A Pittsburgh-based charity better known for working in Third World countries is lending a hand in Oklahoma in the wake of Monday's devastating tornado.
“Because of the magnitude, Brother’s Brother really felt a need to respond,” said Liam Carstens, Brother’s Brother Foundation Vice President for Medical Programs.
Brother’s Brother has teamed up with Virginia-based Gleaning For the World to send three tractor-trailers full of emergency supplies. Most of the blankets, water, shoes, cleaning supplies, baby items and other goods were already in the GFTW warehouse, but Brother’s Brother is helping to pay to get the materials to Oklahoma.
The two charities were able to send the items less than a day after the tornado touched down because they had worked together in the past to send aid to Africa and to the Atlantic coast after Hurricane Sandy. The foundation is also tapping into a partnership Gleaning for the World already had in Oklahoma.
“There has to be some coordination with the distribution at the final recipient site so the items are being sent to… The Church of the Harvest (in Oklahoma City) and then that church will act as a distribution point for people affected by the tornadoes,” Carstens said.
Brother’s Brother Foundation has sent $3.5 billion worth of medical supplies, textbooks, food, seeds, and other humanitarian supplies to people around the world in more than 140 countries in its 55 years of existence.
Carstens said any donations sent to the charity designated to Oklahoma relief would be sent directly to the effort without any administrative costs.
