. branch in Ringgold, which are open for normal business hours.

· To list what you need and to share what you have available, visit www.helpringgold.com.

· Ringgold United Methodist Church, which is serving as a recovery site, needs volunteers for: team 1 – on site distribution of food and water; team 2 – care/assessment team; team 3 – manual labor/clean up team; and team 4 – church security team.

· Donations can be taken to the Bank of LaFayette.

· Ringgold High and Middle schools have established an athletic department fund to help rebuild their stadiums, replace equipment and more. Those who would like to help Ringgold athletics can send monetary donations to the RHS and RMS Athletic Fund, c/o Northwest Georgia Bank, P.O. Box 789 Ringgold, Ga. 30736.

· Blood Assurance needs blood donations to replenish supplies. Blood Assurance has a location in Fort Oglethorpe.

· According to the Walker County Commissioner's office, individuals who would like to contribute to the relief effort can provide cash donations to the Walker County Commissioner’s Office in LaFayette.

· Dalton State College is taking donations for Ringgold tornado victims. Drop off boxes are placed in buildings around campus. Most needed items are are bottled water, food (including baby food), paper towels, toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and personal care items. A Red Cross representative will be by campus on May 6 to pick items up.

· The Chattanooga Area Red Cross is taking volunteers and monetary donations. Donations can be sent to Greater Chattanooga Area American Red Cross Chapter, 801 McCallie Avenue, Chattanooga TN 37403

· Rep. Tom Graves’ District Offices, located in Gainesville and Dalton, are accepting the following donations from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday: clean folded tarps, C and D batteries , cases of bottled water, infant formula, infant and toddler diapers, boxes of spaghetti and jars of purchased red sauce and granola or cereal bars.

· To provide hair, makeup and other services related to prom, contact TheGoodStuff@CoCoMcCain.com or contact the Stylebar’s Rose Riley at 423-756-2718.

For victims

· As the need for disaster assistance shifts more toward long-term recovery efforts, the Salvation Army has begun to shift away from mass feeding and into long-term social casework. In addition to hot meals, they will provide nonperishable food boxes, toiletries, baby needs, support for lost medication, gasoline, and other necessities on a case by case basis depending upon the need. A Joint Disaster Recovery Center is located at The Shirley Smith Learning Center, 36 Muscogee Trail in Ringgold, and at Walker County Agriculture Center, 10058 N. Highway 27 in Rock Spring.

· The new Red Cross shelter location is at Poplar Springs Baptist Church, located at 422 Poplar Springs Road in Ringgold.

· A Red Cross bulk supply distribution location will be set up at Southern Baptist Kitchen, located at 7611 Nashville St. in Ringgold and Ingles Supermarket, located at 5044 Alabama Hwy in Ringgold. Items available to families impacted by the recent tornadoes include comfort kits containing personal hygiene items, clean-up kits, rakes, shovels, bleach, gloves, water, sunscreen, hydrocortisone cream, insect repellent, garbage bags, dust masks, paper towels and rags.

· Anyone who needs information on Red Cross tornado relief services in Georgia is urged to call the Red Cross-Georgia Tornado Call Center, a toll-free number, at 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767) and follow the prompts for disaster relief in Georgia. The call center, open daily from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m., is a resource for families with questions about what types of services the Red Cross is providing to disaster survivors and how to access them in local communities.

· If you are in need of a pet foster home, call 706-937-2287 or email Catoosa County Animal Care at catoosaanimal@gmail.com. If you have lost a pet, you can post it this Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Animals-Lost-and-Found-from-TN-GA-Tornadoes/199593240078392. You can also email them to animalslosttnga@yahoo.com.

· The Catoosa County Help Line moves to the Catoosa County Administration building and will serve callers Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at either 706-965-7138 or 706-965-7139

· Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has set up a central office at the Walker County Ag Center in Rock Spring and at the Shirley Smith Learning Center.

· To help people displaced by the recent tornadoes find rental housing, the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) and the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) are encouraging displaced survivors to use www.GeorgiaHousingSearch.org.

· Customers who lost a driver’s license or identification card due to the April 27 storms may be eligible to obtain a free replacement from the Department of Driver Services (DDS). In order to obtain a free replacement, eligible customers must visit a DDS customer service center and present documentation of their identities. For more information, visit www.dds.ga.gov.

· The Georgia Department of Labor Rapid Response Team has an office at the Catoosa County Learning Center, located at 36 Muscogee Trail in Ringgold. Contact the Help Line at either 706-965-7138 or 706-965-7139 with more questions or for more information.

· Disaster survivors can apply for federal assistance directly through web-enabled mobile phone devices or smartphones at m.fema.gov. They can also call 800-621-FEMA or TTY 800-462-7585, from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Survivors also can register online anytime at www.disasterassistance.gov.

· Woodmen of the World Life Insurance Society, a fraternal benefit organization with more than 28,000 members living in north Georgia, reminds members who sustained significant storm damage to their primary residence that they may qualify for a natural disaster benefit. Disaster assistance is one benefit of membership in Woodmen of the World that is intended to help members in time of need. Members should contact their local Woodmen of the World Representative or State Service Center for more information.

· You may be eligible for disaster unemployment benefits. The Northwest Georgia Department of Labor office is located at 96 Stuart Road in Fort Oglethorpe. Their phone number is 706-861-1990 or call 1-877-709-8185. If your claim is denied, call Georgia Legal Services Program for legal help at 800-498-9469. Farmworkers in any county can call Georgia Legal Services Program’s Migrant Project in Atlanta at 800-537-7496.

· To list what you need and to share what you have available, visit www.helpringgold.com.

· If you suffered any damages or losses on farmland and to livestock, contact the LaFayette Farm Service Agency office at 706-638-1558, extension 2.

· The U. S. Small Business Administration Office of Disaster Assistance has opened offices at the Shirley Smith Learning Center, located on the Catoosa Benton Place Campus. They will offer assistance to homeowners as well as business owners. The hours of operation are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week until further notice. You may come to the Learning Center to apply or you can go disasterloan.sba.gov/ela and download the application. You may also call 1-800-659-2955.